“After a painfully slow year in the book trade, Canadian publishers are facing 2004 with cautious optimism. And, perhaps surprisingly, Indigo Books & Music is the reason. The powerful chain appears to have had a strong Christmas season, which has publishers excited. And the company, long criticized for its haphazard inventory control, is poised to introduce a new computer system that will likely solve many of the ordering and tracking problems that have plagued it in the past. Results for the crucial third quarter of Indigo’s fiscal year won’t be announced to shareholders till early February but publishers say Indigo… is sending out gratifyingly large payments.”