Jack Isadore Cole (businessman)

Jack Cole (May 4, 1920 - January 22, 1997), born Jack Isadore Colofsky. Jack grew up in Detroit with his brother and two sisters. Due to circumstances, Jack and his siblings grew up in an orphanage and eventually moved to Toronto, Canada. Jack had a very tough childhood.

Early life

Jack attended Harbord Collegiate however he dropped out of High School after completing grade 10 in order to help provide for his family.

At the age of 15, Jack and his Brother Carl opened their first bookstore in 1935 under the name The Book Exchange.

The bookstore was located at Bloor and Spadina and specialized in second hand books for the University of Toronto.

World War II

Jack Cole immediately joined the Canadian Air Force when the Canadian Army joined the War. Due to his little education, Jack Cole started as a Private however within 6 months he had been promoted to a Captain and stationed in England. At the same time, Carl ran the bookstore which was thriving in Canada.

"Coles Notes"

Jack first published "Coles Notes" in 1948. The first "Coles Note" published was for the French novel "Colomba" by Propsper Mérimée.

Today there have been over 80,000,000 copies of "Coles Notes" sold worldwide. "Coles Notes" can be found in over 70 countries worldwide. "Coles Notes" is currently owned by Indigo Books in Canada.

1950/1960s

In 1958, Jack and Carl sold the American Rights to "Coles Notes" to Cliff Hillegas who published the books under "Cliff Notes".

By 1960, "Coles Notes" sales peaked when baby boomers were beginning to attend high school. They had over 120 titles mostly dealing with English novels however they had numerous other subjects including math, languages, physics etc.

1970s

On June 7, 1972, Jack Cole brought Coles Bookstore public however him and Carl still maintained control over the business. At this point, Coles Bookstore had over 200 stores operating across Canada.

Jack eventually opened stores in the United States however this venture proved to be unsuccessful and he eventually closed the stores down.

In 1978, Jack sold his interest in Coles Bookstore to Southam Press for a reported $34,000,000. Jack remained as President of the company till the early 80s.

World's Biggest Bookstore

In 1980, Jack opened the World's Biggest Bookstore which at the time was the largest bookstore in the World. At 67,000 square feet, it was located in downtown Toronto on Edward Street. The bookstore still exists today.

Family Life

Jack Cole always put a lot of emphasis on his Family. Jack and his wife Esther had 4 children, David, Norma, Jeff and Linda.

References

* Kearny, Mark and Ray, Rany (2002), "I Know That Name: The People Behind Canada's Best-known Brand names" ISBN 1550024078

External links

* [http://books.google.ca/books?id=e3KE9KjwONEC&pg=PA64&lpg=PA64&dq=jack+cole+coles+notes&source=web&ots=6dM_AFPKCy&sig=AeCzu0WNDQ331v6SUpcqbr0_x88&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=10&ct=result#PPA64,M1 I know that name]
* [http://www.canadiandesignresource.ca/officialgallery/?p=1646 Coles Notes]
* [http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/Section/A-Brief-History.id-305430.html Cliff Notes]
* [http://books.google.ca/books?id=82ZJ1IvRkFcC&pg=PA215&lpg=PA215&dq=jack+cole+coles+notes&source=web&ots=7SHDl1EkLg&sig=ncTJ4II3elktcI-DcR8DOXI5kH0&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=5&ct=result#PPA214,M1 The Great Canadian Trivia Book]