The United States Postal Service filed notice with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) today of price changes to take effect Jan. 24, 2021. The proposed prices, approved by the Postal Service Board of Governors, would raise Mailing Services product prices approximately 1.8 percent for First-Class Mail and 1.5 percent for other categories. Although Mailing Services price increases are based on the consumer price index, competitive International Shipping Services prices are primarily adjusted according to market conditions. The governors believe these new rates will keep the Postal Service competitive while providing the agency with needed revenue.

The U.S. Postal Service provided new service performance data today to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform and the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee for the week of Sept. 26 through Oct. 2, 2020. During the seven-day period, First-Class Mail and Marketing Mail performance experienced positive improvement in service delivery. Key performance indicators for the week of Sept. 26th include: *First-Class Mail: 85.97 percent of First-Class Mail was delivered on time, a 1.74 percent increase from the week of Sept. 19th *Marketing Mail: 89.82 percent of Marketing Mail was delivered on time, a 1.14 percent increase from week of Sept. 19th *Periodicals: 78.30 percent of Periodicals were delivered on time, a 1.42 percent decrease from the week of Sept. 19th. For First-Class Mail and Marketing Mail, 97.7 percent and 97.54 percent of mailpieces respectively reached their intended destination within two days of the initial estimated delivery date.

Costco Wholesale Corporation reported net sales of $16.84 billion for the retail month of September, the five weeks ended October 5, 2020, an increase of 16.9 percent from $14.41 billion last year. September sales were positively impacted by two holiday shifts, Labor Day in the U.S. and Chuseok/Moon Festival in Asia. The estimated positive impact on September sales was slightly less than 100 bps worldwide, half relating to each holiday.

Fox News has been a home for numerous bestselling authors in the conservative publishing space, and the company has now upped its commitment to books with the creation of Fox News Books. Fox has signed a three-book deal with HarperCollins, whose Broadside Books will oversee the imprint. Both companies are owned by Rupert Murdoch. “We are excited to partner with HarperCollins, utilizing our vast library of content to further enhance the audience experience,” said Suzanne Scott, CEO of Fox News Media, in a statement. The current deal is for three books only and Fox News employees are free to sign with other houses. Live Free or Die by Fox News host Sean Hannity, for example, was released this fall by Simon & Schuster.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, many school children were receiving less instruction on handwriting, especially cursive writing. But a July 2020 study by researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) showed that, despite the move to remote learning and more time spent with screens and keyboards, children (and adults) still benefit from writing in cursive. The benefits of cursive writing, particularly for students with dyslexia, have been noted for several years. Researchers have found that all students benefit from learning handwriting. It improves hand-eye coordination, boosts memory and stimulates brain development. Dyslexia Awareness Month offers another opportunity to highlight how handwriting can help students with dyslexia, a learning disability that affects reading, spelling and writing. For these students, learning cursive writing can be the difference between underachievement and a successful academic experience.

North Equity announced that it has acquired a number of media brands from Bonnier Corporation. The acquisition includes Popular Science, Popular Photography, Saveur, Outdoor Life, Field & Stream, Better You and Interesting Things. The additions complement North Equity’s robust home platform, where Saveur will join BobVila.com and Kitchenistic to form a new food category. They will also create a new specialty media vertical under Popular Science and Popular Photography, and expand North’s growing footprint in the military, tactical and outdoor verticals, where it recently added Task & Purpose, one of the leading digital media properties for active-duty military and veterans.

Four of the outdoor industry's oldest print magazines—Bike, Powder, Snowboarder, and Surfer—will cease publication indefinitely this year, according to multiple sources at the brands' parent company, A360 Media. TransWorld SKATEboarding, another A360 Media property, will also pause operations until further notice. Sierra Shafer, editor-in-chief at Powder, confirmed today that staff members at all five titles received indefinite furlough notifications late on Friday, October 2. Employees at Bike and Surfer were furloughed immediately, Shafer said, while Powder and Snowboarder staff learned the same would happen to them on November 20. None of the furloughed staff will be paid after operations cease.

The Supreme Court agreed on Friday to hear an appeal by the Federal Communications Commission over its attempt to loosen restrictions on a company's ability to own a local broadcast station and newspaper in the same market. The FCC has been attempting to revise restrictions on cross-ownership since 2003, but the agency's efforts have repeatedly been struck down in court. The most recent FCC attempt occurred in November of 2017, when the agency voted 3-2 to do away with several ownership restrictions -- including one that prevented the same company from owning a newspaper and broadcast station in the same market.

With the juvenile and YA nonfiction categories both posting better than 32% gains, unit sales of print books rose 10.3% in the week ended Sept. 26, 2020, over the comparable week in 2019, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Unit sales rose 32.3% in juvenile nonfiction over the week ended Sept. 28, 2019. Two new titles helped boost sales: Superpowered by Renee Jain sold more than 11,000 copies in its first week, putting it in second place on the category list. Channel Kindness debuted in sixth place on the list, selling nearly 8,000 copies. In third place was Patricia Brennan Demuth’s Who Is Ruth Bader Ginsburg?, which sold more than 11,000 copies. Stamped by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi was #1 in YA nonfiction, selling almost 8,000 copies. Total units in the category rose 34.5% over 2019.

Every holiday season, major parcel carriers and courier services add surcharges to cover the increased volume of packages they must deliver through the final quarter of the year. Not surprisingly, this year’s surcharges are larger and broader than ever before. In fact, 2020 may go down as the largest “peak season” in history, given the e-commerce boom that happened from the coronavirus pandemic, which shifted sales to e-commerce and away from in-person shopping. FedEx and UPS both saw 20 percent increases in packing volume through May, while USPS was hit with a massive 50 percent increase in packages they delivered through June. Switching to the leading parcel companies may save you from the potential of late or lost packages — but the peak season surcharges will affect companies of all sizes. Each carrier has specific criteria by which they assess and apply surcharges, but there are packaging strategies that can be deployed to lower fees regardless of which service you’re using.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt announced a strategic restructuring to accelerate its digital transformation and align its cost structure with its digital first, connected strategy. These steps will further streamline operations and better enable HMH to support teachers and students with digital first, connected solutions that drive successful outcomes in remote, face-to-face and hybrid learning environments.“The actions we announced today will help us to realize our digital first vision by creating a more focused company with increased recurring digital subscription revenue that produces higher margins and free cash flow. We recognize the personal impact these actions will have on our HMH team members. We thank our departing colleagues for their contributions and are committed to treating them in a respectful and compassionate way.” Joe Abbott, HMH’s Chief Financial Officer added, “The actions we’re taking are intended to drive billings growth, position us to build our recurring subscription revenue base, simplify and strengthen our business model, reduce costs, and generate sustained and positive free cash flow." The Company’s restructuring includes both labor-related and non-labor expense reductions. The labor-related reductions involve organizational changes resulting in a 22% reduction of HMH’s workforce, including positions eliminated as part of the previously announced Voluntary Retirement Incentive Program and net of newly created positions to support HMH’s digital first operations.

InnerWorkings, Inc. and HH Global Group Limited announced the completion of HH Global’s acquisition of InnerWorkings. The combined organization will be led by Robert MacMillan, Chairman and Group CEO of HH Global, together with experienced senior managers from both companies. The transaction was announced on July 16, 2020 and received approval from InnerWorkings stockholders on September 24, 2020. Under the terms of the merger agreement, InnerWorkings stockholders will receive $3.00 in cash for each share of InnerWorkings common stock they hold. As a result of the completion of the transaction, shares of InnerWorkings common stock were removed from listing on the Nasdaq Stock Market, with trading in InnerWorkings shares suspended prior to the opening of business on October 1, 2020.

Since 2005, 2,100 newspapers have closed, almost one-quarter of the 9,000 newspapers that were being published in 2004, according to a report from the Hussman School of Journalism and Media at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Can newspapers be saved? The Rebuild Local News coalition has an ambitious plan.RLN is not turning to government for a bailout; it sees it as an ally. The gist of the plan is for Americans to step up and help save local news, which is essential to ensure communities have a watchdog to fight corruption and waste. One bipartisan idea is a $250 refundable tax credit used to buy local news subscriptions or as a donation to a local nonprofit news endeavor.

As part of the ongoing preparations by the United States Postal Service for the November election, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy requested the issuance of an internal directive to authorize and instruct the use of additional resources to satisfy any unforeseen demand and ensure that all Election Mail is prioritized and delivered securely and on time. The directive is in response to the Postmaster General’s commitment made in August to engage standby resources in all areas of operations beginning Oct. 1, 2020. “The U.S. Postal Service’s number one priority between now and the November election is the secure, on-time delivery of the nation’s Election Mail. The Postal Service, our unions, and the more than 630,000 postal employees are united in delivering on this sacred duty,” said Postmaster General DeJoy. “These actions ensure additional resources will be made available as needed to handle whatever volume of Election Mail we receive.”

Online retailers of physical goods are seeing five times as many new customers now than they did before the pandemic, according to a new report from Forter, increasing both fraud risk from criminals trying to pose as good customers and the risk of turning down legitimate shoppers. A separate study from Sift shows criminals are taking over customers’ accounts more frequently as a way to steal. Two reports released today by fraud-prevention technology providers show how the coronavirus pandemic is creating new challenges for online retailers trying to distinguish the growing number of legitimate online shoppers from criminals seeking to commit fraud. Both note how the rapid growth of curbside pickup is increasing the likelihood of retailers suffering fraud losses.

Over more than six months of extreme disruption, the nation’s independent bookstores have steadily grown their businesses beyond their four walls. A PW survey of three dozen indies nationwide found most offering some combination of online sales, curbside pickup, home delivery, outdoor browsing, and in-store shopping. The diversity of sales channels reflects a substantial expansion of retail customer service as they navigate evolving market conditions caused by Covid-19 and climate change. More than 80% of bookstores surveyed are now open for some form of limited in-store browsing, with appointments or other measures to ensure that they abide by state capacity guidelines. Of the shops that are not open to in-store browsing, all have online ordering and most are offering curbside pickup and outdoor browsing. That level of customer service reflects an unparalleled modernization of independent bookselling, but the question on the minds of booksellers is whether their efforts will be enough to combat forces beyond their control.

The Association of American Publishers announced that its Directors have unanimously elected Brian Napack as Chairman of the Board, effective September 25, 2020. Mr. Napack, President and CEO of John Wiley & Sons, has been AAP’s Vice Chairman since the beginning of the year, and a Board member since 2017. Mr. Napack succeeds John Sargent, who resigned as AAP’s Board Chairman on September 17, 2020 in conjunction with stepping away from Macmillan Publishers. Mr. Sargent gave more than twenty years of exceptional service to AAP, nearly thirteen of them as an officer.

Amazon is set to significantly expand its digital and on-demand printing capabilities after reupping an existing agreement with Kornit, the Israeli manufacturer of high-speed inkjet printing equipment. Over the next five years, Amazon committed to buying $250 million in existing Kornit products, such as digital printers and inks, and $150 million in "future products." The deal totals $400 million. The move is a big one for Amazon, which has been steadily and methodically building its digital printing capacity over the last several years. Most of that capacity has gone toward its Merch by Amazon service, a print on-demand platform that enables sellers to create and sell custom apparel and other merchandise decorated and fulfilled by Amazon. We've covered Merch by Amazon and two related services—Amazon Custom and Amazon Merch Collab—at length, particularly where they stand in relation to the promotional products industry.

Hearst Magazines announced the launch of Premium Print, a strategic initiative that includes a multimillion-dollar investment across its portfolio of more than 25 brands to further strengthen its position in the marketplace and enhance the quality of its print products. The announcement was made by Hearst Magazines Acting President Debi Chirichella and Hearst Magazines Chief Content Officer Kate Lewis. “Our magazines are at the heart of our brands and our business, the foundation of our editorial mission and vision,” Chirichella said. “For the benefit of our audiences and our marketing partners, we’re focused on producing the highest quality print products and providing an outstanding content experience that is engaging on every level.” The additional investment will improve the product of several Hearst Magazines print properties through new, larger formats, higher-quality paper and improved editorial ratios.

This month’s issue of EMPIRE magazine is a very special tribute to actor and filmmaker Chadwick Boseman and marks the first tribute issue in the title’s 31-year history. In honour of the Black Panther star who died of colon cancer aged 43 in August, the November issue of EMPIRE will feature personal remembrances from Boseman’s screen collaborators, plus a look back at the iconic roles he portrayed over his career – from Thurgood Marshall to James Brown and beyond – as well as revisiting their interview experiences with the man himself. The special subscriptions cover below was created exclusively for EMPIRE by London-based Nigerian artist Kingsley Nebechi, celebrating Chadwick Boseman and his most beloved roles. “He truly embodies strength and humility”, Kingsley told the EMPIRE team. “I wanted the artwork to reflect his versatility”.

