With all major categories posting huge gains, unit sales of print books jumped 22.7% for the week ended Jan. 16, 2021, over the comparable week in 2020, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. The biggest gains came in the YA categories, with fiction up 47.6% and nonfiction rising 46.9%. The release of Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas, which sold nearly 18,000 copies, helped to lift YA fiction. In YA nonfiction, Stamped by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi was the top title, selling more than 4,100 copies. Juvenile fiction sales rose 30.7% over the week ended Jan. 18, 2020, led by Little Blue Truck’s Valentine by Alice Schertle, which sold just over 28,000 copies, and Dav Pilkey’s Cat Kid Comic Club, which sold nearly 22,000 copies. Juvenile nonfiction sales rose 28.8% over 2020. Two educational titles led the way: Crystal Radke’s My First Learn-to-Write Workbook sold more than 7,000 copies, and Big Preschool Workbook sold 6,400 copies. Adult fiction unit sales rose almost 30% over 2020.

Nearly 700 dockworkers at the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have contracted COVID-19 and hundreds more are taking virus-related leaves, raising fears of a severe slowdown in the region’s multibillion-dollar logistics economy. A growing longshore worker infection rate, which parallels the surge of the virus across California, is exacerbating a massive snarl at the ports due to a pandemic-induced surge in imports. Port executives, union leaders and elected officials are mounting an urgent campaign to initiate dockworker vaccinations, fearing that a labor shortage could force terminal shutdowns. “We’ve got more cargo than we do skilled labor,” said Eugene Seroka, executive director of the Los Angeles port. “We are told 1,800 workers are not going on the job due to COVID right now. That can [include] those who are isolating through contact tracing or awaiting test results. Or maybe [those who] fear ... going on the job when a lot of people are sick.” more at source: https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2021-01-20/covid-surge-hits-la-ports-increasing-need-for-vaccines

FedEx Express announces proposals to resize its European workforce as it nears the completion of the network integration of TNT. These proposals are part of a wider, multi-year growth strategy that enables the European Express business to confidently build on the momentum created in recent years. FedEx acquired TNT in 2016 as part of its European expansion plans, connecting the world’s largest air express network with an unparalleled European road network and global suite of services. Since the acquisition, successful integration has taken place across IT systems and key parts of the air, road and ground networks, and investments have been made in technology and infrastructure. Plans to address the duplication resulting from operating two large European networks connecting similar geographies were presented to European employee representatives and team members today. These proposals will regrettably have a workforce impact of between 5500 - 6300 people across operational teams and back-office functions. In the course of these consultations, the full range of support measures for affected team members will be discussed with works council representatives from across the region. These measures differ by country and may include voluntary redundancy, reassignment to other roles and priority access to open positions. The consultation process will take place over an eighteen-month period in line with local country processes and regulations.

Key highlights for the 12 months: *Group sales declined by 10% and we expect to report adjusted operating profit in the range of £310m-£315m at an average USD:GBP exchange rate of 1.28; with portfolio changes, inflation and the trading impact of COVID-19 partially offset by restructuring savings. *Global Online Learning sales grew 18% due to strong enrolments in new and existing schools in Virtual Schools and good sales growth in Online Program Management (OPM), with growth in continuing programs partially offset by discontinued programs. *Global Assessment sales declined 14%, reflecting the impact of test centre closures during the lockdowns in H1 in Professional Certification, with pent up demand in the second half partly moderated by Q4 lockdowns. Cancellation of Spring testing impacted US Student Assessment and school closures impacted US Clinical Assessment. *North American Courseware declined 13% with US Higher Education Courseware revenue down 12%, with good growth in digital registrations and eBooks and a further decline of higher priced package and print sales. At the end of 2020, over 70% of US Higher Education Courseware revenue was digital. *International declined 19% due to school and test centre closures and the continuing impact of COVID-19 on public and private spending on courseware and assessments.

