The American Catalog Mailers Association (ACMA) and the catalog marketers and other remote merchants it represents are outraged that the Supreme Court today upended well-established precedent that has served the country well for more than half a century. “Small catalog and online retailers with little or no presence beyond their headquarters will be hurt the most – some will be forced out of business,” said ACMA President & Executive Director Hamilton Davison. “Rural Americans, shut ins and older consumers will be particularly hard hit by this decision.” By ruling against remote sellers and customers all across America, the High Court’s decision means companies who sell only 100 orders a year must now collect sales taxes for every South Dakota order. “This is a ridiculously small threshold,” Davison said. “A merchant might sell only 100 $20 orders and now be forced to comply with laws well outside its capacity and be subject to horrendous complexity.” Click Read More below for additional information.

Overstock.com Inc. is calling on Congress to pass legislation to simplify, or clarify, online sales tax collection in the wake of Thursday’s U.S. Supreme Court decision that enables states and local governments to force online retailers to collect sales taxes, even if they don’t have a physical presence, or nexus, in the state. “The U.S. Supreme Court has reshaped the interstate commerce landscape in a move that could impact small business innovation on the internet, which has been a driving force behind our nation’s economy for the last 15 years,” says Jonathan Johnson, an executive and board member at Overstock, No. 32 in the newly released Internet Retailer 2018 Top 1000, “The framers of the Constitution intended Congress to regulate interstate commerce by thoughtful legislation. To lessen the potential impact of today’s ruling on internet innovation, Congress can, and should, pass sound legislation allowing states to accomplish their aims while still permitting small internet business to thrive.” Click Read More below for additional information.

The 5-4 ruling Thursday is a win for states, who said they were losing out on billions of dollars annually under two decades-old Supreme Court decisions that impacted online sales tax collection. The high court ruled Thursday to overturn those decisions. They had resulted in some companies not collecting sales tax on every online purchase. The cases the court overturned said that if a business was shipping a product to a state where it didn't have a physical presence such as a warehouse or office, the business didn't have to collect the state's sales tax. Customers were generally supposed to pay the tax to the state themselves if they don't get charged it, but the vast majority didn't. Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote that the previous decisions were flawed. Click Read More below for additional information.

As it does twice each year, GfK MRI released its latest round of magazine audience estimates—the average per-issue readership among U.S. adults for about 200 of the most widely-read magazines—based on consumer research conducted over a nine-month period. The Spring 2018 figures—drawn from the two most recent waves of survey data, running from September 2017 to May 2018—reveal that AARP The Magazine has extended its lead over People as America’s most widely-read print magazine pound-for-pound, averaging an estimated 38.6 million readers per issue. Click Read More below for additional information.

It seems that Facebook has discovered what we all know – that print is the way to get your message across. The launch issue of Grow, “a quarterly magazine for business leaders” – by Facebook – quietly made its appearance in business class lounges at Heathrow and a few more exclusive spots in and around London in early June. Facebook explains its new print offering: The program is designed to deliver content in different formats that suit our audience. We know that business leaders have limited time for long reads at work, so we’ve also created a physical version with journeys in mind. We’re distributing this to clients directly as part of our marketing communications, and in selected airport and train business lounges where we know they are often to be found. Click Read More below for additional information.

Total sales were $786 million for the quarter and $3.7 billion for the full year, decreasing 4.3% and 6.0% over the prior year periods, respectively. Comparable store sales declined 4.1% for the fourth quarter and 5.4% for the full year. The consolidated fourth quarter net loss was $21.1 million, or $0.29 per share, compared to a loss of $13.4 million, or $0.19 per share, in the prior year. Fourth quarter results include $7.7 million of non-recurring charges associated with the Company’s strategic initiatives. The fiscal 2018 consolidated net loss was $125.5 million, or $1.73 per share, compared to net earnings of $22.0 million, or $0.30 per share, in the prior year. Fiscal 2018 results include non-cash asset impairment charges of $135.4 million, $16.2 million of severance charges and $15.3 million of strategic initiative costs. Click Read More below for additional information.