Grainger is proud to have helped support the Chicago Cubs through a safe and successful season at Wrigley Field that required agility and teamwork on and off the field. Grainger helped the Cubs conduct virtual safety assessments; procure personal protective equipment, sanitization products, and social distancing materials; and enact measures to help keep employees and customers safe at other areas of the Wrigleyville campus, including the front office, Hotel Zachary and offshoot warehouses.

Helped by the release of Bob Woodward’s Rage, unit sales of print books jumped 16.4% in the week ended Sept. 19, 2020, over the comparable week in 2019, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Rage was the overall top title in the week, selling sold more than 344,000 copies. Another new release, Blackout by Candance Owens, sold more than 70,000 copies, and total sales in the adult nonfiction segment rose 14.7% over the week ended Sept. 21, 2019. YA fiction continued to benefit from the success of Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer, which sold more than 32,000 copies, helping to give category sales a 44.3% boost. Last year at this time, The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton was the top YA fiction title, selling more than 7,000 copies, and The Giver by Lois Lowry was second, selling 6,000 copies.

Barnes & Noble Inc. is pleased to announce Educator Appreciation Week from Saturday October 3, through Sunday, October 11. October’s Educator Appreciation Week will give Educator Members: *25% off list price on most books, gifts, music, DVDs, and toys and games for classroom and personal purchase; *10% off Barnes & Noble’s GlowLight Plus, the bookseller’s largest eInk reader; *10% off Barnes & Noble Café beverages and food during Appreciation Days.

Net sales for the quarter increased 12.5 percent, to $52.28 billion from $46.45 billion last year. Net sales for the fiscal year increased 9.3 percent, to $163.22 billion from $149.35 billion last year. Net income for the fourth quarter was $1.389 billion, or $3.13 per diluted share, compared to $1.097 billion, or $2.47 per diluted share last year. This year’s fourth quarter was negatively impacted by incremental expense related to COVID-19 premium wages and sanitation costs of $281 million pretax ($0.47 per diluted share) and a $36 million pretax charge ($0.06 per diluted share) related to the prepayment of $1.5 billion of debt. These items were partially offset by an $84 million pretax benefit ($0.15 per diluted share) for the partial reversal of a reserve of $123 million pretax ($0.22 cents per diluted share), related to a product tax assessment taken in the fourth quarter of last year. Net income for the fiscal year was $4.00 billion, or $9.02 per diluted share, compared to $3.66 billion, or $8.26 per diluted share in the prior year.

InnerWorkings, Inc. announced that, at a special meeting of stockholders held on September 24, 2020, InnerWorkings’ stockholders approved the adoption of the previously announced merger agreement relating to the proposed transaction between InnerWorkings and HH Global Group Limited (“HH Global”), whereby InnerWorkings will become a wholly owned subsidiary of HH Global. After certification by the Company’s inspector of elections, the final voting results for the Company’s special meeting will be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) in a Form 8-K, which will also be available at https://investors.inwk.com. The merger is expected to close on October 1, 2020, subject to the satisfaction of the remaining customary closing conditions.

HH Global is delighted to announce our listing at number 30 in Sunday Times PwC Top Track 250. The Sunday Times Grant Thornton Top Track 250 ranks Britain’s private mid-market growth companies with the biggest sales. The listing sees HH Global move up 14 places. This year’s special Covid-19 edition highlights the important contribution that mid-market companies have made to the UK during the pandemic, from supporting the NHS to enabling remote working. Group CEO, Robert MacMillan said: “This year has seen some huge milestones for our business, and we’re delighted that our performance has once again been recognised in the Sunday Times PwC Top Track 250. As ever, my thanks go to our staff whose delivery for our clients is driving our performance and growth. We look forward to climbing the list further next year!”.

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy delivered the following remarks today to the National Association of Secretaries of State in a conference call regarding ongoing election preparations: “Good afternoon, everyone. Thanks for the opportunity to join you today. We are less than seven weeks from Election Day. The Postal Service is ready and committed to handle whatever volume of election mail it receives. Our number one priority is to deliver election mail on-time and within the Postal Service’s well-established standards. Let me underscore that the Postal Service has more than enough capacity, including collection boxes and processing equipment, to handle all election mail this year, which is predicted to amount to less than 2% of total mail volume from mid-September to Election Day. In terms of the recent mailer, as you know the intent of our nationwide mailer was to craft one common message to encourage voters to inform themselves on how to vote by mail effectively, and to avoid providing guidance on state-specific rules and regulations. The concern that some of you have voiced about the mailer underscores why we set out to create one message and not state-specific guidance. I should note, several of you have also voiced appreciation about our educational effort to the public."

If you buy a Lego set today, the toy bricks come packed in tiny numbered plastic bags. Every year, the toy manufacturer uses hundreds of millions of those bags. But the company is starting to phase out single-use plastic, with the goal of making its packaging sustainable by 2025—and those bags are a big part of it. Next year, it will begin rolling out an alternative, with bricks packed in Forest Stewardship Council-certified paper instead. “We want to ensure recycling our bags is as easy as possible for builders,” says Tim Brooks, vice president of environmental responsibility at the Lego Group. “Plastic recycling facilities are not very common and differ from country to country, which is why we chose to make the bags out of recyclable paper.” The company tested new packaging options extensively, searching for something that would be sustainable but also strong enough to hold Lego bricks, easy to pack in boxes, and something that children liked to use. “We tested about 15 different prototypes with hundreds of children and parents but explored many more, including those made from recycled plastic and even paper made from stone,” Brooks says.

Third Quarter Fiscal Year 2020 Financial Highlights: *Adobe achieved record quarterly revenue of $3.23 billion in its third quarter of fiscal year 2020, which represents 14 percent year-over-year growth. Diluted earnings per share was $1.97 on a GAAP basis, representing 22 percent year-over-year growth, and $2.57 on a non-GAAP basis, representing 25 percent year-over-year growth. *Digital Media segment revenue was $2.34 billion, which represents 19 percent year-over-year growth. Creative revenue grew to $1.96 billion, representing 19 percent year-over-year growth. Document Cloud revenue was $375 million, representing 22 percent year-over-year growth. *Digital Media Annualized Recurring Revenue (“ARR”) increased $458 million quarter-over-quarter to $9.63 billion exiting the quarter, representing 24 percent year-over-year growth on a constant-currency basis. Creative ARR grew to $8.29 billion, and Document Cloud ARR grew to $1.34 billion. *Digital Experience segment revenue was $838 million. Digital Experience subscription revenue was $729 million, representing 7 percent year-over-year growth. Digital Experience subscription revenue, excluding Advertising Cloud revenue, grew 14 percent year-over-year. *GAAP operating income in the third quarter was $1.07 billion, and non-GAAP operating income was $1.40 billion. GAAP net income was $955 million, and non-GAAP net income was $1.25 billion.

Octane,​ a Fintech company founded in 2014 to better serve the lending needs of the powersports market, today announced it has acquired the digital assets of ​Cycle World, Motorcyclist, Dirt Rider, Motorcycle Cruiser, UTV Driver, ATV Rider, ​and​ Cycle Volta ​from Bonnier Corp. “We are acquiring these titles because we want to support brands that get people excited about powersports,” said Jason Guss, CEO of Octane. “Our goal for this acquisition is to ensure that unbiased product reviews, rigorous and objective testing, and informed storytelling​ will continue to be available to powersports enthusiasts. When combined with Octane’s financing platform and dealership partners, consumers will soon be able to go directly from researching their dream vehicle to owning it, in a fast, seamless process.”

L Brands, Inc. announced a partnership with Next PLC for its company-owned Victoria’s Secret business in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Under the agreement, which is subject to regulatory clearance, Victoria’s Secret U.K. and Next PLC have formed a joint venture (“JV”), where the JV will acquire the majority of the assets of the Victoria’s Secret U.K. business that is currently in Administration. The newly formed JV will operate all Victoria’s Secret stores in the U.K. and Ireland, subject to agreeing to terms with landlords. The U.K. digital (online) business, which is currently operated by Victoria’s Secret in the United States, will be folded into the JV in Spring 2021. Under the terms of the agreement, Next PLC will own 51 percent of the JV, while Victoria’s Secret will own 49 percent.

Scores of wildfires continue to blaze across the western United States, taking a toll on booksellers and publishing professionals across California, Washington State, and Oregon. The situation was acute in Oregon, where recent fires had burned through a million acres and the state put an estimated 500,000 people on evacuation notice last week. A spokesperson for Ashland, Ore,-based Blackstone Publishing said eight employees lost their homes to the fires that have been ignited in the area. The company created a GoFundMe campaign to support these employees, and as of Sunday evening had raised more than $85,000 in donations toward its $100,000 goal. The publisher will match donations to the fund.

With less than two months before state and national elections, REI Co-op is taking action to ensure its employees, members and outdoor community have what they need to be informed and ready to participate in the voting process. To start, REI is making sure none of its employees have to choose between voting and earning a paycheck this November. The co-op is also encouraging employees (and members) to ensure their voices are heard by voting early, mail-in voting or absentee voting. For employees in states that require in-person voting, REI offers flexible scheduling options as well as the option of using one of their “Co-op Way Days,” paid time off that employees can use to put their values into action, such as community service, advocacy, voting, civil participation, outdoor recreation and stewardship.

Office Depot announced the release of the company’s 12th edition of its Diverse Supplier Catalog. The catalog highlights an assortment of more than 1,500 items ranging from paper and toner, to presentation boards, writing instruments, school supplies, furniture, technology and desk accessories, with more than 700 products also containing eco-attributes or eco-labels.

With all but one category posting double-digit gains, unit sales of print books rose 17.5% in the week ended Sept. 5, 2020, over the comparable week in 2019, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Sales in the juvenile fiction category rose 30.6% over the week ended Sept. 7, 2019, due in large part to the release of Dav Pilkey’s Grime and Punishment (Dog Man #9), which sold more than 239,000 copies in its first week. The category also received a boost from another new Scholastic title, as Ann M. Martin’s Logan Likes Mary Anne! sold more than 32,000 copies in its first week. Unit sales in the YA fiction category jumped 43.4% over 2019. Cassandra Clare’s The Lost Book of the White, Vol. 2 sold nearly 13,000 copies in its first week, putting it in third place on the category list.

J.Crew Group announced that it has successfully completed its financial restructuring process and emerged from Chapter 11 well positioned for long-term growth. As part of its financial restructuring, the Company has equitized more than $1.6 billion of secured indebtedness, and Anchorage Capital Group, L.L.C. has become the majority owner of the Company. To support ongoing operations and future growth initiatives, J.Crew Group is capitalized with a $400 million exit term loan due 2027 provided by Anchorage, as well as GSO Capital Partners LP and Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP, among others. In addition, the Company has access to a new $400 million ABL credit facility due 2025 agented by Bank of America, N.A.

The July edition of the Association of American Publishers’ StatShot program showed a clear divide between the current fortunes of trade and educational publishers. Sales of adult books rose 20.9% in the month over July 2019, and sales in the children/young adult category increased 14.5%. Sales of religious books were up 4% over July 2019. In contrast, sales in the K-12 instructional materials category fell 24.9% compared to last July, while sales in the higher educational course materials segment fell 21.9%. Overall, industry sales from the 1,361 publishers who report sales to the AAP fell 9.4% in the month, and were down 5.8% in the first seven months of 2020 compared to a year ago.

The Association of American Publishers (AAP) today released its StatShot report for July 2020 reflecting reported revenue for all tracked categories, including Trade (consumer publications), K-12 Instructional Materials, Higher Education Course Materials, Professional Publishing, and University Presses. Total revenues across all categories for July 2020 were $1.8 billion, a decline of 9.4% as compared to July 2019. Year-to-date sales were $7.5 billion, a decline of 5.8% as compared to the same period last year. Trade (consumer books) sales were notably up 17.9% year-over-year, coming in at $689.1 million. Year-to-date (January-July 2020) Trade sales were $4.3 billion, an increase of 5.0%, as compared to the first seven months of 2019. In terms of physical paper format revenues during the month of July, in the Trade (consumer books) category, Hardback revenues jumped 47.0%, coming in at $246.0 million; Paperbacks were down 0.2%, with $211.2 million in revenue; Mass Market was down 1.1% to $23.5 million; and Board Books were up 20.4%, with $16.5 million in revenue.

The United States Postal Service provided new service performance data today to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform and the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, indicating continued improvement while ensuring trucks run on time and adhering to the Postal Service’s existing transportation schedule. This data, available through the week of August 29, marks an uptick in service performance, consistent with recent trends. The percentages reported – 88.04 for First-Class Mail, 89.56 for Marketing Mail and 78.24 for Periodicals – represent service performance by the Postal Service from acceptance of a mailpiece into our system through delivery, measured against published service standards.

