Cargo import volume at U.S. ports ‘booming’ amid new supply chain challenges

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.

2020 saw dramatic changes to the way society lives. How people work and socialise might have changed forever. Consumption habits have also changed, which has had major impacts on the packaging industry. In a year when some industries struggled, the packaging industry reported increased volumes and revenue, in part, due to a surge in online shopping. But consumers are conscious of their impact on the environment and are demanding more sustainable packaging choices to be used. A recent survey shows that UK consumers believe paper-based packaging to be better for the environment and is the preferred packaging choice for many. The study, commissioned by not-for-profit organisation Two Sides and conducted by independent research company Toluna, aims to understand changing consumer perceptions towards print, paper and paper-based packaging. See more at: https://www.twosides.info/UK/packaging-preferences-unpacked/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=TSUK%20Packaging%20Preferences%20Unpacked&utm_content=TSUK%20Packaging%20Preferences%20Unpacked+CID_683d50ad23c868cdb1a689f14452563c&utm_source=Email%20marketing%20software&utm_term=Read%20More

Torstar Corporationannounced that it has entered into an amendment to the arrangement agreement dated May 26, 2020 between Torstar and NordStar Capital LP, pursuant to which NordStar has agreed to acquire all of the issued and outstanding Class A shares and Class B non-voting shares of Torstar (the “Shares”) by way of a statutory plan of arrangement at an increased price of $0.74 per Share. The amended purchase price constitutes an increase of 17.5% from the $0.63 per Share payable under the original NordStar Agreement. The amendment to the NordStar Agreement results from discussions with NordStar following Torstar’s receipt of an unsolicited offer from a private investor group, pursuant to which such group proposed to acquire all of the issued and outstanding Shares for a combination of $0.72 per Share in cash and the issuance of one non-transferable contingent value right per Share, with payments (if any) on such right being based on proceeds of dispositions of, and distributions from, select Torstar non-core assets in certain circumstances following issuance.