“I am proud of the financial and operational results FedEx delivered in fiscal 2018 and extend well-deserved congratulations to our more than 425,000 team members worldwide for their continued dedication to the Purple Promise, which simply states, ‘I will make every FedEx experience outstanding,’” said Frederick W. Smith, FedEx Corp. chairman and chief executive officer. “It was a year of opportunities and challenges—anticipated and unexpected—and FedEx emerged more competitive than ever. In all my years at FedEx, I have never been so optimistic and so sure of our strategy and our ability to deliver an exciting future.” Fourth quarter operating results benefited from higher base rates, increased volume and the favorable net impact of fuel at each transportation segment. Accelerated wage increases for certain hourly employees partially offset these benefits. Click Read More below for additional information.

Amazon.com announced its selections for Best Books of the Year So Far, naming Tara Westover’s memoir Educated: A Memoir the top pick overall. The annual list is hand selected by the Amazon Books Editors and features the Top 20 books released between January and June 2018—offering readers a mid-year look at the best books. The Amazon Books Editors’ picks for the first 10 of the Top 20 Best Books of the Year So Far are: 1. Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover: Tara Westover didn’t see the inside of a classroom until she was seventeen, but it was an experience that dramatically changed the trajectory of her life. This stirring memoir chronicles how she survived her survivalist upbringing, eventually earning a PhD from Cambridge University. It’s a rousing reminder that knowledge is, indeed, power. 2. The Great Alone: A Novel by Kristin Hannah: In this pressure cooker of a page-turner, a damaged Vietnam vet moves his family to the wilds of Alaska. Initially it’s a welcome change, but as winter approaches, and his mental state deteriorates, his wife and daughter find themselves in an increasingly precarious position. Like her mega-bestselling The Nightingale, Kristin Hannah’s The Great Alone highlights the heroics of everyday people, especially women. 3. The Feather Thief by Kirk Wallace Johnson: Clever, informative, and sometimes endearingly bumbling, this mix of natural history and crime opens up new worlds. Readers will never look at an old stuffed bird or an elaborately tied fishing fly the same way again. Click Read More below for additional information.

Midland Specialty Paper & Film, a division of Midland Paper, Packaging + Supplies, is excited to announce the official launch of two (2) new stand-alone Specialty Paper & Film Catalogs – Specialty Paper and Film for HP Indigo and Specialty Substrates for Offset Printing. These new catalogs provide a unique, powerful single source for all of a printer’s Digital and Offset Specialty Substrate needs: • HP Indigo Catalog – A 170 page catalog with the most extensive offering of Indigo-compatible Coated Paper, Uncoated Paper, Text & Cover, Pressure Sensitive Films, Non Pressure Sensitive Films and Pressure Sensitive Paper in the industry. • Offset Specialty Paper and Film Catalog – A 40 Page catalog containing Offset-printable Pressure Sensitive Film, Non Pressure Sensitive Film and Pressure Sensitive Paper Substrates. Click Read More below for additional information.

ACMA's Legal Team Successfully Leads Online Seller Newegg in 'Bama. While not necessarily a precursor to the forthcoming Supreme Court decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc., we're excited to report a significant win for ACMA’s lawyers at Brann & Isaacson. Yesterday, the Alabama Tax Tribunal ruled in favor of e-commerce merchant Newegg in its challenge when the Alabama Department of Revenue sought enforcement of its economic nexus regulation in 2016. This ruling negates the first significant “Kill Quill” measure by Alabama Commissioner of Revenue Julie Magee, to promulgate the rule that required companies such as Newegg to register to collect the sales tax even though they did not have a physical presence. Newegg was one of the few companies that fought the Department. Click Read More below for additional information.

American Media, Inc. announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire 13 brands from Bauer Media USA. The addition of the Bauer titles, including In Touch, Life & Style, and Closer as well as the nine brands that make up the Bauer Teen Group, including J-14 and Girls World, will now be part of the AMI Entertainment Group. Combined, the new AMI Entertainment Group will reach 38 million readers and deliver the youngest median age in the category. Newsstand sales will average 1 million copies weekly with less than 25 percent reader duplication. Click Read More below for additional information.

China has pledged a tit-for-tat response. In April, it said it would levy 25% tariffs on imports of 106 U.S. products in response to proposed American duties. The White House on Friday imposed $50 billion of tariffs on Chinese goods—a move, it says, will protect American workers and businesses from unfair trade practices. But the country’s largest retail trade association and some analysts are not buying that argument. “Tariffs are taxes on American consumers, plain and simple,” Matthew Shay, CEO of the National Retail Federation (NRF) said in a statement. “These tariffs won’t reduce or eliminate China’s abusive trade practices, but they will strain the budgets of working families by raising consumer prices.” Click Read More below for additional information.