J. C. Penney Company, Inc. announced that it has reached an agreement in principle to sell JCPenney through a court-supervised sale process. The Company plans to seek approval of a disclosure statement and, ultimately, confirmation of a plan of reorganization in parallel with the sale process. Related to the sale process, JCPenney expects to execute a “stalking horse” asset purchase agreement, which will track an executed letter of intent, outlining the following: *Brookfield Property Group and Simon Property Group intend to acquire substantially all of JCPenney’s retail and operating assets for $1.75 billion, which includes a combination of cash and new term loan debt. *The agreement contemplates the formation of a separate real estate investment trust and a property holding company, which will include 161 of the Company’s real estate assets and all of its owned distribution centers. The PropCos will be owned by the Company’s Ad Hoc Group of First Lien Lenders. *The OpCo and PropCos will enter into a master lease with respect to the properties and distribution centers moved into the PropCos.

UPS announced that it expects to hire over 100,000 seasonal employees to support the anticipated annual increase in package volume that will begin in October 2020 and continue through January 2021. “We’re preparing for a record peak holiday season. The COVID-19 pandemic has made our services more important than ever,” said Charlene Thomas, Chief Human Resources Officer. “We plan to hire over 100,000 people for UPS’s seasonal jobs, and anticipate a large number will move into permanent roles after the holidays. At a time when millions of Americans are looking for work, these jobs are an opportunity to start a new career with UPS.”

Meredith Corporation announced that it will seek shareholder approval of an amendment to its charter that would increase options for a tax-efficient separation of the Company's National and Local media groups while preserving the rights currently held by both classes of shareholders if such a potential future event could maximize shareholder value. The proposed amendment is not in response to any specific conversations or events. Instead, the Company believes it is a prudent step to increase the number of options available. There is no timeline for nor assurance of a potential transaction resulting from this proposed charter amendment.

Coldwater Creek will be revived – online and in print. CWC Companies, parent company of the women’s apparel retailer, which shut down operations at the end of July, has been acquired by Newtimes Group, one of world’s largest supply providers to the apparel industry. The Hong Kong-based Newtimes said it purchased CWC’s inventory and intellectual property assets from Sycamore Partners for $12.2 million. Newtimes plans to operate the acquired assets as an independent entity under the newly formed Coldwater International and will provide sourcing and back-office support. The company plans to relaunch the Coldwater Creek website in a few weeks and issue a new Coldwater Creek catalogue before the end of the year.

Nordstrom wants to ensure that its employees have the time to vote on Nov. 3. The department store retailer is making Election Day a holiday for all its U.S. employees. While Nordstrom stores and operations centers will remain open, the company will work with employees to set schedules which will enable them to get to the polls. It also will provide its store, fulfillment center, distribution center and call center employees discounted rides to the polls through Lyft. "We believe every voice matters and our country is stronger when we all participate in the democratic process," said Pete Nordstrom, president and chief brand officer. "This initiative is a direct result of feedback we heard from more than 50,000 Nordstrom employees from all regions of the U.S. They told us they want to be actively engaged in their communities and help find solutions to the challenges we're facing. Enabling them to make their voices heard by voting is a meaningful and productive way we can support our people and our communities."

Certain funds affiliated with Chatham Asset Management, LLC announced that they have completed the previously announced acquisition of substantially all assets of The McClatchy Company. The new company will retain The McClatchy Company name. The transaction significantly strengthens the Company’s balance sheet so that it can deliver on its mission to provide essential, independent journalism to local communities across the United States. This milestone marks the official completion of the acquisition of the Company's assets and the successful transition of these assets from Chapter 11. As of September 4, 2020, the entirety of McClatchy’s 30 news organizations and all of its employees transitioned to a new private entity under Chatham ownership.

Unit sales of print books rose 7.1% in the week ended Aug. 29, 2020, over the comparable week in 2019, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Backlist titles continued to drive growth in the juvenile nonfiction category, which posted unit gains of 39.7% over the week ended Aug. 31, 2019. Big Preschool Workbook remained the top title in juvenile nonfiction, selling more than 26,000 copies. A couple of Brain Quest titles by Lisa Trumbauer had big sales jumps in the week, including Brain Quest Workbook: Kindergarten and Brain Quest Workbook: Grade 1, which landed in the fifth and sixth spots, respectively, on the category bestseller list; the two sold about 20,000 copies combined. His Truth Is Marching On by Jon Meacham was the top new release in the week, selling more than 38,000 copies. It was #1 on the adult nonfiction list and helped to drive up sales in the category by 4.3%.

1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. has announced its plans to hire more than 10,000 seasonal associates across its gourmet foods and gift brands for the upcoming holiday season. Hiring has commenced at Harry & David®, PersonalizationMall.com®, Cheryl's Cookies® and The Popcorn Factory® to fill critical roles to meet holiday peak demand and help customers connect with others as they navigate what is expected to be an unusual season ahead. As the company quadruples its workforce nationwide for the holiday period, it continues to prioritize the health and safety of its team members. Seasonal positions vary by brand and include full-time and part-time roles in key areas such as production, gift assembly, customer service, and distribution and fulfillment center operations, among others. The majority of these roles are being offered throughout Illinois, Ohio and Oregon, with some work-from-home positions available.

*Total net sales were $135.8 million, a decrease of $25.9 million or 16.0%, compared to $161.7 million last year. *Gross profit was $41.7 million, or 30.7% of net sales, compared to $51.7 million, or 32.0% of net sales last year. *Operating income was $7.7 million, or 5.7% of net sales, compared to operating income of $12.1 million, or 7.5% of net sales, last year. *Net income was $5.3 million, or $0.18 per diluted share, compared to $9.3 million, or $0.31 per diluted share, last year.

The Postal Regulatory Commission will host a technical conference to consider a United Parcel Service (UPS) petition to change how the Postal Service determines incremental costs and how it accounts for peak-season costs in its periodic reports. WHAT: The Commission has scheduled a Video Technical Conference to assist in its review of the petition. WHO: UPS and the Postal Service will present material addressing current costing methodologies and potential improvements. WHEN: September 29 at 11:00 a.m. Interested parties who wish to participate must file a notice of intent to participate no later than September 14, 2020, as provided in Order No. 5586 — Notice and Order Establishing Docket to Obtain Information Regarding Proposed Changes to Cost Methodologies and Scheduling Technical Conference. WHERE: The Technical Conference will be broadcast via Webex. Additional information including a Webex link, a conference schedule, and procedures will be sent to those who sign up. A recording of the Webex in its entirety will also be available on the Commission’s website, www.prc.gov. https://www.prc.gov/press-releases/prc-hosts-technical-conference-consider-ups-petition-proposed-changes-usps-costing

The impact the coronavirus can have on physical stores was illustrated by the release of first quarter results by Barnes & Noble Education. For the quarter ended August 1, sales in B&NE’s retail segment dropped 42.2% from the comparable period a year ago, falling to $158.8 million. In the period, comparable store sales fell 42.8%, which B&NE said accounted for $106.6 million in lost revenue. B&NE operated 772 physical outlets in the quarter and 670 virtual stores. The company noted that since the majority of its campus stores were closed during the quarter, sales of digital textbooks increased, as did online sales of general merchandise, which includes clothing and food.

The Postal Service’s Expanded Election Mail Task Force, which was recently announced by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to enhance already-existing Election Mail efforts, held its inaugural meeting today. The meeting was productive and included the leadership of all four of the major unions of the Postal Service, as well as the leaders of our management associations. The Task Force members reviewed current plans to ensure and affirm that the Postal Service is prepared to deliver on the election. All parties at the meeting are fully focused on the mission and the importance of ensuring the election remains the number one priority for the more than 630,000 employees of the Postal Service.

Summary: +GAAP Results: Revenue of $431 million (+2%) and EPS of $0.29 (+$0.23) +Adjusted Results (at constant currency): Revenue +2% to $431 million, EBITDA +42% to $82 million, and EPS +124% to $0.42 +Research Publishing & Platforms (at constant currency): Revenue +6% and Adjusted EBITDA +19% +Shareholder Return: Wiley among select group with 27 consecutive years of annual dividend increases

Costco Wholesale Corporation reported net sales of $13.56 billion for the retail month of August, the four weeks ended August 30, 2020, an increase of 15.0 percent from $11.79 billion last year. For the 16-week fourth quarter ended August 30, 2020, the Company reported net sales of $52.3 billion, an increase of 12.7 percent compared to net sales of $46.4 billion during the similar period last year. For the 52-week fiscal year ended August 30, 2020, the Company reported net sales of $163.2 billion, an increase of 9.2 percent from the $149.4 billion during the similar period last year.

In response to the devastation caused by recent wildfires throughout California, Gap Foundation will make a $100,000 donation to the Center for Disaster Philanthropy’s (CPD) California Wildfires Recovery Fund. To date, the 2020 California wildfire season has resulted in more than 1.6 million acres of burned land and more than 3,100 structures damaged or destroyed. Gap Foundation chose to partner with CDP because of their approach that prioritizes medium to long-term recovery, especially among vulnerable populations throughout California. Since its inception, CDP’s California Wildfires Recovery Funds has awarded more than $3 million in grants to nonprofits and community groups in northern and southern California. Through the Selvage Fund, and in partnership with E4E Relief, Gap Foundation is able to support Gap Inc. employees who have been directly impacted by the fires.

Second Quarter Highlights: *Comparable sales were down 34.7% on an owned basis and down 35.1% on an owned plus licensed basis, due to faster paced store recovery than originally modeled and better than expected growth of digital business. *Digital sales remained strong, growing 53% over second quarter 2019. Digital sales penetrated at 54% of total owned comparable sales. *Delivered gross margin of 23.6%, an improvement of approximately 650 basis points from first quarter 2020 due to improved retail margins from mix and better sell through of clearance merchandise. *Inventory was down 29% from a year ago, allowing the company to exit second quarter in a clean inventory position. *Finished the quarter in a strong liquidity position with approximately $1.4 billion in cash and approximately $3 billion of untapped capacity in the company’s new asset-based credit facility.

Increases in sales of e-books and digital audiobooks and higher online sales helped to cushion the financial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic at Penguin Random House, parent company Bertelsmann reported this morning. Total revenue in the first half of 2020 fell 1.4% at PRH from the comparable period a year ago, dropping to €1.63 billion. EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) fell 7.9%, to €209 million. In April, Bertelsmann also acquired the remaining 25% stake in PRH that had been held by Pearson. The U.S. had the best performance among PRH’s international companies, with sales rising 5.2%, to €990 million. “The coronavirus pandemic had a negative impact on the company’s businesses due to the extensive closures of local bookstores,” Bertelsmann reported. “In contrast, the US business demonstrated particular resilience, partially offsetting reductions in other countries.”

As part of the ongoing preparation for the election in November, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy will participate in a follow-up meeting with the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) Election Committee on Thursday, Sept. 17. This meeting follows an Aug. 26 conference call with NASS President and New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, NASS Elections Committee Co-Chairs Jocelyn Benson, Michigan Secretary of State, and Frank LaRose, Ohio Secretary of State, and Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft. During the Aug. 26 call, DeJoy reiterated to the Secretaries of State that delivering ballots entrusted to the Postal Service is the organization’s number one priority between now and Election Day, and that the Postal Service is ready, willing, and able to handle the nation’s election mail. He underscored the Postal Service’s commitment to partnering with state election officials as they work to ensure that those who choose to use the mail to vote will have their ballots counted in anticipation of the expected spike in Election Mail amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the reporting period, Bertelsmann’s Group revenues declined by 8.9 percent to €7.8 billion (H1 2019: €8.6 billion). The organic decline in revenues was 7.9 percent. The Group’s growth businesses were stable at €2.9 billion. They now account for 37 percent of total revenues, after 35 percent in the previous year. BMG, Majorel, Arvato Supply Chain Solutions, Arvato Financial Solutions, and the Bertelsmann Education Group, developed positively. Operating EBITDA was €1.01 billion (H1 2019: €1.29 billion). The RTL Group and Gruner + Jahr divisions in particular felt the effects of the corona-related decline in the advertising markets. In contrast, the Arvato services businesses increased their operating earnings. BMG and the Bertelsmann Education Group posted operating EBITDA at the previous year’s level. Group profit remained stable overall at €488 million (H1 2019: €502 million).

DEPARTURES®, the leading voice of luxury and experiences published by Meredith Corporation for American Express Platinum Card® Members, today revealed its September 2020 special Visionaries issue celebrating individuals across fashion, media, food, technology, sports, wellness, and beyond whose work is positively impacting society and driving meaningful change. This second annual special issue has five separate covers, along with candid interviews with six standout visionaries. Elsewhere in the issue, DEPARTURES delves into innovation with reporting on the future of architectural design as the world adapts to new realities, takes a look at the future of fashion from the perspectives of notable photographers, highlights big thinkers on what's next in the field of wellness, shares top chefs' views on how we'll be dining out in the months and years to come, and much more.

