Indigo revenue drops 12% in aftermath of cyberattack

Canadian bookselling chain Indigo Books & Music reported a 12% drop in revenue for the quarter ending 1 July, following a cyberattack on the company’s website in February, reports Publishers Weekly.

Over the same period, Indigo reported an adjusted EBITDA loss of $21.4 million. Its retail sales channel revenue was down 10% while online revenue dropped 26%. The company said the poor performance was due to the ‘lingering aftermath of the cyberattack that crippled Indigo’s website earlier in the year’.

‘Inventory replenishment capabilities were challenged as a result of the attack, which impacted the assortment available in both the retail and online sales channels for the quarter,’ the company said in a press release. ‘Furthermore, the ransomware attack impacted Indigo’s search engine optimisation, which led to a weaker online presence and a decrease in online traffic.’

PW reports the ransomware attack left the Canadian publishing industry ‘in a state of mild shock’, with small and medium-sized publishers concerned they are missing up to two months of sales data, and that status reports about Indigo’s inventory are unreliable.

Indigo has also announced the resignation of CEO Peter Ruis, who was in the position for a little over a year.

Category: International news