Today, in an effort to protect printers and publishers from unwarranted tariffs, Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Angus King (I-ME) introduced S. 2835, the “Protecting Rational Incentives in Newsprint Trade Act of 2018,” or “PRINT Act.” Senators Roy Blunt (R-MO), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Doug Jones (D-AL), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Roger Wicker (R-MS) joined as original co-sponsors. The PRINT Act would suspend new tariffs currently being imposed on imported uncoated groundwood paper from Canada, which is the primary source of newsprint and other paper used by domestic newspapers, book publishers and commercial printers. Simultaneously, the legislation would require the Department of Commerce to review the economic health of the printing and publishing industries. Newspapers and printers across the United States have told Congress that the new import tariffs – as high as 32 percent – would jeopardize the viability of the industry and threaten to decimate the U.S. paper industry’s customer base. Click Read More below for additional information.

Financial Highlights • Adobe achieved record quarterly revenue of $2.20 billion in its second quarter of fiscal year 2018, which represents 24 percent year-over-year revenue growth. • Operating income grew 39 percent and net income grew 77 percent year-over-year on a GAAP-basis; operating income grew 33 percent and net income grew 62 percent year-over-year on a non-GAAP basis. • Cash flow from operations was $976 million, and deferred revenue grew 27 percent year-over-year to approximately $2.63 billion. Click Read More below for additional information.

The specialty outdoor retailer named Damien Huang as president. He was most recently Eddie Bauer’s senior VP of merchandising & design. In his new role, Huang will oversee the design, merchandising, marketing, retail, e-commerce, licensing, international, and wholesale functions of the business. He will report to Mike Egeck, CEO of PSEB, the new operating company composed of Eddie Bauer and PacSun. “He [Huang] has played a pivotal role in the transition of the Eddie Bauer business into a performance outdoor brand – and it comes as no surprise that performance product has grown at a double digit rate over the last five years under his leadership,” said Egeck. “His passion for the outdoors and his knowledge in building award-winning product will ensure that Eddie Bauer continues its strong momentum.” Click Read More below for additional information.

U.S. retailers’ nonstore sales reached $55.829 billion in May on a seasonally adjusted basis, a 9.1% increase compared with $51.155 billion in the same month of 2017, new monthly data from the U.S. Commerce Department shows. That’s a slower increase than in April, when nonstore sales grew 10.5% on an adjusted basis year over year. Nonstore sales mainly take place online but also include other channels, such as mail and telephone orders, door-to-door sales and sales through vending machines. Click Read More below for additional information.

Today, House Members Kenny Marchant (R-TX) and Brian Higgins (D-NY) penned a letter to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer regarding the softwood lumber trade with Canada, calling for renewed negotiations with Canada for a softwood lumber trade agreement -- in lieu of the current enforcement of the U.S. trade laws through countervailing and antidumping duties on imports of unfairly traded Canadian softwood lumber. The letter states that anti-dumping and countervailing duties imposed by the U.S. Department of Commerce on Canadian softwood lumber are the chief driver of current lumber prices, a claim that is inaccurate. The price of lumber, like all commodities, fluctuates due to market forces. The trade measures -- imposed after a thorough year-long investigation by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission -- are designed merely to offset the harm done to domestic producers from imports that are sold in the United States at less than fair value or which benefit from subsidies provided through foreign government programs. Click Read More below for additional information.

Gap Inc. announced the appointment of Neil Fiske as president and chief executive officer of Gap brand. Fiske will begin his new role on June 20, 2018, and will serve on the company’s senior leadership team, reporting to Art Peck, president and chief executive officer of Gap Inc. “Neil brings significant retail and apparel experience to Gap Inc. and a track record of transforming and repositioning brands,” said Peck. “He is an experienced leader who deeply understands the mechanics of this business, the value of an omnichannel strategy, and the need to build a progressive and relevant brand. I believe Neil is the right leader to strengthen Gap brand.” Click Read More below for additional information.