REI Co-op will open its new store in Appleton, Wisconsin on September 4 for limited in-store shopping, offering a wide assortment of quality outdoor gear for hiking, camping, mountain biking and paddling. The new 20,000-square-foot store at the Center Valley shopping center was originally scheduled to open in the spring but was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. REI Appleton will also offer Buy Online, Pickup In Store capabilities and zero contact bike shop services. With nearly 300,000 lifetime members in state, REI Appleton will join the co-op’s existing Wisconsin locations in Brookfield and Madison. “Appleton is an incredible community, and we’re thrilled to finally open our doors and connect our members to the many outdoor spaces in the region,” said Gary Kim, REI Appleton store manager. “Whether our members are enjoying their favorite activity or want to try something new for the first time, we’ll have the gear they need to get outside.”

In a letter transmitted today to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform and the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, the Postal Service provided service performance charts showing significant increases in all mail categories. “As the charts show, service performance improved across all major mail categories in the weeks prior to my testimony (delivered on August 24), and this trend has continued through August, returning to early-July levels,” said Postmaster General Louis DeJoy in his letter to the Committee. “This recovery took place while still adhering to our existing transportation schedules. In other words, we are improving service performance while more consistently running our trucks on time.”

With all but one category posting increases, unit sales of print books rose 8% in the week ended Aug. 22, 2020, over the comparable week in 2019 at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Stephenie Meyer’s Midnight Sun, which sold nearly 59,000 copies in the week, continued to drive sales in the YA fiction segment, where print units rose 27.8% over the week ended Aug. 24, 2019. The YA nonfiction category had a 40.6% jump in sales, with Stamped by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi remaining in first place in the category, selling more than 12,000 copies. Big Preschool Workbook stayed #1 in juvenile nonfiction, selling more than 34,000 copies and helping to drive up print unit sales up 36.3% over 2019.

We’re all trying to sell something to someone. We have a great product, a great service, or a can’t-miss promotion that we want people to know about. We’ve decided to reach them through direct mail. But what should we say? What do we show? How do we stand out from all the other messages in the mailbox? And how do we do it in a matter of seconds? A smart strategy, a great mailing list and a stellar offer don’t mean anything if your creative execution is weak. There are certain creative secrets that have been proven through neuroscience that will increase the likelihood of your direct mail piece getting noticed and driving your customers to action. Simply following these four powerful recommendations will increase your chances of success. Good creative matters. Find out the secrets of how to do it. Join Us September 14th, 10 AM Central. Sustain, Grow & Transform Direct Mail Hosted by American Express. Be our guest FREE: Use code GUEST20. Register at: https://www.ana.net/membersconference/register/id/MOC-SEP20E5

For the Second Quarter of Fiscal 2020 *Net sales decreased 26.3% to $1.2 billion compared to $1.7 billion in the second quarter of fiscal 2019 due to the impact of COVID-19. *Comparable sales (sales for stores open at least 14 months, including stores temporarily closed due to COVID-19, and e-commerce sales) decreased 26.7% compared to an increase of 6.2% in the second quarter of fiscal 2019. In the second quarter, transactions declined 36.2% and average ticket increased 14.9%. *Gross profit decreased to $329.0 million compared to $605.9 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2019. As a percentage of net sales, gross profit decreased to 26.8% compared to 36.4% in the second quarter of fiscal 2019, primarily due to deleverage of fixed costs due to lower sales, channel mix shifts, deleverage of salon expenses due to lower sales, and an increase in inventory reserves. These pressures were partially offset by lower promotional activity. *Operating income decreased to $12.8 million, or 1.1% of net sales, compared to $208.0 million, or 12.5% of net sales, in the second quarter of fiscal 2019. Adjusted operating income was $54.9 million, or 4.5% of net sales. *Net income was $8.1 million compared to $161.3 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2019. Adjusted net income was $41.5 million compared to adjusted net income of $159.0 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2019.

Second Quarter Fiscal Year 2020 Results: Net sales were down 18% year-over-year, reflecting a 95% increase in online sales, offset by a 48% decline in store sales, which were impacted by partial closures during the quarter. During May, Gap Inc. began reopening stores previously closed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, with approximately 90% of its global fleet open as of August 1. Second quarter fiscal year 2020 comparable sales were up 13%, driven by the strength of Gap Inc.’s scaled e-commerce business, which added over 3.5 million new customers during the quarter. The comparable sales calculation reflects online sales and comparable sales days in stores that have reopened. Operating expenses were $1.1 billion, a decrease of $198 million versus last year, primarily due to a decrease in store payroll and benefits and other store expenses resulting from store closures during the quarter. As a percentage of net sales, operating expenses were 32.9%, an increase of 1.1 percentage points driven by lower net sales. Operating income was $73 million or 2.2% of net sales.

REI Co-op will open its new store in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee on September 4 for limited in-store shopping, offering a wide assortment of quality outdoor gear for hiking, camping, climbing and more. Designed to be a gateway to outdoor adventures in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, REI Pigeon Forge will feature the co-op’s newest retail format offering a variety of gear rentals, zero contact bike shop services for maintenance and repairs and Buy Online Pickup In Store capabilities. The new 21,500-square-foot store was originally scheduled to open in the spring but was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. REI Pigeon Forge marks the co-op’s fifth location in the state and will serve the co-op’s nearly 250,000 lifetime members in Tennessee and the millions of visitors that adventure in the region every year.

Consumer Privacy 2-Parter: Hear what lessons can be learned now that the California Consumer Privacy Act is in place during the first session on Sept. 16th from 1:00-1:45. Then tune back in at 2:00 to learn about data literacy and your brand's marketing ecosystem. CohereOne CEO Tim Curtis will moderate. Crutchfield's CIO Jeff Bingaman (bottom right), Wunderman Thompson's Chief Privacy Officer Rachel Glasser (top right), KP Public Affairs Lobbyist Pat Joyce (top left), Brann & Isaacson Partner David Swetnam-Burland (bottom left) will prep you for the complexity and fluidity of evolving privacy laws. Remote Sales Tax Collection, Post-Wayfair: Brad Scott, Halstead Bead's director of finance, chairs ACMA's tax committee and along with fellow committee member, Linda Lester, VP of K-Log (both pictured at a recent House Small Business subcommittee hearing with FindTape Founder Kevin Maloney in between), he will share D.C. lobbying stories and provide an update on how the committee intends to get Federal legislation passed to make sales tax collection easier for remote merchants. The committee also will outline how other remote merchants and suppliers can get involved all for the better good. Sept. 23rd at 2:00 E.T. CLICK HERE >>> https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_zoG0Zv-zTpumXJcbZIESvA to Register NOW; SPOTS ARE LIMITED

Fourth Quarter Highlights: Total net revenues increased a record 61.1 percent to $418.0 million, compared with $259.4 million in the prior year period Net Income was $9.8 million, or $0.15 per diluted share. Adjusted Net Income1 was $15.1 million, or $0.23 per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $8.3 million, or ($0.13) per share, in the prior year period. Full Year Highlights: Total net revenues increased 19.3 percent to $1.49 billion, compared with $1.25 billion in the prior year, reflecting strong growth across all three of the Company’s business segments. Net Income was $59.0 million, or $0.89 per diluted share. Adjusted Net Income1 increased 86.9 percent to $65.0 million, or $0.98 per diluted share, compared with $34.8 million, or $0.52 per diluted share, in the prior year.

A summary of results for the second quarter ended August 1, 2020 as compared the second quarter ended August 3, 2019: *Net sales of $698 million, down 17% as compared to last year, reflecting the adverse impact of COVID-19 on store sales. *Gross profit rate improved 140 basis points to 60.7% on lower promotional and clearance activity. *Operating income improved to $14 million and $22 million on a reported and adjusted non-GAAP basis, respectively, as compared to an operating loss last year of $39 million, which reflected $45 million of flagship store exit charges. *Net income per diluted share improved to $0.09 and $0.23 on a reported and adjusted non-GAAP basis, respectively, as compared to net loss per diluted share last year of $0.48, which reflected the adverse impact from flagship store exit charges of approximately $0.50 per diluted share, net of estimated tax effect.

Census 2020 is not going well. Nor is it going as planned. This critical distinction has been amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic, which again exposes the depth and breadth of the digital divide in America. Popular narratives about the digital divide that separates our nation are too often anchored narrowly on the mere availability of broadband in a community. And now, emerging narratives about Census 2020 self-reporting issues routinely fail to look beyond the pandemic disruptions. Long before the launch of this decade’s Constitutionally mandated count of the country’s resident population, planners at the Census Bureau smartly decided to embrace modern technology and create an online platform for responding to the critically important questionnaire. But then they made a giant leap of faith.

UPS announced the appointment of Nando Cesarone to President, U.S. Operations and Scott Price to President, UPS International. Nando Cesarone previously served as President UPS International and in that role led the company's business operations in more than 220 countries and territories outside of the U.S. Prior to that, he served as President of UPS’s European operations, leading UPS Europe to record business performance during the company’s five-year investment program. Cesarone also served as President of the Asia Pacific Region.

Total Company net sales for the three months ended July 31, 2020, decreased 16.5% over the same period last year to $803 million. Comparable Retail segment net sales decreased 13%, driven by negative retail store sales due to stores being closed for part of the quarter and lower store productivity once opened, partially offset by strong double-digit growth in the digital channel. By brand, comparable Retail segment net sales increased 11% at Free People and decreased 8% at Urban Outfitters and 25% at the Anthropologie Group. Total Retail segment net sales decreased 14%. Wholesale segment net sales decreased 51%. For the three months ended July 31, 2020, the gross profit rate decreased to 29.6% from 32.8% in the prior year’s comparable period. Gross profit dollars decreased 24.6% to $238.0 million from $315.9 million. The decrease in gross profit rate was primarily due to an increase in delivery and logistics expense due to penetration of the digital channel, followed by store occupancy expense rate deleverage. Net income for the three months ended July 31, 2020, was $34 million and earnings per diluted share was $0.35. Net loss for the six months ended July 31, 2020, was $104 million and loss per diluted share was $1.06.

SECOND QUARTER 2020 SUMMARY: • Second quarter net loss of $255 million, which included after-tax COVID-19 related charges of $14 million primarily related to corporate asset impairments, decreased from net earnings of $141 million during the same period in fiscal 2019. • In Full-Price, net sales decreased 58 percent. Excluding the Anniversary Sale event shift impact, Full-Price sales decreased in the mid-forties percent range. Off-Price net sales decreased 43 percent compared with the same period in fiscal 2019. Top performing merchandise categories included home, kidswear, accessories, beauty and active in both Full-Price and Off-Price. • Total company digital sales decreased 5 percent. Excluding the Anniversary Sale event shift impact, digital sales increased approximately 20 percent in the second quarter and in the mid-teens range on a year-to-date basis. The Company’s e-commerce business continued to experience significant growth in new Nordstrom customers of more than 50 percent. • Gross profit, as a percentage of net sales, was 21 percent, decreasing from 35 percent for the same period in fiscal 2019 due to planned markdowns and deleverage from lower sales volume and reflected sequential improvement in merchandise margin trends.

For the thirteen weeks ended August 1, 2020 (the "second quarter"), the Company reported: *A net loss of $46.8 million a material improvement over the thirteen weeks ended May 2, 2020 (the "first quarter"). The second quarter net loss includes the after-tax impact of inventory write-offs of $8.0 million. For the thirteen weeks ended August 3, 2019 ("last year's second quarter"), the net loss was $2.3 million. *Net sales were $306.2 million, an improvement of 9.2% from the first quarter, reflecting the benefit of strong digital sales and store reopenings. Sales decreased approximately 39.8% from last year's second quarter, reflecting disruptions related to the pandemic, including the continuation of temporary store closures and limited hours during the second quarter, as well as the impact of 74 net permanent store closures since last year's second quarter, partially offset by double-digit growth in digital performance. For the twenty-six weeks ended August 1, 2020, the Company reported: *A net loss of $225.1 million compared to net loss of $0.3 million for the twenty-six weeks ended August 3, 2019.

Bonnier Corp. has signed a licensing agreement for its iconic brand Popular Science with Celestron Acquisition LLC, it was announced by Elise Contarsy, Senior Vice President of Bonnier Consumer Products. Founded in 1960, Celestron offers the largest selection of consumer optical products in the world and is the global leader in telescope manufacturing. An industry leader for more than 60 years, Celestron will produce an extensive line of Popular Science products that will include telescopes, microscopes, sport optics and accessories. The deal was brokered by Evolution USA LLC, the licensing and brand management agency that represents the Popular Science brand worldwide.

