- Indigo Books and Music (TSX:IDG) is searching for a new CEO following the departure of Peter Ruis after less than one year on the job
- Chief Financial Officer Craig Loudon and Senior Vice President and General Counsel Damien Liddle will oversee the company in the interim
- Indigo Books and Music is Canada’s leading book and lifestyle retailer
- Indigo Books and Music stock (TSX:IDG) is down by 90.29 per cent over the past five years
Indigo Books and Music (TSX:IDG) is searching for a new CEO following the departure of Peter Ruis after less than one year on the job.
Chief Financial Officer Craig Loudon and Senior Vice President and General Counsel Damien Liddle will guide the company in the interim.
The news follows a cyber attack in February that affected online sales for multiple weeks, played a large role in the company losing approximately $50 million in the past fiscal year, and compromised current and former Indigo workers’ banking, medical and immigration data.
Indigo also suffered the departure of nearly half of its board on June 7, with one member citing mistreatment and loss of confidence in company leadership. Founder Heather Reisman announced her retirement that same day.
Reisman vouched for Ruis’ credentials and readiness for the job, stating that he would be “instrumental to both our future success and to sustaining the core values and culture that have underpinned this organization since its founding.”
The former Indigo president and now departing CEO – who made his name through successful expansions at John Lewis and Anthropologie URBN Group – will serve as a consultant for the company over the next two months to facilitate the leadership transition.
As Indigo determines its next chief executive, the retailer remains focused on attracting customers in spite of high inflation cutting into discretionary spending budgets. To this end, the company will be experimenting with a new urban concept for stores featuring a bar, arcade games and record listening stations to accentuate its vast array of lifestyle products, which include everything from housewares to vitamins to sex toys.
Indigo Books and Music is Canada’s leading book and lifestyle retailer with offerings that span books, gifts, home, wellness, fashion, paper, baby and kids products. It operates 171 retail stores across all 10 provinces and one territory in Canada, as well as one store in the United States in Short Hills, New Jersey.
The Indigo Love of Reading Foundation, which is committed to addressing the literacy crisis in Canada, has committed more than $35 million to more than 1 million students across Canada since 2004.
Indigo Books and Music stock (TSX:IDG) opened unchanged trading at $1.38 per share. The stock is down by 90.29 per cent over the past five years.
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