Key 2020 General Election Performance Statistics: *135 Million Ballots Processed and Delivered. The Postal Service delivered at least 135 million ballots, including both blank ballots delivered from election officials to voters and completed ballots returning from voters to election officials. i *99.89 Percent of Ballots Delivered to Election Officials Within a Week. Overall, 99.89 percent of identified ballots mailed after September 4 were delivered within seven days, consistent with the Postal Service’s recommendation to voters. The overwhelming majority of ballots were delivered in far less time than that. Specifically, based on internal processing scores, 97.9 percent of ballots mailed from voters to election officials were delivered within three days, and 99.7 percent were delivered within five days. click read more below for the rest of the story

“We are pleased to share that the fourth quarter ended with strong Revenue and Adjusted EBITDA performance,” said Michael Reed, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer. “Revenue improvement was primarily driven by a continued rebound in our advertising trends, both print and digital. We also continued to see strong digital-only circulation pro forma revenue performance with an increase of approximately 46% year-over-year. The revenue improvement as well as continued expense management, led to stronger Adjusted EBITDA, and positions us for continued performance improvement in 2021. We reduced $654 million of our 11.5% term loan during the fourth quarter and an additional $30 million subsequent to year end, which brings our total term loan reduction to $684 million. These actions have allowed us to reduce debt outstanding to $1.545 billion, which is ahead of the originally outlined levels that we shared in connection with the acquisition of Gannett Media Corp. in 2019. The reduction of the term loan through debt paydown and refinancing of approximately $500 million into convertible notes has reduced our annual interest expense by $48 million. As we head into 2021, we firmly believe that we will be in a position to refinance the remaining term loan, which will further improve our balance sheet.”

Year-end book sales across Europe were slammed by December lockdowns after Covid-19 cases surged across the continent. Still, preliminary results in three major markets show declines for the full year were modest. In Germany, Europe’s single largest book market, sales were up 25% in the first two weeks of December over 2019, but they plummeted when a new lockdown was imposed on December 16. Overall sales for the year were down 2.3% compared with 2019, according to BUCH, a German book publishing trade group. Bookstores saw sales drop 8.7% for the year, but gains by online booksellers and platforms offset that decline. “It is true that books played an important role for people during the crisis,” said Karin Schmidt-Friderichs, head of the BDB, in a press release. “There was great enthusiasm for reading and demand for books was high for much of the year. But the shutdown in December thwarted the industry’s plans. The renewed store closings in the middle of the Christmas business stopped the race to catch up from lost sales due to the shutdown in spring.”

*Proposes Combination of Consumer-Focused Retail Operations of Office Depot and Staples as More Direct Path to Achieving Synergies for Shareholders of Both Companies, Without Raising Substantial Regulatory Risk *Process for Sale of CompuCom IT Services Business Already Underway as a Result of Strategic Review Announced in November *Reaffirms Focus on B2B Operations and Other Growth Initiatives to Accelerate Value Creation *Notes That Sycamore’s Proposal Does Not Adequately Address Regulatory Risk to Office Depot Shareholders

The European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) and John Wiley & Sons Inc., a global leader in research and education, have expanded their publishing partnership to include EAACI’s official open access journal Clinical and Translational Allergy (CTA) alongside their other publications, Allergy and Pediatric Allergy and Clinical Immunology, as of January 2021. CTA is a fully open access journal, edited by Prof. Jean Bousquet and Dr. Clive Grattan, and provides a dissemination of allergy research and reviews, as well as EAACI position papers, task force reports, and guidelines for an international scientific audience. “We are delighted to extend our collaboration with Wiley to include CTA in 2021. Having all three journals under the same publishing umbrella will allow them to benefit from Wiley's extensive expertise in the publishing process, while at the same time keeping up the high quality of EAACI's scientific content, including the most relevant progress and updates in the field." Tomàs Chivato, EAACI VP Science; Jean Bousquet, CTA Editor-in-Chief; Clive Grattan, CTA Editor-in-Chief.

John Wiley and Sons, Inc. and Iowa State University today announced the signing of a three-year transitional open access agreement, among the first-of-its-kind in the United States. The agreement will advance Iowa State University’s goal to increase open access publishing and expand its open access offerings, allowing peer-reviewed articles to be read and shared immediately, and making important research broadly available. The multi-year agreement, which will run from January 1, 2021 through 2023, will allow the University to accelerate the number of open access articles it publishes, by increasing its publishing funds toward open access articles in Wiley’s hybrid and gold open access journals. This agreement builds on the University’s current partnership with Wiley, which gives faculty, researchers, and students access to Wiley’s leading portfolio of journals.

National Popcorn Day is on January 19! The Popcorn Factory® and Moose Munch® Premium Popcorn are marking the occasion by sharing unique ideas for enjoying one of America’s favorite, go-to snacks. From popcorn aficionados seeking traditional or trendy flavors, to families looking for creative ways to relish the gourmet treat together at home, these brands offer something special for every palate: Ready to explore the world of popcorn flavors? The adventure begins with a broad selection of sweet and savory flavors including cookies & crème, chicken & waffles, bacon cheddar, milk chocolate and salted caramel. These one-of-a-kind, poppin’ flavors will step up everyone’s snacking game.