Domestic gross profit rate was 22.8% versus 24.0% last year. The gross profit rate decrease of approximately 120 basis points was primarily driven by higher supply chain costs as a result of the increased mix of online revenue and lower profit-sharing revenue from the company’s private-label and co-branded credit card arrangement. Domestic GAAP SG&A was $1.56 billion, or 17.1% of revenue, versus $1.76 billion, or 19.9% of revenue, last year. On a non-GAAP basis, SG&A was $1.54 billion, or 16.9% of revenue, versus $1.74 billion, or 19.7% of revenue, last year. Both GAAP and non-GAAP SG&A decreased primarily due to: (1) reduced store payroll expense; (2) lower advertising expense; (3) reduced incentive compensation expense, as the company did not pay or accrue short-term incentive expense for second quarter performance; and (4) lower medical claims expense. International revenue of $782 million increased 9.4% versus last year. This increase was primarily driven by comparable salesgrowth of 15.1%, which was partially offset by the impact of approximately 490 basis points of negative foreign currency exchange rates. International SG&A was $142 million, or 18.2% of revenue, versus $166 million, or 23.2% of revenue, last year. SG&A decreased primarily due to lower payroll and benefit expense, primarily in Canada, and the favorable impact of foreign exchange rates.

Barnes & Noble, Inc. released its Most Anticipated Books for September to launch a stacked fall publishing season after delays due to COVID-19. “A lot more reading has been done this year, one of the very few silver linings to COVID-19. Even so, new publishing has been peddling very gently since late March, absent the support of bookstores. Now the floodgates have well and truly opened, just as our bookstores get back into their stride,” said Barnes & Noble CEO James Daunt. “This is when our booksellers come into their own, applying their skills to curate the best from amongst the plethora of new publishing. Our Most Anticipated Books list for September is a bold introduction to the riches of the fall publishing. With so much that is new, bookstores have suddenly become very exciting.” The below fifteen titles were chosen by Barnes & Noble’s bookselling team with a diversity of genres in mind, including fiction, mystery, poetry, history, and YA. go to: https://www.barnesandnobleinc.com/press-release/barnes-noble-announces-anticipated-books-september/

My name is Mike Duncan, and for the past two years I have been honored to serve as Chairman of the Board of Governors for the United States Postal Service. Throughout my life, I have looked for ways to help strengthen and support institutions important to American communities. That’s why I spent five years serving on the Board of the Tennessee Valley Authority, and why I serve on the Board of Alice Lloyd College near my home in Kentucky. When I accepted this position, I did so because of my admiration for the United States Postal Service and its public service mission. Click read more below for the rest of the statement.

Pearson plc announces the prospective appointment of Andy Bird as its new Chief Executive, starting on 19th October, 2020. It is intended that John Fallon will continue as Chief Executive until that date, when he will step down from the Board and remain as an advisor until the end of the year. Andy is currently a Non-Executive Director at Pearson plc and was appointed to the Board on 1st May, 2020. Andy has had a distinguished career spanning 35 years in the media industry. Most recently he worked for The Walt Disney Company, as Chairman of Walt Disney International, responsible for the company’s businesses outside of the US. After joining in 2004, he led a major expansion of Walt Disney International, transforming the organisation into a digital-first business focused on the diverse needs of consumers around the world.

The Board of Managers of American Media, LLC's holding company have made the strategic decision to combine American Media and Accelerate360, LLC (Accelerate). The announcement was made by Accelerate CEO David Parry. As part of the consolidation, American Media will be renamed A360 Media and American Media President and CEO, David J. Pecker has been named Executive Advisor of A360 Media effective immediately. "This is a transformative event that significantly reshapes Accelerate and American Media into a new type of media and marketing company with an unprecedented reach all the way to the sales floor," said Mr. Parry.

“The U.S. Postal Service greatly appreciates the efforts of the House of Representatives to assist us. We look forward to continuing to work with Congress on more meaningful reform that will ensure our long-term health, and we remain a vital part of our nation’s critical infrastructure. We are concerned that some of the requirements of the Bill, while well meaning, will constrain the ability of the Postal Service to make operational changes that will improve efficiency, reduce costs, and ultimately improve service to the American people. We reiterate that the Postal Service is fully capable and committed to delivering the nation’s election mail securely and on time, and will do everything necessary to meet this sacred duty.”

Learning Company Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) reinforced its commitment to racial justice with a major book donation aimed at amplifying Black voices while getting books into hands of children and families in need. HMH is in the process of donating over 50,000 titles by Black authors to more than 15 youth-serving nonprofit organizations across the United States. Donated through HMH’s Books for Equity initiative, the curated list of titles explores issues of race and features Black main characters, including works by Toni Morrison, Kwame Alexander, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, Margaret Walker, Melba Pattillo Beals and many more. Recipients of the donations include City Year, Girls Write Now, Boys & Girls Club of Harlem, Communities In Schools of Central Texas, and more.

Following news last month that O, The Oprah Magazine would cease regular print publication, Oprah herself has addressed the brand’s future in a video published on its website. In a video posted on O, the media mogul hinted at big things for the brand, while announcing the print magazine will scale back to at least four special print issues a year. “There’s been a lot of chatter and a lot of speculation about O, The Magazine ending,” Oprah said from her home. “I want you to know, it’s not ending, it’s evolving. Because after 20 years of covers, I think it’s time, and I also think it’s a good thing. None of us were meant to stay the same. We evolve.”

Everything is relative. Unit sales of print books fell 5.6% last week compared to the week ended August 8, 2020, when sales rose 10.2% over the prior week driven by several new blockbuster titles. Compared to August 17, 2019, however, sales were up 14.3% at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. The biggest factor in last week’s sales decline was the trailing off of sales of Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer, which sold more than 524,000 print copies following its release on August 4. Last week it sold a very respectable 139,000 copies, making it once again the top-selling title for the week, but the sales drop from its debut led to a 38% sales decline in the young adult segment in the week.

Consistent with expectations disclosed in the company’s July 28, 2020 business update, net sales were $2.319 billion for the quarter ended Aug. 1, 2020, a decrease of 20 percent compared to sales of $2.902 billion for the quarter ended Aug. 3, 2019. Total Bath & Body Works second quarter sales in the United States and Canada were $1.197 billion, an increase of 13 percent compared to $1.061 billion last year. Total Victoria’s Secret second quarter sales in the United States and Canada were $977.5 million, a decrease of 39 percent compared to $1.606 billion last year. Reported loss per share for the second quarter ended Aug. 1, 2020, was $0.18 compared to earnings per share of $0.14 for the quarter ended Aug. 3, 2019. Second quarter operating income was $44.0 million compared to $174.6 million last year, and net loss was $49.6 million compared to net income of $37.6 million last year.

When U.K. bookseller James Daunt took over as CEO of Barnes & Noble a year ago, after a sale that landed it in private hands, he faced the formidable challenge of rescuing the chain from troubles largely of its own making, in the shadow of Amazon's prowess in the segment. At the time of the sale, annual revenue at Barnes & Noble hadn't grown for seven years, declining, in fact, by some $700 million since 2015. As Amazon powered on as a top bookseller, Barnes & Noble cycled through a series of CEOs and strategies.

In preparation for the 2020 holiday season, Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ: ULTA) today announced its decision to close all stores on Thanksgiving, November 26, 2020. “The holiday season is when Ulta Beauty and our guests shine brightest,” said Mary Dillon, chief executive officer. “Keeping our associates at the heart of our decisions always, we are adapting this season’s plans to reflect our immense gratitude for their commitment to serving our stores, our guests and our communities throughout this unprecedented year. It’s our hope that everyone takes time this Thanksgiving to see the beauty in togetherness with loved ones.”

John Wiley and Sons Inc. announced a strategic partnership with PwC’s Academy Middle East, the talent and skills development business of PwC Middle East, to provide virtual Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam preparation in the Middle East region, including UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon and Qatar. This partnership will address the need to continually upskill, especially as the world contends with the economic impact of COVID-19. PwC Middle East’s 23rd Annual CEO Survey shows that 80% of CEOs consider a shortage of skills in the workforce a potential threat to their organization’s growth prospects, while 70% of CEOs recognize that they must maximize the potential of existing staff through upskilling programs. The global pandemic has highlighted the need for resilience in today’s workforce and accelerated transformation that was already underway. This shift presents a critical opportunity for workers to utilize this time to upskill and reskill, with 96% of adults believe that learning new skills and retraining will improve their future employability, according to PwC’s 2020 New World New Skills survey.

Consumers spent $211.5 billion online during the second quarter of 2020, with e-commerce sales up 31.8% from the previous quarter, according to figures released by the Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce. E-commerce sales in the quarter accounted for 16.1% of total retail sales. The data showed that total retail sales decreased 3.6% in the same period. Compared to the year-ago period, second quarter 2020 e-commerce sales increased increased 44.5% while total retail sales decreased 3.6%.

• Second quarter comparable sales grew 24.3 percent, the strongest the Company has ever reported. • Store comparable sales increased 10.9 percent. Digital comparable sales grew 195 percent, accounting for 13.4 percentage points of Target's comparable sales growth. ° Stores fulfilled more than 90 percent of Target's second quarter sales. ° Same-day services (Order Pick Up, Drive Up and Shipt) grew 273 percent and accounted for approximately 6 percentage points of total Company comparable sales growth.

*Strengthened financial position during the quarter, ending with $2.4 billion in cash *Disciplined management of expenses and inventory resulted in positive operating cash flow *Second quarter net sales decrease (22.9%) *Second quarter diluted earnings per share of $0.30; adjusted loss per share(2) of ($0.25)

Meredith Corporation's category-leading brands—PEOPLE, Allrecipes, Better Homes & Gardens, SHAPE, Southern Living, Entertainment Weekly, FOOD & WINE and Travel + Leisure—have achieved momentous performances in audience rankings, according to the latest Magazine Media 360° Brand Audience Report produced by the Alliance for Audited Media (AAM) for June 2020, which covers 93 magazine brands and 21 publishing companies. PEOPLE, one of the world's leading entertainment media brands, ranks No. 1 in Total Brand Audience across platforms with 87.6 million, followed by Allrecipes, America's largest digital food media brand, at No. 2 with 62.5 million and Better Homes & Gardens at No. 7 with 39.4 million.

The Association of American Publishers (AAP) today released its StatShot report for June 2020 reflecting reported revenue for all tracked categories, including Trade (consumer publications), K-12 Instructional Materials, Higher Education Course Materials, Professional Publishing, and University Presses. Total revenues across all categories for June 2020 were approximately $1.4 billion, a decline of 4.1% as compared to June 2019. Year-to-date sales were $5.7 billion, a decline of 4.2% as compared to the same period last year. Trade sales were up 24.4% year-over-year, coming in at $700.3 million. Year-to-date (January-June 2020) Trade sales were $3.6 billion, an increase of 2.8%, as compared to the same period in 2019.

I am announcing today the expansion of our current leadership taskforce on election mail to enhance our ongoing work and partnership with state and local election officials in jurisdictions throughout the country. Leaders of our postal unions and management associations have committed to joining this taskforce to ensure strong coordination throughout our organization. Because of the unprecedented demands of the 2020 election, this taskforce will help ensure that election officials and voters are well informed and fully supported by the Postal Service. I want to assure all Americans of the following: *Retail hours at Post Offices will not change. *Mail processing equipment and blue collection boxes will remain where they are. *No mail processing facilities will be closed. *And we reassert that overtime has, and will continue to be, approved as needed.

The United States Postal Service filed notice with the Postal Regulatory Commission of a temporary price change to take effect Oct. 18, 2020. The planned temporary price adjustments are in response to increased expenses and heightened demand for online shopping package volume due to the coronavirus pandemic and expected holiday ecommerce. As a result of these changing market conditions, the Postal Service is planning a time-limited price increase on all commercial domestic competitive package volume from Oct. 18 until Dec. 27, 2020. Retail prices and international products will be unaffected. The planned price increase would go into effect at 12:00AM Central on Oct.18, 2020 and remain in place until 12:00AM Central Dec. 27, 2020.

The Home Depot® reported sales of $38.1 billion for the second quarter of fiscal 2020, a 23.4 percent increase from the second quarter of fiscal 2019. Comparable sales for the second quarter of fiscal 2020 were positive 23.4 percent, and comparable sales in the U.S. were positive 25.0 percent. Net earnings for the second quarter of fiscal 2020 were $4.3 billion, or $4.02 per diluted share, compared with net earnings of $3.5 billion, or $3.17 per diluted share, in the same period of fiscal 2019. For the second quarter of fiscal 2020, diluted earnings per share increased 26.8 percent from the same period in the prior year.

Driven by strong sales from a host of new titles, unit sales of print books jumped 24.8% in the week ended Aug. 8, 2020, over the comparable week in 2019, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. The biggest gain came in the young adult fiction segment, where unit sales skyrocketed 168.8% over the week ended Aug. 10, 2019. The category received a huge boost from the release of Stephenie Meyer’s Midnight Sun, which sold more than 524,000 copies in its first week. The juvenile fiction segment had an 18.8% gain over 2019, led by a new Jeff Kinney title, Rowley Jefferson’s Awesome Friendly Adventure, which sold nearly 46,000 copies in its first week. Two new releases drove up sales in the adult nonfiction category 23.1% over 2019.

