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Indigo Tech is a new initiative by Chapters Bookstore and will put a heavy emphasis on tablets, e-Readers and Accessories all across Canada. Indigo Books barely mentioned this new program at their latest earnings call, but never really explained the logistics of what it is all about. Today, we have breaking news on exactly customers can expect in the coming weeks. If you have ever shopped at a Chapters bookstore in Canada before, you might be familiar with their existing kiosk booths. They are basically a small table, with a number of Kobo e-Readers and accessories. The Indigo Tech area is increasing dramatically, with larger stores having 200 square feet devoted to showcasing technology. Aside from their normal portfolio of gadgets they are adding some new ones. What new stuff are they carrying? We spoke to a rep from Chapters that told me they will have – iPod Touch, iPad, iPad Mini, Jawbone, wireless speakers, Beats by Dr. Dre headphones, and Apple TV. They also formed new partnerships with Fitbit, Cookoo, Jambox and a number of other companies. When you shop at Chapters stores and have stopped by the old style kiosk booths, the representatives are not often very knowledgeable. This is mainly due to not having dedicated tech staff and often have a revolving cadre of customer service reps giving advice. Indigo Tech areas will have specialty trained staff and the larger locations will have 4 dedicated staff members, whose sole job is to work on the tech area. These staff members go through Apple Training, at an official Apple retail store. They have to go through ten hours of training in order to be officially certified. This is mandated directly through Apple and was a perquisite of being an authorized dealer. The larger locations are training an additional three people for when the dedicated staff get sick or go on vacation. Two locations in Ontario have already launched Indigo Tech areas and the main Vancouver flagship store is launching on August 28th. Chapters is working on the logistics of having 40 stores total up and running by the end of the year. Most of the tech areas are positioned right at the entrance of the store, in order to encourage people to look in the Window and check it out. Revamping 40 stores is no small undertaking and involves a complete transformation of the retail spaces. There is a ton of costs involved in training and hiring additional staff to man the booths and offer sage advice. I find it amazing that Indigo PR does not issue press releases or interact with the media at all. They do not go out of their way to inform newspapers, television or websites like ours on exactly is involved with the roll out, or hype it up in anyway. The only reason I am breaking the news on this is because I am calling store managers, talking to staff and getting a sneak peak at the spaces before they are launched. Considering Chapters is Canada’s largest bookstore chain, they could be doing a better job at promoting Indigo Tech. The Logistics Behind Indigo Tech is a post from: E-Reader News |
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
The Logistics Behind Indigo Tech
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