Unit sales of print books got off to a blazing start in 2021. Sales jumped 19.3% last week over the week ended January 2 at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Moreover, units were up nearly 25% over the comparable week in 2020. With sales hitting 17.1 million, BookScan said it was the first time in the history of the service unit sales topped 17 million in the first week of January. Early January is always a good time for titles tied to renewal and self-improvement, and those categories did especially well compared to last year. In the nonfiction adult segment, double-digit gains were posted by body, mind, and spirit (up 63%), self-help (ahead 30%), cooking (+22%), and religion (+13%). The new year did not help the travel segment, however, with units tumbling 41%.

During the holiday season, Nordstrom continued to leverage its digital and physical assets to provide a unique breadth of merchandise selection across brands, price points and styles and convenient shopping experiences for customers: *December sales across the Nordstrom and Nordstrom Rack brands reflected sequential improvement from November with momentum continuing into January. *Digital sales grew 23 percent over last year and represented 54 percent of total sales compared with 34 percent from the same period in fiscal 2019. *Approximately 11 percent of Nordstrom.com orders were picked up in-store, which accelerated to more than 20 percent during the week preceding Christmas. *Approximately 9 percent of Nordstromrack.com orders were picked up in-store, which was enabled by the integration of Nordstrom Rack store and online inventory in October. *More than 30 percent of online orders were fulfilled from Nordstrom and Nordstrom Rack stores. *As a result of expanded gifting selection, gifting items made up 67 percent of sales, an increase of 600 basis points from the prior year.

Total Company net sales for the two months ended December 31, 2020, decreased 8.4% over the same period last year. Comparable Retail segment net sales decreased 9% due to negative retail store net sales as stronger conversion rates could not offset the reduced store traffic as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and related restrictions. Lower store net sales were partially offset by strong double-digit growth in digital channel sales. By brand, comparable Retail segment net sales increased 1% at Free People and decreased 8% at Urban Outfitters and 12% at the Anthropologie Group. Wholesale segment net sales decreased 1%. For the eleven months ended December 31, 2020, total Company net sales decreased 14.3% over the same period last year. Comparable Retail segment net sales decreased 12%, driven by negative retail store net sales due to mandated store closures as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and lower store productivity once opened, partially offset by strong double-digit growth in the digital channel. Wholesale segment net sales decreased 42%. On a personnel note, URBN today announced Trish Donnelly, Chief Executive Officer of the Urban Outfitters Group, will be leaving the Company as of January 31, 2021, to pursue a new career opportunity. We are pleased to announce that Sheila Harrington will become Chief Executive Officer for both Urban Outfitters Group and Free People Group. Additionally, Gabrielle Conforti, currently the Chief Merchandising Officer for the Urban Outfitters brand, has been promoted to President, Urban Outfitters North America, and Emma Wisden will continue as Managing Director, Urban Outfitters Europe, and will lead the Urban Outfitters brand Wholesale business. Both Gabrielle and Emma will report to Sheila.

For the November/December period compared with last year: *Comparable sales grew 17.2 percent, reflecting comparable store sales growth of 4.2 percent and comparable digital sales growth of 102 percent. *Traffic increased 4.3 percent and average ticket increased 12.3 percent. *The company continued to gain market share in all five of its core merchandise categories. Sales growth was strongest in Home and Hardlines. *Sales on same-day services (Order Pick Up, Drive Up and Shipt) grew 193 percent. *Drive Up grew more than 500 percent. *Shipt grew more than 300 percent. *Approximately 95 percent of Target's sales were fulfilled by its stores.

Outsourced marketing execution provider HH Global today announced it has signed an agreement to acquire the Marketing Services division of GBG. The agreement will further strengthen the interactive capabilities of HH Global, following the acquisition of Blueberry Wave in 2019. Existing GBG Marketing Services customers will benefit from the extensive specialist capabilities that HH Global provides. Steve Mattey, Managing Director, Interactive said: “This acquisition strengthens our interactive solutions, supporting our clients’ growing needs for smarter and more advanced marketing execution. We are delighted at the additional marketing technologies and tools this acquisition brings us, as well as the highly skilled team from GBG.” Existing GBG Marketing Services customers will immediately benefit from the extensive specialist capabilities that HH Global provides, across end-to-end marketing execution services.