Following the House Antitrust Subcommittee’s capstone digital markets hearing, “Online Platforms and Market Power, Part 6: Examining the Dominance of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google,” three groups representing thousands of authors, publishers, and booksellers in the United States – the Association of American Publishers, Authors Guild, and American Booksellers Association – have sent a joint letter to Subcommittee Chairman David Cicilline (D-R.I.) enumerating a series of anti-competitive tactics that permit Amazon to exercise extraordinary market dominance over the advertising and sale of books in digital markets. Its practices against both book suppliers and book customers have threatened the vitality of the American publishing industry and rendered any meaningful competition from other publishers, booksellers, or emerging platforms impossible. “The Subcommittee’s work has shown that Amazon holds an outsized position of power and control in our country, giving it the ability to interfere with the free flow of information, ideas and literature on a large scale,” the letter tells the Chairman. The full letter can be viewed at: https://publishers.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Joint-Letter-to-Rep-Cicilline-081720.pdf

Commenting on the January to June results, Chris Duncan, CEO of UK Publishing, said: “Bauer Media continues to be at the forefront of the UK consumer magazine industry, publishing audited circulation figures as a matter of record and providing full transparency for our commercial partners. We are reporting ABCs for the full, uninterrupted January to June 2020 period which reflect the unique circumstances in which we have traded. While our traditional supply-chain experienced massive disruption during lockdown, the demand for our products remained strong and even increased in some markets. We saw home delivered and digital copies grow through our subscriptions channels, and sales in independent shops rise as more of our readers sought out copies closer to home.

Tribune Publishing, owner of New York's Daily News and Capital Gazette, among other titles, announced it will permanently close the newsrooms of both newspapers. Staffers will work offsite. The Daily News will close its newsroom at 4 New York Plaza in Lower Manhattan with no plans for a future physical office, The New York Times reports. Workers have until Oct. 30 to collect items left in the office.

Brooks Brothers has agreed to be acquired for $325 million by Sparc Group, a venture backed by the mall giant and apparel-licensing firm Authentic Brands Group. As part of the agreement, Sparc Group, which has previously acquired Aéropostale, Forever 21, Nautica and recently bid on Lucky Brand, has committed to keeping at least 125 Brooks Brothers stores open. The retailer has about 200 stores in North America. The sale is subject to bankruptcy court approval. The 200-year-old Brooks Brothers, the nation’s oldest apparel company, filed for bankruptcy in July. While the pandemic has taken a heavy toll on sales as its stores went dark, the retailer has been struggling for some time under a heavy debt load, increased competition and the move to more casual workwear.

Details on the Company’s Chapter 11 process and go-forward strategy are as follows: The Company expects to close a significant portion, if not all, of its brick-and-mortar stores and, in connection therewith, the Company has launched a store closing and liquidation process. The Company, however, will continue to operate its business in the ordinary course in the near term; and The Company is evaluating any and all strategic alternatives, including the potential sale of its eCommerce business and related intellectual property.

Time Out will likely cease printing most of its 40 magazine editions based in cities worldwide. The company plans to continue printing the magazine in London, Madrid and Barcelona, Time Out Group CEO Julio Bruno told the Financial Times. However, the group is “unlikely” to resume printing in the US and Portugal, according to the report. Other territories are “under review by management.”

REI Co-op announced it is pursuing a sale of its newly completed corporate campus in the Spring District neighborhood of Bellevue, Washington with the intention of shifting to a less centralized approach to its headquarters presence in the Seattle area. Rather than a single location, REI’s “headquarters” would span multiple locations across the region, and the company will lean into remote working as an engrained, supported, and normalized model for headquarters employees, offering flexibility for more employees to live and work outside of the Puget Sound region and shrinking the co-op’s carbon footprint.

Fiscal 2020 fourth quarter revenues were $611 million, a decline of 22 percent from the prior year period, due primarily to (1) COVID-19 related advertising cancellations and delays that reduced revenues by an estimated $136 million; and (2) Previously announced magazine portfolio adjustments designed to improve profitability that reduced advertising and consumer related revenues by approximately $40 million. Fiscal 2020 fourth quarter earnings from continuing operations was $6 million, compared to a loss of $4 million in the prior year period. Fiscal 2020 full year revenues were $2.8 billion, a decline of 11 percent from the prior year due primarily to (1) COVID-19 related advertising cancellations and delays, and impact to consumer related activities that reduced revenues by an estimated $154 million; (2) Previously announced magazine portfolio adjustments of approximately $126 million; and (3) $79 million lower political advertising revenues in Meredith's Local Media Group, as expected in a non-political year. These declines were partially offset by $31 million retransmission growth. Fiscal 2020 full year loss from continuing operations was $209 million, compared to earnings from continuing operations of $129 million in the prior year, due primarily to non-cash impairments of goodwill, intangible, and lease-related assets.

The nearly 50-year-old kitchenware retailer, which filed for bankruptcy in July and said it would close over 50 of its 121 stores, has been sold for nearly $89 million to a joint venture between e-commerce investment firm CSC Generation and Marquee Brands LLC. The sale, which is still subject to bankruptcy court approval, was first reported by The Wall Street Journal. According to court documents, the joint venture plans to keep at least 50 Sur La Table stores open.

The Postal Regulatory Commission marks 50 years of public service in its mission to ensure transparency and accountability of one of our Nation’s most valued treasures rooted in the Constitution — the U.S. Postal Service. President Richard M. Nixon signed into law the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970 on August 12 of that year. This momentous legislation would transform the Post Office Department into a newly independent Postal Service the following year. Yet the law immediately created the Postal Rate Commission as the 1970 Act ended the role of the U.S. Congress in setting stamp prices. Later, with passage of the Postal Accountability & Enhancement Act of 2006, the agency was renamed the Postal Regulatory Commission as part of significantly expanding its responsibilities. For half a century, the Commission has been the regulatory anchor providing legal and economic oversight of the one agency that touches the lives of all Americans in every community nearly every day, at their homes and offices. Ever since Congress and President Nixon created it on August 12, 1970, the Commission has consistently conducted its work in an open and accessible way, with full transparency and an opportunity for robust input by the public. The agency's operations on behalf of its fellow citizens foster a vital and efficient universal mail system.

As districts grapple with decisions on what the fall will look like for teachers and students amid the surging COVID-19 pandemic, Learning Company Houghton Mifflin Harcourt today announced new professional learning opportunities for educators nationwide. This follows the recent launch of Teacher’s Corner™, a new online space for continuous professional learning through HMH’s digital teaching and learning platform, Ed: Your Friend in Learning and another solution within HMH’s suite of professional learning offerings. HMH’s all-new live online professional learning will help districts navigate the unique challenges facing them this back-to-school season, including addressing student learning gaps, training for remote teaching, supporting social-emotional needs and improving equity and access. Professional learning consultants, who are teachers themselves, provide a digital ‘shoulder to shoulder’ experience partnering with educators via live online courses and coaching through HMH’s award-winning Coaching Studio™ platform, with a focus on each district’s needs and goals.

Meredith Corporation launches its Meredith Data Studio, a suite of advertising solutions leveraging the company's vast, proprietary, first-party data and predictive insights capabilities to help inform its partners' marketing, product and business strategies. The offerings feature full-service data solutions, predictive analytics, paid consulting and self-service tools, all powered by Meredith's 360 platform, an end-to-end audience insights and activation platform designed for managed or self-service access, as well as predictive capabilities to analyze billions of intent signals and engagements to trends and purchase intent in order to deliver precisely targeted audience and contextual advertising. "As a brand-led organization that reaches nearly 95% of American women, Meredith possesses rich, exclusive data with massive scale in content-rich environments. Using those assets, we've built an exclusive, in-depth 12,000+-term taxonomy, a proprietary identity graph and over 12 billion intent signals to achieve an unmatched, comprehensive and timely understanding of women and their purchase intent – the holy grail for our partners," explains Alysia Borsa, Chief Business & Data Officer, who oversees Meredith Data Studio.

The new organization will align functions based on core business operations and will provide more clarity and focus on what the Postal Service does best; collect, process, move and deliver mail and packages. The new organizational structure is focused on three business operating units: *Retail and Delivery Operations — basic mission: Accept and deliver mail and packages efficiently with a high level of customer satisfaction. This organization will be led by Kristin Seaver. *Logistics and Processing Operations –— basic mission: Process and move mail and packages efficiently to the delivery units, meeting service standards. This organization will be led by David Williams. *Commerce and Business Solutions — basic mission: Leverage infrastructure to enable growth. This organization will be led by Jacqueline (Jakki) Krage Strako.

Financial and Business Highlights: *Gross revenue was $203.3 million in the second quarter of 2020, a decrease of 28.4% compared to $283.9 million in the second quarter of 2019. *Gross profit was $48.4 million, or 23.8% of gross revenue in the second quarter of 2020, compared to $68.4 million, or 24.1% of gross revenue, in the same period of last year. *Net loss for the second quarter of 2020 was $(7.9) million, or $(0.15) per diluted share, compared to net loss of $(0.5) million, or $(0.01) per diluted share in the second quarter of 2019. Year-to-date net loss was $(10.8) million, compared to $(2.6) million in the same period of 2019.

Chatham Asset Management, LLC announced that Tony Hunter will become Chief Executive Officer of The McClatchy Company, following the local news company's emergence from Chapter 11 and the completion of its Court-approved sale to Chatham, in September. Mr. Hunter will succeed Craig Forman, McClatchy's CEO, who along with the current board and Chairman Kevin McClatchy, will leave the company upon McClatchy's emergence from its court-supervised reorganization.

Since going online and rebranding as Time In in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Time Outis releasing its first print issue on August 11, dedicated to the memory of Time Out’s founder Tony Elliott. Elliott launched Time Out as an eight-page listings guide he handed out himself in London 52 years ago. He died in July from lung cancer. Since launching in London in 1968, the brand has expanded to include 328 cities in 58 countries, and continues to expand its Time Out Market experience with locations in Lisbon, Montreal, New York, Chicago, Boston and Miami.

Another week with double-digit gains in all but one category led to a 15.1% jump in unit sales of print books from the comparable period in 2019 at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. The juvenile nonfiction segment had the biggest gain over the week ended Aug. 3, 2019, with units spiking 40%. The usual suspects were atop the category bestseller list in the week—Big Preschool Workbook was #1, selling nearly 33,000 copies, followed by Crystal Radke’s My First Learn-to-Write Workbook, which sold more than 28,000 copies. Last year at this time, Big Preschool Workbook sold nearly 14,000 copies. Print unit sales were up 18.9% over 2019 in the adult nonfiction category.

The Postal Service reported total revenue of $17.6 billion for the third quarter of fiscal 2020, an increase of $547 million, or 3.2 percent, compared to the same period last year. Compared to the same quarter last year, Marketing Mail revenue declined by $1.4 billion, or 37.2 percent, on a volume decline of 6.4 billion pieces, or 36.4 percent. First-Class Mail revenue decreased by $373 million, or 6.4 percent, on a volume decline of 1.1 billion pieces, or 8.4 percent. Secular declines in mail have continued to negatively affect mail revenue and volume, and those declines have been significantly exacerbated by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, Shipping and Packages revenue increased by $2.9 billion, or 53.6 percent, on a volume increase of 708 million pieces, or 49.9 percent, compared to the same quarter last year. In the near term, the Postal Service anticipates that these trends will continue given the surge in e-commerce as many Americans stay home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Postal Service has and will continue to serve its customers during this crisis through the delivery of medicine, essential consumer staples, benefits checks, and important information, but does not expect its package revenue growth over the medium to long term to make up for its losses in mail service revenue caused by COVID-19.

The New York Times Co’s second-quarter results beat Wall Street estimates, as its digital unit, which includes news, podcasts and crosswords, overtook the legacy print business for the first time. The Times, which competes for ad dollars with big players like Facebook Inc (FB.O) and Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) Google, has been shifting towards a subscriber-backed model in an effort to cut its reliance on advertising. The shift has paid off for the publisher that expects third-quarter digital subscription revenue to rise about 30%. “We posted our best-ever results for new digital subscriptions, and for the first time in our history total digital revenue exceeded print revenue..,” outgoing Chief Executive Officer Mark Thompson said in a statement.

Costco Wholesale Corporation reported net sales of $13.04 billion for the retail month of July, the four weeks ended August 2, 2020, an increase of 14.1 percent from $11.43 billion last year. For the forty-eight weeks ended August 2, 2020, the Company reported net sales of $149.66 billion, an increase of 8.8 percent from $137.56 billion during the similar period last year.

• Second quarter revenues of $767.0 million rose 89.7% as compared to the prior year, reflecting the Acquisition. ◦ Same store pro forma revenues (as defined and reconciled below) decreased 28.0%, due to unfavorable impacts resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and general trends adversely impacting the publishing industry. • Digital advertising and marketing services revenues were $168.8 million in the second quarter, or 22.0% of total revenues. • Over $160 million in annualized synergy measures were implemented by the end of the second quarter, with approximately $41.2 million in savings recognized in the quarter.