Group C Media—the New Jersey-based publisher of Business Facilities and Facility Executive magazines—announced last week its acquisition of Turf, Turf Design Build, and Tree Services magazines from Grand View Media, reuniting the brands with the online forums LawnSite and PlowSite, which Group C purchased from Grand View earlier this year. “We’re thrilled that Turf, Turf Design Build and Tree Services are back where they belong with the LawnSite Network,” said Group C co-president Ted Coene in a statement. “The acquisition of these industry-leading brands will give us the opportunity to create new offerings in print, online and face-to-face events.” Click Read More below for additional information.

The Wall Street Journal’s award-winning business news and analysis is coming to Canada! Effective Tuesday, June 12, Torstar daily newspapers and websites across the country will begin publishing a limited sample of articles from The Wall Street Journal, the world’s pre-eminent source of financial news and information. Also starting Tuesday, June 12, the Toronto Star, Torstar’s flagship newspaper, will launch Star Business Journal, a major new initiative with both print and online editions featuring articles on business, the economy, technology and markets from The Wall Street Journal. Click Read More below for additional information.

The Federal Communications Commission's repeal of the net neutrality rules took effect, leaving broadband providers in most states free to censor sites and slow down apps. The repeal, dubbed the "Restoring Internet Freedom Order," which took effect 6/11, also allows Comcast, AT&T and other broadband providers to charge companies like Netflix and Amazon higher fees for prioritized delivery. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, who spearheaded the deregulatory move, says the repeal will improve broadband service. Click Read More below for additional information.

FOURTH QUARTER 2018 HIGHLIGHTS • Reported results (GAAP) reflected growth in Revenue (+6%), Operating Income (+18%) and EPS (+16%), driven by strong operational performance and favorable impacts from foreign currency. • At constant currency, growth in Revenue (+1%), Adjusted Operating Income (+15%) and Adjusted EPS (+6%) resulted from strong performance in Research, growth in Solutions, and broader operating efficiencies. FISCAL YEAR 2018 HIGHLIGHTS • Reported results (GAAP) reflected growth in Revenue (+5%), Operating Income (+16%) and EPS (+70%), driven by strong operational performance, benefits from foreign currency, and a one-time benefit from US tax reform. • At constant currency, growth in Revenue (+1%), Adjusted Operating Income (+7%) and Adjusted EPS (+3%) resulted from strong performance in Research, growth in Solutions, and broader operating efficiencies, partially offset by higher taxes. Click Read More below for additional information.

Unit sales of print books fell 2% in the week ended June 3, 2018, compared to the similar week in 2017, at outlets that report to NDP BookScan. For the third week in a row, it was softness in the fiction categories that led to the decline. Unit sales dropped 5% in both the adult and juvenile fiction categories compared to the week ended June 4, 2017. Click Read More below for additional information.

Shane Wolf, L’Oréal’s global manager for Redken, Pureology and Mizani, is heading up a new project focused on seed diversity, small-scale organic farmers and sustainability. Seed Phytonutrients came to fruition due to a culmination of partners dedicated to creating a brand with four cores objectives: seed diversity, supporting organic farmers, promoting natural beauty and leading sustainability. Not only is the product sustainable and organic, but the packaging is also uniquely qualified to help the planet. The external shell is 100% paper-based and is recyclable and compostable. Shane Wolf tells Two Sides UK how important it was to use paper-based packaging for this brand and the positive impact it will have on the planet. Click Read More below for additional information.

United Parcel Service workers have given their union the go-ahead to call a strike in what would be their first walkout -- and one of America's most far-reaching picket lines -- in decades. The vote gives union negotiators more sway in contract talks with the shipping giant. The tally released by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Tuesday night had 93 percent of UPS members endorsing the authorization and 91 percent of UPS freight employees backing the measure. A national pact with the union covers about 260,000 UPS workers, and the current contract expires July 31. Click Read More below for additional information.

The era of white-collar organized labor is fully upon us: the editorial staff of The New Yorker wants to unionize. This morning, organizers sent a letter to the magazine’s editor, David Remnick, asking that the institution and its corporate owner, Condé Nast, voluntarily recognize their membership in the NewsGuild of New York. (Publications ranging from the New York Times to Jacobin have bargaining units with the NewsGuild.) Organizers say that of the 115 or so union-eligible employees, nearly 90 percent have signed union cards. The group includes copy editors, web producers, fact-checkers, photo and design staff, the social-media and publicity teams, editorial assistants, and assistant editors. Management and senior-level employees are excluded, as are staff writers, whose job title would not escape the red pen of the magazine’s fact department: Writers at The New Yorker are nearly all independent contractors, rather than staff, and thus do not receive health care or other benefits, despite being largely prevented from writing for other outlets. The relatively few editorial staffers who’ve expressed concerns with the unionizing effort say they are worried about retaliation in an industry where reputation is the coin of the realm. Click Read More below for additional information.

