Disney Villains Take Center Stage on Forever Stamps

The Book Manufacturers’ Institute (BMI) released the January results for its monthly survey on capacity and lead times for soft cover and hard cover books. This month showed both capacities and lead times continuing to decline. According to responses regarding hard cover books, the average manufacturer was running at 72% of their capacity, down from December’s 82%. The average lead time for completed hard cover books went down to 48 days from 50 days, continuing the trend. For soft cover books, capacity usage dropped to 75% compared to 82% last month. The average lead time dropped to 29 days from 33 days, continuing that trend as well.

Costco Wholesale Corporation reported net sales of $19.83 billion for the retail month of August, the four weeks ended September 1, 2024, an increase of 7.1 percent from $18.51 billion last year. For the 16-week fourth quarter, the Company reported net sales of $78.2 billion, an increase of 1.0 percent compared to net sales of $77.4 billion in the 17-week fourth quarter of fiscal year 2023. For the 52-week fiscal year ended September 1, 2024, the Company reported net sales of $249.6 billion, an increase of 5.0 percent from $237.7 billion reported in the 53-week fiscal year 2023.

Kohl’s and Volta Industries, Inc. announced they will bring 100 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations to 50 additional Kohl’s stores this year, marrying Kohl's expansive customer reach with Volta’s electric vehicle charging experience. With this expansion, Kohl’s customers will have access to 275 charging stations at more than 150 Kohl’s locations across 22 states. Kohl’s store locations offering the convenience of EV charging can be found with the store locator tool on Kohls.com. “Kohl’s has a number of sustainability goals that we seek to make progress against including climate change and the transition to a low-carbon transportation system. These goals not only support environmentally conscious transportation solutions, but mark a reflection of the expectations that our associates, customers and communities have for our role in achieving long-term sustainability,” said Steve Thomas, Kohl’s Chief Risk & Compliance Officer. “Bringing additional electric vehicle charging stations to our store network with a partner like Volta adds an important sustainability touchstone and added convenience for Kohl’s employees and shoppers.”