Q2 2020 Headlines: •Net sales declined 35% to $251 million in the second quarter, and declined 24% to $441 million on a year-to-date basis •Billings1 declined 39% to $297 million in the second quarter, and declined 34% to $428 million on a year-to-date basis •HMH has further improved its leading win rate in the Texas Literature adoption with virtually all decisions made •Significant growth in digital platform usage with 486% increase in student assignments over the last twelve months as schools adjust to remote learning environment •Strong growth of 127% in SaaS billings as digital transformation accelerates

Total reported sales for the second quarter of 2020 were $2.2 billion, a decrease of 17% compared to the second quarter of 2019. The decrease in revenue was primarily the result of lower sales in the Business Solutions Division (BSD) and CompuCom Division driven by impacts related to the COVID-19 pandemic, combined with lower sales in the Retail Division driven by lower volume and fewer retail stores in service. Product sales in the second quarter were down 15% relative to the prior year period. Service revenue was down 26% in the quarter related to lower comparable sales at CompuCom and sales of service in our BSD and Retail Divisions, all of which were negatively impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. On a consolidated basis, service revenue represented approximately 14% of total Company sales in the second quarter of 2020. The Company reported an operating loss of $456 million in the second quarter of 2020, compared to an operating loss of $15 million in the prior year period. GAAP operating results in the second quarter included $466 million of charges including $401 million of non-cash asset impairment charges, and $65 million in merger and restructuring costs. Asset impairment charges of $401 million in the second quarter of 2020 included $363 million related to impairment of goodwill and other intangible assets at CompuCom and in the Company’s contract business combined, largely related to the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak on current businesses conditions. Asset impairment charges also included $25 million related to the impairment of operating lease right-of-use (ROU) assets associated with the Company’s retail store locations, with the remainder primarily relating to the impairment of fixed assets. Merger and restructuring costs of $65 million include $6 million associated with the Business Acceleration Program (“BAP”), $51 million associated with restructuring charges related to the recently announced Maximize B2B Restructuring Plan, and $7 million in merger, acquisition and integration-related expenses.

The McClatchy Company announced that the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York has approved the sale of substantially all of McClatchy's assets, including all 30 of McClatchy's news organizations, to Chatham Asset Management LLC. Chatham emerged as the successful bidder during an auction held on July 10, 2020. As previously disclosed, Chatham will acquire substantially all of McClatchy's assets for approximately $263 million in a credit bid of McClatchy's first-lien debt, plus new money consideration of approximately $49 million in cash. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. McClatchy expects to complete the transaction in September.

The U.S. Postal Service is implementing major changes to its delivery operations, effectively eliminating OT for carriers and informing them to leave undelivered items for the next day. This is all part of a cost-saving campaign under new Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who estimates it will save the cash-strapped agency $200 million per year. Postal workers and unions as you might expect are not happy with the changes, which run counter to their mission to provide timely deliveries. A spokesman said the USPS is “developing a business plan to ensure that we will be financially stable and able to continue to provide reliable, affordable, safe and secure delivery of mail, packages and other communications to all Americans as a vital part of the nation’s critical infrastructure.”

1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. announced that it has completed its acquisition of PersonalizationMall.com®. Chris McCann, CEO, 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc., said, “The addition of PersonalizationMall.com to our unique business platform, including our all-star family of brands, significantly enhances our ability to help our customers engage and stay connected with the important people in their lives. Like our leading brand positions in Gourmet Food and Flowers, the broad assortment of products and customization processes offered by PersonalizationMall.com makes it a leader in the growing market for personalized gifts.”

Consumers are getting snookered in new and more devious ways online. And they know it, although often not until after the fact, judging by a study released last week by specialty insurer Hartford Steam Boiler (HSB) conducted by Zogby Analytics. Of consumers polled, 23% had their identity stolen in 2019 -- a 5% increase over 2016 and 2018, the study says. And these victims spent 27 hours dealing with the fallout, mainly correcting personal information and monitoring their credit. Overall, 77% are at least somewhat concerned about identity theft occurring while they are shopping on a public Wi-Fi connection. Moreover, 34% suffered a cyber attack last year, with viruses or malware the most common damage for 72%.

Meredith Corporation announced that it is teaming up with The Kroger Co.'s media advertising business, Kroger Precision Marketing (KPM), to offer a new integrated media service that will help CPG brands make advertising more shoppable. Meredith's offering provides brand advertisers access to Kroger's first-party purchase data and custom audience segments to power media campaigns across its portfolio of 40+ trusted, iconic food and lifestyle brands, including Allrecipes, REAL SIMPLE, EatingWell, PEOPLE, Better Homes & Gardens and Southern Living. The new integration marks the first time that brand advertisers on Meredith properties will be able to apply closed-loop sales data from Kroger to their campaigns. The service launches at a time when brands need to re-engage consumers whose shopping patterns have been disrupted. Meredith and Kroger Precision Marketing, by matching premium content with sales data, are positioned to influence product discovery, meal planning, product trial, and shopping routines.

Following a survey of its workforce over the last few weeks gauging employee experience with working remotely and reaction to the prospect of returning to its Manhattan offices, Penguin Random House US has confirmed that it will not return to its offices "until sometime next year," CEO Madeline McIntosh wrote in a letter to staff, adding that the publisher will return "when it’s safe and when it’s practical," whenever that may be. "Clearly, we miss being together and would want to quickly get back to the offices if it meant we could safely return to in-person meetings and conversations. But just as clearly, most of us feel that the current state of virus risk means that it would not be comfortable or responsible to come back together in our office spaces anytime soon," McIntosh wrote. "On the bright side, the vast majority report that, overall, working remotely is going quite well, and some are feeling they prefer it as a long-term solution."

The retailer stated on its website that “It’s time to say goodbye.” “Every brand has a story and ours has taken an unexpected turn. “We may be saying goodbye before too long so we’re taking 70 percent off everything. Thanks for being part of our family & history,” they said. A week later, they seem to have made the decision to shut down operations, at least for the foreseeable future. They argue COVID-19 have led them down a path they didn’t expect, confirming both their physical stores and their e-commerce are closed and that they aren’t able to take orders, marking the end of a 3-decade story.

The horrible situation that airlines are in is having quite an impact for many suppliers. For example, American Airlines’ nut supplier has a huge surplus, and is selling them directly to consumers. Inflight magazines are in an equally rough situation. They’re typically run by third parties, and rely on advertisers to pay the bills. With the number of travelers way down, circulation of these magazines is also way down. Well, it looks like United Airlines and INK Publishing have a creative solution for this… Well, Hemispheres magazine is making a comeback in August, but it won’t be available on United Airlines flights. As reported by Ramsey Qubein, United Airlines will be making its inflight magazine an elite perk, known as “Hemi at Home.” US-based United Global Services, Premier 1K, and Premier Platinum members, will start receiving copies of Hemispheres magazine at their mailing address on file.

Nearly two quarters into the U.S. economic recession, advertising appears to be outpacing the U.S. economy, according to an analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) and Standard Media Index (SMI). The BEA Thursday released estimates that real GDP (gross domestic product) contracted 32.9% during the second quarter of the year, following a contraction of 5% during the first quarter. By comparison, the U.S. ad economy contracted only 27.4% during the second quarter and 1.4% during the first quarter of the year. That analysis is based on the U.S. Ad Market Tracker, a collaboration of SMI and MediaPost that indexes at market growth monthly.

The Association of American Publishers (AAP) today released the StatShot Annual report for Calendar Year 2019, estimating that the U.S. book publishing industry generated $25.93 billion in annual revenue, up by 1.1% as compared to 2018. In terms of units the report estimates that 2.76 billion units were sold. All figures represent publishers’ net revenue from tracked categories (trade, higher education course materials, PreK-12 instructional materials, professional books, and university press), in all formats, from all distribution channels. Overall publishing industry revenue was essentially flat, coming in at $25.93 billion for the year, which was a 1.1% increase as compared to $25.63 billion in 2018.

On July 27, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) put a new rule into effect that allows employee benefit plan administrators to use an electronic “notice-and-access” disclosure system as the default method of communication, making it much more difficult for millions of Americans who currently receive critical, paper-based information about their 401k, pension and retirement plans to access this information. This includes information called for under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), including quarterly benefits statements, plan summaries and plan changes. This new rule puts many at a disadvantage, particularly the 10% of Americans who say they do not use the internet. According to a 2019 Pew Research Center survey, the size of this group has changed little in recent years, despite ongoing government and social service programs to encourage internet adoption in underserved areas. Among those most disadvantaged by this new rule are senior citizens, (27% of whom do not use the internet), low-income families, people with disabilities and those living in rural or other areas with little or no access to the internet.

*Operating cash flow increased 42% to $51.2 billion for the trailing twelve months, compared with $36.0 billion for the trailing twelve months ended June 30, 2019. *Free cash flow increased to $31.9 billion for the trailing twelve months, compared with $25.0 billion for the trailing twelve months ended June 30, 2019. *Net sales increased 40% to $88.9 billion in the second quarter, compared with $63.4 billion in second quarter 2019. Excluding the $582 million unfavorable impact from year-over-year changes in foreign exchange rates throughout the quarter, net sales increased 41% compared with second quarter 2019. *Operating income increased to $5.8 billion in the second quarter, compared with operating income of $3.1 billion in second quarter 2019. *Net income increased to $5.2 billion in the second quarter, or $10.30 per diluted share, compared with net income of $2.6 billion, or $5.22 per diluted share, in second quarter 2019.

Staffers at Hearst Magazines digital and print properties voted overwhelmingly yesterday to unionize with the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE). The election, which happened by mail ballot, follows Hearst management’s refusal to voluntarily recognize its staff’s efforts to unionize in November of last year. Roughly 500 Hearst employees make up the new bargaining unit and work across editorial, video, design, photo and social. The unionized staff seeks to address issues that include diversity, transparency, compensation and editorial standards through its contract.

Pursuant to the terms that will apply to borrowing under the CARES Act, the Postal Service will provide the Department of the Treasury with certain information regarding our costs, revenues, and overall financial position. This includes providing Treasury, under strict terms of confidentiality, with those contracts that generate the most revenue for the Postal Service. Providing this information is merely an acknowledgment of the fact that Treasury has been designated by Congress as the lender for the Postal Service, and it therefore has a legitimate interest under certain circumstances in understanding those factors that affect our current and projected financial position. Other conditions, such as the requirement that borrowed funds only be used for operating expenses, and not for capital expenses, were expressly mandated by Congress in the language of the CARES Act. Contrary to insinuations made in the Washington Post article, nothing in these terms confers upon Treasury any role whatsoever in Postal Service pricing, management, or strategy.

The U.S. Postal Service announced a loyalty program designed to help smaller businesses, according to a press release obtained by Total Retail. Registered business users of USPS Click-N-Ship will earn credits by purchasing postal products they're already using for their shipping needs. Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express postage purchased online through Click-N-Ship will generate credits that can then be applied to future purchases of these products. Click-N-Ship business account users will earn $40 credits for every $500 spent on Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express labels. The program will launch nationally on Aug. 1. Existing business accounts will be auto-enrolled in the program. New Click-N-Ship business account users will earn a one-time $40 Welcome Bonus for the first $500 spent on Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express postage. In addition, the Postal Service is offering a one-time $20 Introductory Bonus for any registered Click-N-Ship business user for $500 spent in August and September this year.

UPS announced second-quarter 2020 consolidated revenue increased to $20.5 billion, a 13.4% increase from the second quarter of 2019. Net income was $1.8 billion for the quarter; adjusted net income was $1.9 billion, 8.8% above the same period in 2019. Operating profit was $2.2 billion, and adjusted operating profit was $2.3 billion, up 7.4% compared to last year’s second quarter. Diluted earnings per share was $2.03 and adjusted diluted earnings per share was $2.13, up 8.7% from the same period last year. GAAP results included a pre-tax transformation charge of $112 million, equivalent to $0.10 per share. In the prior year period, GAAP results included a pre-tax charge for transformation costs of $21 million, equivalent to $0.02 per share.

United States Postmaster General Louis DeJoy announced today that the United States Postal Service (USPS) has reached an agreement in principle with the United States Department of the Treasury on the terms and conditions associated with $10 billion lending authority provided in the CARES Act. The USPS Board of Governors unanimously approved the agreement in principle yesterday and expects that the parties will formally memorialize the agreement through loan documents that will be jointly developed over the coming weeks. DeJoy expressed his appreciation to U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin for working with him to reach mutually acceptable terms and conditions. DeJoy said, “Access to an additional $10 billion in borrowing authority will delay the approaching liquidity crisis.”

Meredith Corp. doesn't just publish magazines. It manufactures them. That was the conclusion of a three-year legal battle that ended last week when attorneys for the U.S. Department of Justice dropped an appeal against Meredith. The conclusion of the civil lawsuit clears the path for the Des Moines-based publisher of titles such as Better Homes and Gardens, People, Magnolia and Southern Living to collect a $12.2 million tax deduction. At issue was whether Meredith is technically a manufacturer, which would qualify the company for the tax break, which is designed to keep production jobs in the U.S. Although it does not print its magazines, Meredith argued it broadly fits the description of a manufacturer because of all the other work it does to make the product.