Golden Gate Capital has established a new operating company for two of its portfolio companies that it acquired out of bankruptcy. The new PSEB Group is composed of Eddie Bauer and Pacific Sunwear of California, both of which will maintain their distinct brand opportunities. It will have a retail footprint of more than 700 stores and is on track for approximately $1.5 billion in combined total sales in 2018, including $400 million in ecommerce sales. Although earlier reports suggested that Golden Gate might merge the companies in an effort to consolidate stores, there was no talk of store closings in the announcement. Click Read More below for additional information.

UPS announced a major expansion to its ocean Less-Than-Container Load (LCL) service with the addition of direct sailings in 130 lanes. The origin and destination countries cover most of the globe, including ports in Asia, Latin America, Africa, Europe, U.S. the Carribean and the Middle East. Customers who do not have enough cargo to fill an entire ocean freight container can still access cost-effective ocean transportation using UPS’s extensive network of capabilities and freight facilities. Customers benefit from an economical way to transport goods versus other modes of transportation while gaining access to a broad portfolio of value-added and alternative services. These services include cargo insurance and financing solutions from UPS Capital, customs brokerage services, supplier management, sea-air service, UPS Preferred ™ LCL, and China-Europe Rail service. Click Read More below for additional information.

The NRF called on lawmakers to pass bipartisan legislation introduced on Wednesday that would require congressional approval of “Section 232” tariffs. This includes the steel and aluminum tariffs recently imposed by the Trump administration, and any additional tariffs in the future. The legislation was introduced by Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), and a bipartisan group of senators. The proposed tariffs have triggered widespread retaliation against United States exports. The administration is also considering tariffs on automobiles and auto parts. Click Read More below for additional information.

Costco Wholesale Corporation reported net sales of $11.02 billion for the retail month of May, the four weeks ended June 3, 2018, an increase of 14.1 percent from $9.66 billion last year. For the first thirty-nine weeks of fiscal 2018 the Company reported net sales of $103.26 billion, an increase of 12.1 percent from $92.11 billion last year.

Expressing concern for the environment and a desire to meet consumers' communication preferences, the SEC has voted to allow fund companies to post documents on websites and tell shareholders how to access them electronically. The move was a nod to a longstanding request from the mutual fund industry, which has pressed for email, rather than regular mail, to be the default method for disseminating shareholder reports, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. Technically, the shift involved a rule change passed on a 4-1 vote that will allow funds to post the documents on websites and tell shareholders how to access them electronically. Click Read More below for additional information.

L Brands, Inc. reported net sales increased 10 percent to $851.9 million for the four weeks ended June 2, 2018, compared to net sales of $774.3 million for the four weeks ended May 27, 2017. Comparable sales for the four weeks ended June 2, 2018, increased 5 percent compared to the four weeks ended June 3, 2017. The company reported net sales of $3.478 billion for the 17 weeks ended June 2, 2018, an increase of 8 percent compared to net sales of $3.211 billion for the 17 weeks ended May 27, 2017. Comparable sales for the 17 weeks ended June 2, 2018, increased 3 percent compared to the 17 weeks ended June 3, 2017. Click

Columbus Monthly, Seattle Met, and Denver’s 5280 earned top prizes for General Excellence at the 33rd annual City & Regional Magazine Awards, administered by the University of Missouri School of Journalism and announced Monday at the City & Regional Mag Association’s annual meetup in New Orleans. Twenty-five year-old 5280 and 12 year-old Seattle Met were first-time winners in the General Excellence category, which is split into three prizes based on circulation level. Columbus Monthly, which won among magazines with a circulation of 30,000 or less, had previously won a General Excellence award under a different format in 2001. All three were finalists in their respective categories last year. Click Read More below for additional information.

