Ad Industry Says $1 Billion For FTC Should Be Accompanied By National Privacy Law (mediapost.com)

*Net sales of $3.55 billion, down 8% compared to last year, inclusive of an estimated 1-point foreign exchange headwind and 2 percentage points of negative impact from the sale of Gap China. - Comparable sales were down 6%. *Gross margin of 37.6% increased 310 basis points versus last year's reported gross margin and increased 160 basis points versus last year's adjusted gross margin which excluded $58 million in inventory impairment charges. *Reported operating income was $106 million; reported operating margin of 3.0%. *The effective tax rate was negative 8.3%. During the quarter, the company recorded a tax benefit as a result of a transfer pricing settlement related to its sourcing activities. *Reported net income of $117 million; reported diluted earnings per share of $0.32.

Fourth-quarter service performance for July 1 through July 30 included: First-Class Mail: Delivered 89.0 percent of First-Class Mail on time against the USPS service standard, an improvement of 1.5 percentage points from the third quarter. Marketing Mail: Delivered 92.6 percent of Marketing Mail on time against the USPS service standard, an improvement of 1.6 percentage points from the third quarter. Periodicals: Delivered 82.7 percent of Periodicals on time against the USPS service standard, an improvement of 3.4 percentage points from the third quarter. For the week of July 24 - 30, Marketing Mail maintained the highest service performance level (93.7 percent) reported for that category in nearly five years, since the week of August 20-26, 2016 (93.9 percent).

Dear Industry Executive: As you know, the ACMA is challenging the legality of the Postal Service’s recently-granted rate authority in the US Court of Appeals. While our case will be heard September 13th, a decision is not expected until later this year or early 2022, well after these new rates have taken effect. The ACMA is considering asking the Court to stay this order until the legality of it can be adjudicated. Part of evaluating the wisdom of such a stay will depend on identifying mailers who are facing irreparable harm from this price increase. We need companies willing to show such harm to the Court. If you are considering making significant circulation cuts, dropping titles, cutting employment, leaving the mail or any other major shifts in your business operations in response to these new postage rates, please let us know by close of business today. We will be happy to share an outline of what would need to be submitted to the Court for you to consider. Click read more below for additional information.