2021 Was a Stellar Year for Publishing (publishersweekly.com)

Hearst Magazines announced the launch of Premium Print, a strategic initiative that includes a multimillion-dollar investment across its portfolio of more than 25 brands to further strengthen its position in the marketplace and enhance the quality of its print products. The announcement was made by Hearst Magazines Acting President Debi Chirichella and Hearst Magazines Chief Content Officer Kate Lewis. “Our magazines are at the heart of our brands and our business, the foundation of our editorial mission and vision,” Chirichella said. “For the benefit of our audiences and our marketing partners, we’re focused on producing the highest quality print products and providing an outstanding content experience that is engaging on every level.” The additional investment will improve the product of several Hearst Magazines print properties through new, larger formats, higher-quality paper and improved editorial ratios.

Keep US Posted — a nonprofit advocacy group of consumers, nonprofits, newspapers, greeting card publishers, magazines, catalogs and small businesses — is warning Americans that stamp prices are set to increase on July 9 for the second time in 2023, and cautioning that if such unprecedented and excessive postage increases continue, Americans could be facing a government bailout of the U.S. Postal Service. The July increase marks the third such increase in 12 months — the most mailing rates have increased during the U.S. Postal Service’s 247-year history. Yoder continued, “DeJoy’s stated intent has been to use stamp increases to bring in additional revenue, yet each hike drives down mail demand at a progressively faster rate and increases internal costs, meaning less revenue for USPS, no matter how much more a stamp costs. The result is additional strain on the system. Congress passed bipartisan postal reform in 2022 intending to prevent these excessive postage increases by bringing financial solvency to the Postal Service but USPS, under DeJoy’s leadership, has plowed ahead with pre-planned stamp increases, which will continue every six months. The American people need Congress to step in now and bring additional oversight to the USPS rate strategy, otherwise we could be looking at a situation where a federal bailout is necessary."

Costco Wholesale Corporation reported net sales of $13.64 billion for the retail month of January, the four weeks ended January 31, 2021, an increase of 17.9 percent from $11.57 billion last year. For the twenty-two weeks ended January 31, 2021, the Company reported net sales of $79.11 billion, an increase of 15.4 percent from $68.56 billion during the similar period last year.