A U.S. Appellate Court ruling in Washington DC upheld the U.S. Postal Service’s pricing methodology, knocking down a challenge from UPS that categorized it as unfair and anticompetitive, according to a report in Bloomberg. The three-judge panel found that the USPS’s transfer of some profits from its monopoly on first-class mail delivery to offset parcel delivery costs did not amount to a subsidy of those operations, which is forbidden under the 2006 Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act. The USPS’s pricing is set by the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC). Click Read More below for additional information.

Wyndeham Group has secured a two-year extension of its print contract with Hearst UK which includes the addition of three new titles. The three new arrivals, Red, Red Travel and Country Living, bring the number of magazines Wyndeham prints for Hearst up to 18, and will be printed at Wyndeham Roche in Cornwall. Wyndeham's first magazine work for Hearst was the printing of lifestyle weekly Reveal in the early 2000s. It secured 10 titles in 2016 in the wake of Polestar’s collapse. Group sales director Jon Hearnden said: “We have a very strong relationship with Hearst UK and over its span we have proven ourselves to be reliable and capable of turning over a consistent product. Click Read More below for additional information.

Net sales were $730.9 million, up 11% from last year, with comparable sales up 5%. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates and the calendar shift resulting from the 53rd week in fiscal 2017 benefited first quarter net sales by approximately 4% and 1%, respectively, which do not impact comparable sales. By brand, net sales increased 13% to $423.6 million for Hollister and increased 7% to $307.3 million for Abercrombie from last year. By geography, net sales increased 10% to $449.1 million in the U.S. and increased 12% to $281.8 million in international markets from last year. Net other operating income was $2.6 million, compared to $1.7 million last year, primarily related to foreign currency gains. Click Read More below for additional information.

The Retail Industry Leaders Association voiced its opposition to the White House announcement on the Thursday that it will impose new steel and aluminum tariffs on imports from the European Union, in addition to Canada and Mexico. Quach said that imposing tariffs raises the stakes for U.S. allies to take retaliatory measures that will hurt the nation’s exporters while creating more uncertainty for American businesses. “The administration has created a three-front trade war, targeting NAFTA, China, and now the European Union, with no resolution to any of these disputes in sight,” Quach said. Click Read More below for additional information.

Costco Wholesale Corporation announced its operating results for the third quarter (twelve weeks) and the thirty-six weeks ended May 13, 2018. Net sales for the quarter increased 12.1 percent, to $31.62 billion, from $28.22 billion last year. Net sales for the first thirty-six weeks of fiscal 2018 increased 12.0 percent, to $95.02 billion, from $84.82 billion last year. Net income for the quarter was $750 million, or $1.70 per diluted share, compared to $700 million, or $1.59 per diluted share, last year. Click Read More below for additional information.

The operator of Sears and Kmart stores posted a first-quarter loss of $3.93 a diluted share. Revenue fell due to fewer stores and a 12% drop in comparable-store sales. The Hoffman Estates, Illinois-based retailer said Thursday that it has identified 100 unprofitable stores, and 72 of them will begin store-closing sales in the near future. It will announce the locations to close by midday. Click Read More below for additional information.

• Net sales increased 17.4% to $1,543.7 million compared to $1,314.9 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2017; • Comparable sales (sales for stores open at least 14 months and e-commerce sales) increased 8.1% compared to an increase of 14.3% in the first quarter of fiscal 2017. The 8.1% comparable sales increase was driven by 5.1% transaction growth and 3.0% growth in average ticket; • Retail comparable sales increased 4.7%, including salon comparable sales growth of 3.2%; • Net income increased 28.2% to $164.4 million compared to $128.2 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2017. Click Read More below for additional information.

•Total revenues increased 3% to $540.5 million. Comparable company sales increased 1% following a decrease of 8% in the first quarter last year. •J.Crew sales decreased 7% to $391.9 million. J.Crew comparable sales decreased 6% following a decrease of 11% in the first quarter last year. •Madewell sales increased 39% to $115.8 million. Madewell comparable sales increased 31% following an increase of 11% in the first quarter last year. •Operating loss was $0.9 million compared to $151.0 million in the first quarter last year. •Net loss was $33.9 million compared to $121.0 million in the first quarter last year. Click Read More below for additional information.