The ODP Corporation confirmed that it has received a proposal to acquire the Company from USR Parent, Inc., the parent company of Staples and a portfolio company of Sycamore Partners. Consistent with its fiduciary duties, ODP’s Board of Directors is carefully reviewing the proposal in consultation with its financial and legal advisors to determine the course of action that it believes is in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders. As part of its review, the Board is evaluating various components of the proposal, including potential antitrust and other regulatory challenges given USR Parent’s ownership of Staples and past regulatory decisions blocking the combination of the two companies, purchase price, and closing conditionality. The Company noted that, according to its letter to ODP, USR Parent expects the regulatory process to take at least six months.

Bauer Media UK is to add two new magazines to its successful Puzzles portfolio. The company, which already publishes a number of Take a Break puzzles magazines, today launches Bella Puzzles Train Your Brain – a brand extension to Bella, one of the nation’s most popular women’s weekly titles. The monthly title, priced at £2.50, offers 84 pages of challenging puzzles to help train the brain as well as features on mindfulness, well-being and health that will feel familiar to Bella readers. A second standalone title, Bigger Better Puzzles, hits newsstands on Thursday (14 January) and marks Bauer Media UK’s first dedicated large-print mixed puzzle magazine.

Enthusiast magazines Rock and Ice and Climbing, which have been rivals for 36 years, are now one entity. The future merger was announced when Big Stone Publishing was acquired by Pocket Outdoor Media in October 2020. The new combined publication, called Climbing, debuts this spring — but it will be written by the editorial staffs of both magazines. To date, there has been no mention of staff reductions. The future Climbing will include art makeovers and upgrades, as well as more content and higher production values. Editors describe the alliance as “having a partner to help solve an elusive crux, rather than trying to unlock it yourself.”

North Island Media has joined Two Sides North America, the non-profit organization that promotes and encourages the responsible production, use, and sustainability of print, paper, and paper-based packaging. “Two Sides North America welcomes North Island Media as a new member and we look forward to working with them to expand our reach within the Canadian printing industry. Two Sides materials and content cover the sustainability aspects of print and paper in both the US and Canadian markets and are available to member companies in both countries,” said Phil Riebel, Two Sides North America President.

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. provided an update to its fiscal fourth quarter 2020 plan. The company expects: *Net sales to decline in the 5% to 7% range versus plan of down 5% to down 10%, reflecting ongoing digital momentum offset by store closures and capacity restrictions in North America and EMEA. *Gross profit rate to be up at least 130 basis points to last year’s 58.2% versus plan of flat to up slightly, benefiting from reduced depth and breadth of promotions and markdowns relative to plan and to last year. *Operating expense, excluding other operating income, to be down at least 2% from fiscal 2019 adjusted non-GAAP operating expense of $566 million, reflecting savings in store expenses due to closures and the recognition of rent abatements. This compares to plan of up 1% to 2%.

*Total net sales of $148.7 million increased by 3.3% for the 2020 holiday period compared to $143.9 million for last year’s comparable nine-week holiday period ended January 4, 2020 (the “2019 holiday period”). *Total comparable net sales, including both physical stores and e-commerce, increased by 2.7% for the 2020 holiday period compared to a decrease of 2.0% for the 2019 holiday period. Comparable net sales of Footwear, Womens and Mens increased compared to the 2019 holiday period, partially offset by decreases in Boys, Accessories and Girls. *Comparable net sales in physical stores decreased by 12.4% for the 2020 holiday period compared to a decrease of 2.7% during the 2019 holiday period. Comparable net sales in physical stores decreased in all geographic markets during the 2020 holiday period compared to the 2019 holiday period. Net sales in physical stores represented 69.0% of total net sales for the 2020 holiday period compared to 80.5% of total net sales during the 2019 holiday period. *E-commerce net sales increased by 65.2% for the 2020 holiday period compared to an increase of 1.0% during the 2019 holiday period. E-commerce net sales increased across all 50 states during the 2020 holiday period compared to the 2019 holiday period. E-commerce net sales represented 31.0% of total net sales for the 2020 holiday period compared to 19.5% of total net sales during the 2019 holiday period.

With all major categories posting increases, unit sales of print books rose 8.2% in 2020 over 2019 at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. For the year ended January 2, 2021, units hit 750.9 million, up from 693.7 million a year ago. While the book industry was concerned that sales would collapse when pandemic-induced store lockdowns were imposed in the spring, sales never saw a serious decline despite the other effects of Covid-19 on the business. Online sales and sales through non-bookstore outlets more than offset declines at physical retailers.

Torstar Corporation announced today it has joined with Golf Town Limited to create a new partnership to acquire SCOREGolf Magazine, including all SCOREGolf content and related assets. SCOREGolf, which started in 1980, is a Canadian media brand that includes SCOREGolf Magazine, the largest circulated golf publication in Canada, as well as SCOREGolf.com, television and video content production, and the ranking of Canada’s Top 59 public golf courses and Top 100 golf courses.

L Brands, Inc. reported net sales of $3.836 billion for the nine weeks ended Jan. 2, 2021, compared to net sales of $3.906 billion for the nine weeks ended Jan. 4, 2020. Comparable sales increased 5 percent for the nine weeks ended Jan. 2, 2021, compared to the nine weeks ended Jan. 4, 2020. At Bath & Body Works, comparable sales increased 17 percent for the nine weeks ended Jan. 2, 2021, including a comparable sales increase of 5 percent in stores and 64 percent sales growth in the direct channel. The merchandise margin rate for the quarter-to-date period increased significantly. At Victoria’s Secret, comparable sales decreased 9 percent for the nine weeks ended Jan. 2, 2021, including a comparable sales decrease of 23 percent in stores and 24 percent sales growth in the direct channel. The merchandise margin rate for the quarter-to-date period increased significantly.

Costco Wholesale Corporation reported net sales of $19.14 billion for the retail month of December, the five weeks ended January 3, 2021, an increase of 12.3 percent from $17.04 billion last year. For the 18 weeks ended January 3, 2021, the Company reported net sales of $65.47 billion, an increase of 14.9 percent from $56.99 billion during the similar period last year.

First quarter results, year-over-year: *Sales increased 5.7 percent to $36.3 billion, up 5.2 percent on a constant currency basis *Loss per share was $0.36, compared to EPS of $0.95 in the year-ago quarter, including a $1.73 per share charge from the company's equity earnings in AmerisourceBergen; Adjusted EPS decreased 11.2 percent to $1.22, down 11.6 percent on a constant currency basis, reflecting an estimated adverse COVID-19 impact of $0.26 to $0.30 per share *Net cash provided by operating activities was $1.2 billion, an increase of $134 million; Free cash flow was $763 million, an increase of $90 million, or 13 percent

Amazon announced its first-ever purchase of eleven Boeing 767-300 aircraft, expanding its fleet to continue to serve customers. The purchases include seven aircraft from Delta and four aircraft from WestJet, which will join the network by 2022. Amazon Air’s fleet expansion comes at a time when customers are relying on fast, free shipping more than ever. “Our goal is to continue delivering for customers across the U.S. in the way that they expect from Amazon, and purchasing our own aircraft is a natural next step toward that goal,” said Sarah Rhoads, Vice President of Amazon Global Air. “Having a mix of both leased and owned aircraft in our growing fleet allows us to better manage our operations, which in turn helps us to keep pace in meeting our customer promises.”

Wyndham Destinations and Meredith Corporation announced that Wyndham Destinations has acquired the Travel + Leisure brand and all related assets from Meredith Corporation, combining the travel company’s portfolio of resort, membership, and lifestyle travel brands with the world’s most trusted travel lifestyle content curator and its travel clubs. “We acquired Travel + Leisure, including access to its global audience of 35 million loyal followers across multiple platforms and nearly 60,000 club members, because it matches our passion and purpose to put the world on vacation. Over the past 18 months, we have laid the foundation to expand our footprint beyond our core vacation ownership business, and today we add one of the most trusted and influential brands in travel through the acquisition of Travel + Leisure,” said Michael D. Brown, president and chief executive officer of Wyndham Destinations. “This iconic brand, along with its authoritative content and wide audience, will help accelerate and amplify the growth of new capital-light travel businesses and services, as we take the next step in expanding our reach within the global leisure travel industry.”

AmerisourceBergen Corporation and Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. announced strategic agreements under which AmerisourceBergen will acquire the majority of Walgreens Boots Alliance’s Alliance Healthcare businesses for approximately $6.5 billion, comprised of $6.275 billion in cash and 2 million shares of AmerisourceBergen common stock. AmerisourceBergen’s acquisition of Alliance Healthcare will provide even stronger support for pharmacies and pharmacists across the globe and integrated solutions for pharmaceutical manufacturers. Walgreens Boots Alliance will be able to increase its focus on expanding its core retail pharmacy businesses, bringing even greater healthcare offerings to patients and customers and further accelerating its progress on its clear set of strategic priorities.

Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) Chairman Robert G. Taub announced that Commissioner Ashley E. Poling has been unanimously elected as Vice Chairwoman of the Commission, succeeding Vice Chairman Michael Kubayanda. PRC regulations state that the Commission elect a member to serve as Vice Chairman for a term of one year. Chairman Taub said he is elated Commissioner Poling has agreed to serve in the capacity of Vice Chairwoman. “She has a unique understanding of the challenges at hand and understands the importance of the regulators' role as we navigate the complexities involved in making sure we have a vibrant postal system for years to come.”

In the last full shopping week before Christmas, unit sales of print books fell 3.5%, compared to the similar week in 2019, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Sales were down in the four biggest segments, with juvenile nonfiction units falling the most, dropping 9.2%, compared to the week ended Dec. 21, 2019. The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook by Dinah Bucholz was #1 on the category list, selling over 35,000 copies. Last year at this time, the title sold more than 37,000 copies and was in third place, topped by Raina Telgemeier’s Guts (about 43,000 copies sold) and The Try Not to Laugh Challenge by Crazy Corey, which sold about 39,000 copies. The juvenile fiction category had a 4.4% decline in the week, with Cat Kid Comic Club by Dav Pilkey at #1, selling over 88,000 copies.

The move to increase the minimum wage gained significant ground in 2020 on the state level. Twenty-five states will raise the minimum wage in 2021, with 21 of those states enacting the increases on January 1, according to payroll experts at Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S. The firm noted that some of the hikes in states such as California, Colorado, Maine, Washington are the result of previously approved incremental increases to reach a specific amount that is considered to be a "living wage." Other states' increases reflect an annual cost-of-living adjustment, which accounts for the changes in states like Alaska, Florida, Minnesota, and Montana.

JCPenney’s new ownership group, consisting of Simon Property Group and Brookfield Asset Management, along with strategic partner Authentic Brands Group, have launched a search for a Chief Executive Officer to replace Jill Soltau, who will be exiting the company effective December 31, 2020. The search will seek to identify a leader that is focused on modern retail, the consumer experience, and the goal of creating a sustainable and enduring JCPenney. With a successful track record of turning around retailers and brands and restoring them to profitability, JCPenney’s new ownership group will establish a temporary office of the CEO to include key members of JCPenney’s current leadership team. Stanley Shashoua, Simon Property Group’s Chief Investment Officer, will be appointed interim CEO effective January 1, 2021.

The number of new print magazines launched in the US dropped by more than half in 2020 to 60, compared to 139 a year earlier. But in a surprise move, the pace of new launches accelerated in the second half of the year with food, home and fitness titles proving the most popular. The data comes from Professor Samir Husni, founder of the University of Mississippi’s Magazine Innovation Center at the School of Journalism and New Media, who bills himself as “Mr. Magazine,” and has been tracking the number of new US magazine launches since 1978.

Thomson Reuters Corporation announced that it has received approval from the Toronto Stock Exchange for the annual renewal of its normal course issuer bid. Under the renewed NCIB, up to 5 million common shares (which represents approximately 1% of Thomson Reuters issued and outstanding common shares) may be repurchased between January 4, 2021 and January 3, 2022. Thomson Reuters has set a target to maintain approximately 500 million common shares outstanding by using share repurchases to offset dilution associated with its dividend reinvestment and equity incentive plans. On December 24, 2020, there were 497,117,528 Thomson Reuters common shares outstanding. For its NCIB that began on August 19, 2019 and expired on August 18, 2020, Thomson Reuters previously received approval from the TSX to repurchase up to 25 million common shares. Of this amount, Thomson Reuters repurchased approximately 6.9 million common shares for a total cost of approximately US$500 million, representing an average price of US$72.61 per share.

In the last full shopping week before Christmas, unit sales of print books rose 5.2% over the week ended December 12 at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. But unlike many weeks in 2020, unit sales fell compared to 2019, with unit sales down 3.5% from the week ended December 21, 2019. The adult segments led the gain over the week ended December 12. Unit sales of adult nonfiction increased 10.3% over the prior week as Barack Obama’s A Promised Land remained the top-seller, selling more than 327,000 copies. Since its release November 17, the memoir has been the #1 selling book in the country every week and has sold over 2,254,000 copies at outlets that report to BookScan.

Even before work became WFH and social interaction turned completely digital, people have been longing for tangible elements in our hyper online landscape. Now, the search for sensory engagement beyond what our screens can offer is even more meaningful. And that could mean now is the right time to focus on print in your brand strategy. “Engaging sensory experiences have become even more meaningful during this time of uncertainty,” writes Cecile Jordan in Beyond Definition. “Think about how refreshing it is to take a walk outside. Or open a piece of mail. Not an email or another utility bill. I mean actual snail mail perhaps from a friend or maybe a magazine.” Jordan echoes what many brands are finding; that direct mail and printed marketing is more welcome — and more successful — when our audiences are digitally maxed out.

Facebook says more than 5,700 publishers began using or rejoined its Instant Articles feature this year. That includes Reuters, Salon and The Daily Dot. The top 100 publishers in the U.S. and Canada using Instant Articles experienced RPM (revenue per thousand article reads) growth of 48% year over year. Globally, the top 500 publishers saw RPM growth of 27% year over year.

Meredith Corporation's EatingWell, the ultimate source for people passionate about food and wellness, announces that its December issue advertising revenue is up 38% from last year, with its total fourth quarter 2020 print advertising revenue up 10% year-over-year. The EatingWell website posted a 26% increase in unique visitors between November 2019 and November 2020 to 4.4 million from 3.5 million,* and its total followers across its social channels has increased by 16% year over year as of November, led by a follower increase of 85% on Instagram. Tiffany Ehasz, Publisher of EatingWell said, "As we reach the finale of EatingWell's 30th year, this trusted brand is more relevant than ever. It's exciting to see how our content is resonating with consumers as they seek out recipes and information in areas we know so well—food, wellness, sustainability, giving back and beyond—particularly during these times. In fact, according to a recent Meredith Data Studio survey, seven in ten women were motivated to improve the way they eat during the pandemic. Lastly, I'd like to send a big thank you to our advertising partners. I'm very grateful to everyone who has supported us this past year and looking forward to a fruitful 2021."

Guitar Center expects to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy by Dec. 31 after recently winning approval in federal bankruptcy court for its reorganization plan, the company said in a press release. According to the musical instrument retailer, the plan allows it to shed more than $800 million in debt. At the same time, Guitar Center has raised $350 million in new secured notes and expects to have a new asset-based facility worth up to $375 million, as well as $165 million in new equity investments.

Patagonia’s used clothing program is beginning to take off. The company has been gradually building out its own resale platform, Worn Wear. Now, the four-year-old service, which allows customers to sell their own Patagonia items and buy authenticated used ones, is having a “record year” in sales, according to the company. Worn Wear has also seen “record sales months” for its up-cycled collection, called ReCrafted, which launched in November 2019, according to the company. It’s been quite the year for used and second hand marketplaces. Resale platforms — including Poshmark, ThredUP and Mercari — reported major uptick in growth. But Patagonia opted to build its own service to be able to buy back inventory, authenticate and resell it to enthusiastic customers.

Dear Industry Member: Hopefully, you attended ACMA’s Postal Nightmare web event this week (though if you did not, I encourage you to click here to view the replay) and you better understand the grave implications of the PRC’s recent Order on the 10-Year Review. Our discussion clearly illustrated the challenges all users of the mail are experiencing right now. We also laid out the concrete steps we can take to forestall, ameliorate, reduce or manage the steep climb of mailing costs we are facing. This truly needs a widespread industry response now; otherwise, 2021 will surely begin the death spiral for mail. It is stunning that officials in Washington have demonstrated such disregard for the realities of our operating businesses, seeking only more money from business mailers to sop up the rapidly-expanding costs for the benefit of the nation. view the replay at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhCCZ6muo3M . Click Read More for additional key information

A new scientific report is in, affirming what most teachers can probably already tell you: Print is vital for effective education. “The argument that reading on paper results in deeper comprehension and retention, concentration, vocabulary building and memory has been given immense weight by a groundbreaking new study,” notes this article from Two Sides NA. “The research examined the results of 54 studies with a total of over 170,000 participants from 19 countries,” the article continues, “and found overwhelming evidence that comprehension of text is much stronger when reading from paper as opposed to a screen, particularly when the reader is under time pressure.” We’ve shared previous research on this topic — studies have shown that reading on paper is better for comprehension and overall learning — but there was a new twist to this study, named E-READ. The four-year study aimed to discover if students learning from digital devices progressed as rapidly as those learning by reading on paper. The results are clear. “Students learning from digital devices only progressed one third as much as they would have done had they been reading on paper,” the article notes.

With gains across all categories, unit sales of print books rose 16.9% last week over the week ended December 5. Adult nonfiction and juvenile nonfiction led the way with increases of 19.7% and 19.5%, respectively. Barack Obama’s A Promised Land remained the top seller in the week, selling nearly 325,000 copies at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Two newly released titles also contributed to the increase in adult nonfiction sales—Bag Man by Rachel Maddow sold over 46,000 copies and The Last Days of John Lennon by James Patterson sold more than 36,000 copies.

Gannett Co., Inc. announced that from the beginning of the fourth quarter through the end of this week, the Company will have repaid approximately $647 million of its 11.5% term loan, reducing the outstanding balance to $1.082 billion. The sources of funds for the $647 million of repayment are: $497 million of proceeds from the Company’s issuance of 6% senior secured convertible notes due 2027; Approximately $135 million of real estate and other non-core asset sales; and Approximately $15 million of excess cash sweeps. “We are pleased to be closing the year having made significant progress to improve our capital structure. The actions we have taken to date have lowered our interest payments by $45 million annually. Our asset sales have accelerated our debt repayment expectations and have increased our confidence in our ability to refinance the remaining term loan during the first half of 2021,” said Michael Reed, Gannett Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Additionally, revenue trends have continued to improve, which we expect will drive strong fourth quarter results and set us up to start the year with strong momentum. Our real estate sales pipeline and amortization payments are expected to further reduce debt by approximately $100 million by early 2021.”

Bookstore sales fell 27.8% in October compared to 2019, according to preliminary estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Sales were $446 million, down from $618 million in October 2019. The October decline was nearly identical to the drop reported in September, when bookstore sales fell 27.7% compared to the previous year—suggesting that, for the moment, bookstore sales appeared to have stabilized, albeit at a rate far below normal levels.

The Association of American Publishers released its StatShot report for October 2020 reflecting reported revenue for all tracked categories, including Trade (Consumer Books), K-12 Instructional Materials, Higher Education Course Materials, Professional Publishing, and University Presses. Total revenues across all categories for October 2020 were up 7.3% as compared to October 2019, coming in at $1.2 billion. Year-to-date sales were down 1.0% as compared to the first ten months of 2019, with a total of $12.4 billion. Trade (Consumer Books) sales were up 2.4% year-over-year, coming in at $960.6 million. Year-to-date (January-October 2020) Trade sales were up 6.9% as compared to the same period last year, coming in at $6.9 billion. In terms of physical paper format revenues during the month of October, in the Trade (Consumer Books) category, Hardback revenues were down 1.8%, coming in at $456.8 million; Paperbacks were down 0.7%, with $246.3 million in revenue; Mass Market was down 2.7% to $19.8 million; and Board Books were up 19.7%, with $27.0 million in revenue.

McGraw Hill announced that it has entered into a transaction support agreement to address its near-term debt maturities. The contemplated transaction will extend all material debt maturities through late 2024. “Following a strong performance in the critically important back-to-school period, we are pleased to announce a comprehensive refinancing that addresses all near-term debt maturities”, said Garet Guthrie, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. ”The comprehensive refinancing is underpinned by the confidence that lenders and investors have in our business and will allow us to continue to execute on our digital growth strategy and to unlock the potential of learners around the world.”

Condé Nast has made changes to its global content strategy, leadership and structure. It will appoint global leadership teams to its brands to oversee international and U.S. markets. “This new strategic approach to content creation brings an emphasized focus, across the company’s worldwide portfolio of brands, on quality and reach,” reads a company statement. It calls the changes a “complete redesign and investment in editorial operations.” Anna Wintour is now the first global Chief Content Officer of Condé Nast. She will also serve as global editorial director of Vogue, while continuing her oversight of Vogue U.S.

This October, the adult and children’s/young adult segments had polar opposite results—sales of adult books rose 10.2% in the month over 2019, while sales in the children’s/YA category fell 10.2% for publishers that report results to AAP’s StatShot program. Gains in the adult segment were led by an 18.2% increase in sales of trade paperbacks, and both digital formats saw double digit increases as e-book sales rose 13% and downloadable audio sales increased 12% over 2019. Overall, in the first 10 months of 2020, adult trade book sales rose 9.1% over the comparable period in 2019 at publishers who reported sales to AAP.