and in use. K-Mart was free to set up bookstores, just not Waldenbooks. They followed a similar ploy by having stores do business under the "Borders" name, as a blocking move. In addition to the flagship brand, known for many years as "Coles - the Book People!", the company operated the self-proclaimed World's Biggest Bookstore in downtown Toronto, as well as two other bookstore banners, Active Minds and The Book Company. In 1978, Jack and Carl sold Coles to Southam Inc. In April 1995, Southam resold the company to Pathfinder Capital, which one year earlier had acquired Coles' main rival, SmithBooks. That chain consisted of the Canadian former operations of British bookstore chain W H Smith (1950-1989), which had first been sold to Canadian owners in 1989. The merged company, Chapters Inc., opened Canada's first two book superstores under the "Chapters" brand in November 1995. The smaller-format bookstores retained their existing names, but over time many of these locations have been converted to the Coles banner. A handful of SmithBooks stores continue to operate as of late 2008, but even in these cases staff uniforms and shopping bags bear the "Coles" name. Indigo purchased Chapters, and in turn Coles, in 2001. A number of Coles locations continue to operate in Canada as of 2013, primarily in suburban shopping malls, though many have been closed in recent years, especially if located in close proximity to an Indigo or Chapters location, with others converted into IndigoSpirit stores. Expansion into the United States After dominating the Canadian book market by the early 1970s, Coles found little opportunity for further growth within Canada and Jack Coles decided to explore further expansion south of the border by opening new "Coles - the Book People!" stores in the rapidly expanding United States market. The first store in the United States was opened in Buffalo, New York, in 1973. By 1980, there were 56 stores in the United States with more being opened. In 1987, Southam decided to sell or close the U.S. stores since the stores were not generating enough profit. A few months later 52 U.S. stores were sold to K-Mart and were converted into Waldenbooks stores. References Further reading Link via ProQuest. External links Chapters.Indigo.ca Indigo Books and Music Retail companies established in 1940