For the first quarter, net sales were $561.8 million compared to $583.7 million in last year's first quarter. This decrease of 3.8% primarily reflects a comparable sales decline of 5.9% and the impact of 41 net store closures since last year's first quarter, partially offset by the favorable impact of the calendar shift due to the 53rd week in fiscal 2017. The comparable sales decline was primarily driven by lower transaction count. For the first quarter, gross margin was $226.9 million, or 40.4% of net sales, compared to $237.4 million, or 40.7% of net sales, in last year's first quarter. This 30 basis point decrease primarily reflects the initial implementation costs and launch of a new expedited shipping program, partially offset by a 70 basis point improvement in maintained margin. Click Read More below for additional information.

Summer is a key time for booksellers around the country in regions that attract tourists during the season, and for those that see increased foot traffic from teachers and children. “Our Chamber of Commerce anticipates a 5% rise in visitors to Alaska this summer,” said Jenny Stroyeck at the Homer Bookstore in Homer, Alaska. “Our foot traffic does go up in the summer.” She noted that with the long driving distances between towns, parents like to buy their kids books to ensure peace and quiet on the road. The Homer Bookstore has had a slight dip in sales so far this year—it is down 2% compared to the same period in 2017—but, like many stores around the country, anticipates a boost from some big seasonal events. The Kachemak Writers’ Conference, which will be held in Homer in June and will feature Anthony Doerr as the keynote speaker, should produce some strong numbers for the indie. Click Read More below for additional information.

Earlier this month PrintWeek reported on the ‘perfect storm’ of global events that have tightened the supply of graphical papers and resulted in paper mills resorting to allocation for the first time since 2001. Factors in the mix are wide-ranging with the surging global demand for pulp being at the forefront, fuelled by its ever-expanding uses in new and existing markets, such as hygiene and tissue products, as well as the backlash against plastic with manufacturers seeking paper-based alternatives. “Pulp is no longer a one-trick pony,” says Mario di Lieto, managing director of Stora Enso division LumiPaper. “There’s a much broader use for cellulose today than just paper. It’s being used for plastic substitute, for clothing, for biomass for energy, all sorts of applications.” As a result of this soaring demand, pulp prices have been pushed up further and further from $700-$750 (£520-£557) a tonne a year ago, to nearly $1,200 causing a knock-on effect across the print and packaging industry, among others. Click Read More below for additional information.

With industry sales largely flat, one way publishers have maintained their profit margins in recent years is by operating more efficiently and taking costs out of the supply chain. But publishers’ ability to contain costs could be put to the test this year as the price of paper rises. As one publisher noted, because of an overall decline in demand, paper prices have been good for several years. In early 2018, however, a number of events have led to a decline in the paper supply and an increase in prices. A recent report by printer Quad Graphics noted that the cost of uncoated groundwork paper rose $35 per ton on February 1 and rose another $25 per ton March 1. Costs have risen in part because of a reduction in supply, as a number of Canadian mills have either closed or, in search of better margins, switched from producing paper to manufacturing other products, such as packaging, explained Matt Baehr, executive director of the Book Manufacturers’ Institute; the institute recently held its annual meeting, which focused on paper issues. Click Read More below for additional information.

Publishers’ revenue increased by $143.2 million (+6.2%) for the first quarter of 2018 (Jan - March) compared to the same period in 2017. These numbers include sales for all tracked categories (Trade - fiction/non-fiction/religious, PreK-12 Instructional Materials, Higher Education Course Materials, Professional Publishing, and University Presses). The increases are attributed primarily to strong growth in trade (consumer) books in January and February. Trade books increased by $94.7 million (+6.3%) to $1.59 billion in the first quarter of 2018 compared to the same period in 2017, with growth in Adult Books, Children & Young Adult Books and Religious Presses. Publishers also saw increased revenue for Professional Books, University Presses and Higher Ed Course Materials. Click Read More below for additional information.

For the first quarter ended May 5, 2018: • Net sales were $3.8 billion, an increase of 10% compared with last year. Excluding the impact from the adoption of the new revenue recognition standard, net sales increased 6% compared with last year. * The translation of foreign currencies into U.S. dollars positively impacted the company’s net sales for the first quarter of fiscal year 2018 by about $40 million. First quarter net sales details appear in the tables at the end of this press release. • Gross profit was $1.43 billion, an increase of 10% compared with last year. Excluding the impact from the adoption of the new revenue recognition standard, gross profit increased about 3% compared with last year. Click Read More below for additional information.