Torstar Corporation announced that the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Commercial List) has approved its previously announced plan of arrangement involving NordStar Capital LP ( “NordStar”), pursuant to which NordStar will, among other things, acquire all of the issued and outstanding Class A shares and Class B non-voting shares of Torstar (the “Shares”) at a price of $0.74 per Share (the “Arrangement”). The Arrangement is expected to be completed on or about July 30, 2020 and remains subject to the satisfaction or waiver of certain customary closing conditions.

Amazon announced it has delivered more than 6 million meals with 7.4 million pounds of food since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to people in need in over 25 cities across the U.S.—with plans to deliver a million more meals by the end of summer. With communities facing record-high unemployment and many observing strict social distancing guidelines, food banks have experienced unprecedented demand. Amazon delivery drivers are stepping in to help by safely delivering meals directly to clients’ homes. Amazon has donated delivery services to food banks and community organizations since March through its Amazon Flex network and other delivery partners. “Amazon has a longstanding commitment to addressing right now needs – with over $100 million in donations to homelessness, hunger, and disaster relief,” said Alice Shobe, Director of Amazon in the Community. S&P Global Revenue Increased 14% In Second Quarter

*Revenue and Operating Profit Grew Across All Four Divisions *Diluted EPS Increased 46% to $3.28; Adjusted Diluted EPS Increased 40% to $3.40 *Operating Profit Margin Improved 920 Basis Points to 56.9% *Adjusted Operating Profit Margin Improved 740 Basis Points to 58.7% *Several New Products Launched During the Quarter

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy issued the following statement on July 27, 2020: “The Postal Service is in a financially unsustainable position, stemming from substantial declines in mail volume, and a broken business model. We are currently unable to balance our costs with available funding sources to fulfill both our universal service mission and other legal obligations. Because of this, the Postal Service has experienced over a decade of financial losses, with no end in sight, and we face an impending liquidity crisis. Congress and the Postal Regulatory Commission must enact legislative and regulatory reforms to help address the situation. At the same time, it is imperative for the Postal Service to operate efficiently and effectively. Indeed, there are alternatives to every product that we offer, and the only way that the Postal Service can continue to provide prompt, reliable, and affordable universal postal services for all Americans over the long-term is by vigorously focusing on the efficiency of our operations." click read more below for additional comments

McClatchy announced that it filed an asset purchase agreement with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, formalizing the details of Chatham Asset Management's successful bid for ownership of McClatchy in the Chapter 11 sale process. The filing is a key milestone in the reorganization and paves the way for a change in control of the 163-year-old news company. Under Chapter 11 rules, the proposed asset purchase is scheduled for consideration by the Court for approval at a hearing on August 4. Under the agreement, Chatham will acquire McClatchy for $263 million in a credit bid of the Company's first-lien debt, plus new money consideration of $49 million in cash and the assumption of additional liabilities.

Highlights:*Underlying revenue down 17% on prior year largely due to COVID-19*Group sales decline largely reflects test centre and school closures in Global Assessment and International. After deterioration from March to May we saw improving sales trends in June.*Global Online Learning sales grew 5% due to strong enrolments in new and existing schools in Virtual Schools and slight revenue growth in OPM with good growth in continuing programs offset by discontinued programs.*Global Assessment declined 27% due to the impact of test centre closures in Professional Certification (Pearson VUE), cancellation of spring testing in Student Assessment and school closures impacting Clinical Assessments.*North American Courseware declined 14% with US Higher Education Courseware declining in line with expectations due to the continuation of trends seen in 2019, and a modest impact from the closure of campus-based bookstores. We saw a weaker performance in courseware in Canada largely as a result of school and bookstore closures. *International declined 23% due to the disruption in businesses which rely on physical locations including school and test centre closures.

Amazon.com, Inc. announced plans to open a fulfillment center in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee. The site, which is anticipated to launch in late 2021, will create more than 1,000 new, full-time jobs with benefits and opportunities to engage with advanced robotics. The company currently has fulfillment and sortation centers in Charleston, Chattanooga, Lebanon, Murfreesboro, Memphis and Nashville. “Tennessee is a great state for business and gives us the opportunity to better serve our customers in the region,” said Alicia Boler Davis, Amazon’s vice president of global customer fulfillment. “We are excited about our growth and remain committed to creating a positive economic impact in the region with job opportunities with great pay and industry-leading benefits.”

Second Quarter Financial Highlights: - Sales of $2.8 billion with significant share gain in the U.S. - Generated reported operating earnings of $205 million; adjusted operating earnings of $315 million - Over $75 million in sequential SG&A cost savings - Generated $232 million in operating cash flow and returned $86 million to shareholders through dividends

Oprah Winfrey's monthly magazine will cease printing after its December 2020 issue, according to a report by Business of Fashion. Asked for comment, a rep for Hearst Magazines emphasized to The Hollywood Reporter that the brand is not going away but will become "more digitally centric." Said Winfrey in a statement: "I'm proud of this team and what we have delivered to our readers over the past 20 years. I look forward to the next step in our evolution."

With another strong showing by the juvenile nonfiction category, unit sales of print books rose 16.6% in the week ended July 18, 2020, over the comparable week in 2019, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Units were up 40.9% in juvenile nonfiction from the week ended July 20, 2019, led by a new surge of sales for one of this year’s biggest bestsellers, My First Learn-to-Write Workbook by Crystal Radke, which sold nearly 40,000 copies in the week. The adult nonfiction category also did well, with unit sales increasing 19.9% over 2019, helped by Mary L. Trump’s Too Much and Never Enough, which sold 337,473 print copies in its first week. White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo was #2 in the category, selling nearly 49,000 copies.

Walgreens announced this week that it has joined a groundbreaking consortium that aims to reinvent the single-use plastic retail bag. Teaming up with other major retailers and with non-profit organizations in the Consortium to Reinvent the Retail Bag, Walgreens is committed to being part of the solution to the waste and recycling issues associated with the use of more than 100 billion retail plastic bags every year in the U.S. The goal of the Beyond the Bag initiative is to identify, test and implement viable design solutions and models that more sustainably serve the purpose of the current retail bag. Current alternatives to the plastic retail bag have yet to garner industry-wide support or widespread use by the public and many still have significant environmental impacts.

The ACMA is excited to release the agenda for our upcoming virtual National Forum. Registartion will be announced very soon, but for now, please save the dates and plan on attending. Here are the key facts: No 'Zoom overload' promised! This year’s Forum will be held entirely via a series of Zoom meetings. Following an opening session focused on the upcoming elections on September 2nd, there will be back-to-back 45-minute online sessions held on the three subsequent Wednesdays. Cost & Attendance: Although the issues and focus will on C-level executives, attendance is complementary to all catalog/online/direct merchants and their suppliers, both ACMA members and non-members, as long as you completely fill out the brief registration form (coming soon). See the agenda at: https://catalogmailers.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/ACMA-Virtual-Forum-Agenda-2020.pdf - click read more below for additional info

The New York Times Company announced that it would acquire Serial Productions, the company that produces the groundbreaking “Serial” podcast. In addition to the acquisition, The Times also announced that it had entered into an ongoing creative and strategic alliance with “This American Life” that will enable it to continue to collaborate on long-form audio stories with Serial Productions and to collaborate on marketing and advertising sales with The Times. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Serial Productions is a team of audio’s best and most successful long-form journalists and narrative storytellers led by Julie Snyder, Sarah Koenig and Neil Drumming. Each episode of “Serial’s” first season was downloaded 20 million times on average and is credited with igniting the current podcast boom. “This American Life” is the iconic, long-running, weekly public radio program, founded by host and executive producer Ira Glass.

The total invoiced value (or publishers' sales to accounts) of U.K. publisher sales rose to £6.3 billion in 2019, 4% higher than in 2018 and 20% higher than in 2015, making 2019 the biggest year ever for U.K. publishing. The Publishers Association’s new figures, released in its annual "Yearbook" report, shows growth in both print and digital sales. The significance of export sales is underlined by the report: exports accounted for 59% of total sales. Other headline facts include: print sales up 3% to £3.5 billion; digital sales up 4% to £2.8 billion; home sales up 4% to £2.4 billion; export sales up 3% to £3.7 billion; consumer audiobook downloads sales up 39% to £97 million, and nonfiction and reference sales up to 6% to £1 billion.

Torstar Corporation announced that, at its special meeting of shareholders held today, shareholders of Torstar voted to approve the previously announced plan of arrangement involving NordStar Capital LP pursuant to Section 182 of the Business Corporations Act. Pursuant to the Arrangement, NordStar will, among other things, acquire all of the issued and outstanding Class A shares and Class B non-voting shares of Torstar at a price of $0.74 per Share.

John Wiley & Sons Inc., and CPI Group, the largest book printer in Europe, announced a partnership bringing together a total supply chain solution including demand planning, print and distribution, customer service, and credit collection. The partnership will establish a state-of-the-art inkjet print production facility within Wiley’s European Distribution Centre (EDC) in Bognor Regis, United Kingdom. “We have a fantastic relationship with CPI and are thrilled to partner with them on this exciting project,” said Cary Hamill, VP of Global Supply Chain and Strategic Sourcing for Wiley. “We believe our collective expertise will provide an innovative solution to publishers for their print, inventory management and distribution needs - whilst continuing to provide our customers and clients with an even better level of service.”

Looks like the long, good read continues. Dennis Publishing just announced subscription rates across all titles have increased by 9% overall during the lockdown and ongoing pandemic. “Since the beginning of lockdown the number of people subscribing to all Dennis titles has increased by 9%,” notes this article on the publisher’s website. “To ensure an uninterrupted service of their favourite magazines, all titles have offered free digital access to subscribers throughout the pandemic, which has been met with glowing reviews by readers. The team didn’t rest on their laurels though, instead implementing engagement campaigns to get new subscribers to the titles, with huge success.” The company decided early on to unlock free digital access to all subscribers, to ensure the mail delays wouldn’t cause readers to lose interest. At the same, they implemented new engagement campaigns to reach new subscribers … with great success.

Meredith Corporation announced that it has begun making Traditional Home available for home delivery via the Meredith Magazine Store, beginning with the Fall/Winter 2020 issue. The quarterly continues to be available at newsstands with a $12.99 cover price. "We're thrilled to provide annual and biannual subscriptions to readers of this beloved home brand," said Doug Olson, President, Meredith Magazines. "Offering consumers home delivery is a logical next step based on the overwhelmingly positive response of readers and the success of Cooking Light and Coastal Living's pivot to Meredith's consumer-driven model. It's a profitable and innovative way for us to deliver our desired print brands like Traditional Home to our passionate and loyal readers." An annual subscription costs $20 for four issues. The brand, which includes growing interior design-enthusiast followings on Facebook and Instagram, is directed by Editor In Chief Jill Waage, based in Des Moines, Iowa.

Ulta Beauty, Inc. shared further updates to its operations as it continues to navigate the impact of COVID-19. Ulta Beauty has completed its phased reopening process. To meet individual comfort levels, guests can shop via Curbside Pickup, Buy Online Pickup in Store, on ulta.com, via the Ulta Beauty app and in Ulta Beauty stores. In addition to our Shop Safe Standards, starting today Ulta Beauty will require all guests and associates to wear facial coverings when in stores. As different parts of the country manage rising COVID-19 cases, the Company will maintain its close monitoring of government and health guidance as well as local case prevalence to inform nimble actions where necessary. Mirroring its thoughtful reopening approach, the Company began welcoming back furloughed employees consistent with individual store operational needs. To date, approximately 50% of those furloughed in April have been reactivated.

Bloomsbury announces its trading update for the four months ended 30 June 2020, ahead of the Company’s Annual General Meeting at 12.00pm today. Bloomsbury experienced strong trading for the first four months of its financial year, ahead of the Board’s expectations, with year-on-year sales growth of 18% during a period of unprecedented disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Our revenue and earnings are weighted towards the second-half, with sales of trade titles rising for Christmas and sales of academic titles being strongest at the beginning of the academic year in the Autumn.

Torstar Corporation announced that the Torstar board of directors has determined to continue to recommend the proposed acquisition by NordStar Capital LP of all of the issued and outstanding Class A shares and Class B non-voting shares of Torstar by way of a statutory plan of arrangement at a price of $0.74 per Share. On July 11, 2020, Torstar announced that it had entered into an amendment to the arrangement agreement dated May 26, 2020 between Torstar and NordStar to provide for the increased purchase price, which constitutes an increase of 17.5% from the $0.63 per Share payable under the original NordStar Agreement.

Pro Carton has launched new home-schooling intiative, EduCarton. The educational resources assist parents and carers of children in lockdown to teach them about the environment and the benefits of cartonboard. All materials are FREE to download. There are a range of materials to explore, including; