Addressing the Challenges in the Paper Supply Chain (piworld.com)

Sam’s Club, a division of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. announced changes to the business unit’s U.S. real estate portfolio, with the closure of 63 clubs around the country. The company will convert up to 12 of the impacted clubs to eCommerce fulfillment centers in a move that will speed delivery of online orders, with the balance of the facilities closing over the next few weeks. Currently, Walmart and Sam’s Club operate more than 5,400 locations across the U.S.; after the actions announced today the company will have 597 clubs. The action was taken after a thorough performance review. “Transforming our business means managing our real estate portfolio and Walmart needs a strong fleet of Sam’s Clubs that are fit for the future,” said John Furner, president and CEO of Sam’s Club. “We know this is difficult news for our associates and we are working to place as many of them as possible at nearby locations. Our focus today has been on those associates and their communities, and communicating with them.” Sam’s Club Shares Changes to Club Fleet

The U.S. Postal Service reported third quarter FY 2021 service performance improvements over the second quarter across First-Class Mail, Marketing Mail and Periodicals. The quarter was USPS’s strongest quarterly service performance for all mail categories since the third quarter of FY2020. Third quarter FY2021 (covering the weeks of April 1 through June 30) performance numbers include: *First-Class Mail: 87.5 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a more than 9 percentage point increase over the second quarter. *Marketing Mail: 91.0 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a nearly 6 percentage point increase over the second quarter. *Periodicals: 79.2 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a nearly 8 percentage point increase over the second quarter.

Looking more closely at Meredith's fiscal 2018 first quarter compared to the prior-year period: •Local Media Group revenues were $154 million, operating profit was $41 million and EBITDA was $49 million, all record highs for a non-political first quarter. Non-political advertising revenues increased 4 percent to $88 million, led by growth in the Atlanta, Phoenix and St. Louis markets. Digital advertising revenues grew 14 percent. Other revenues increased 24 percent, primarily due to growth in retransmission-related revenues. •National Media Group revenues were $239 million. Operating profit grew 17 percent to $28 million. Excluding the special item in the first quarter of fiscal 2018, operating profit grew 4 percent to $25 million, driven primarily by lower operating expenses in Meredith's magazine business. Circulation revenues grew slightly compared to the prior-year period. •Total Company digital advertising revenues were a fiscal first quarter record. Traffic across Meredith's digital properties increased to 83 million average monthly unique visitors. National Media Group digital advertising revenues accounted for 30 percent of National Media Group advertising revenues. Click Read More below for additional information.