World's Biggest Bookstore
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The World's Biggest Bookstore is a bookstore owned by Indigo Books and Music in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located at 20 Edward St, just north of the Toronto Eaton Centre, it was unquestionably the biggest bookstore in the world when it first opened in 1980 in a converted bowling alley.
Although it retains the name, the actual world's largest bookstore, according to the Guinness Book of World Records[citation needed], is currently a Barnes and Noble outlet in New York City. Nevertheless World's Biggest Bookstore still claims the title on the basis that it depends on how "biggest" is defined. The Barnes and Noble has more floor space, however World's Biggest Bookstore carries more titles.
Powell's Books, in Portland, Oregon USA, claims that it is the largest "used and new" bookstore in the world, with over one million books on the shelves.
The World's Biggest Bookstore was the first of the book "superstores" and was originally owned by Coles, which was bought along with SmithBooks to create Chapters Inc. Although it retains its unique name, its stock, distribution and advertising are closely integrated with the Chapters and Indigo chains.
It is noted for its cramped spaces and bright lights, with over 20 kilometres of bookshelves.
The store made a brief appearance in the movie Short Circuit 2 when the main character, a robot named Johnny 5, enters the store and creates chaos as he reads through the books.
[edit] Advertising
In the late 1990s, with customers' book shopping habits radically changing after the launch of Chapters and Indigo, the store chose to play up its "no frills" image with an advertising campaign that included the following slogans:
- "We occasionally have soft mood lighting. But then we replaced the burnt out fluorescent tubes."
- "Like other bookstores, we have places to sit. But why aggravate your hemorrhoids?"
- "Books priced so low even people who don't read too good is buying them."
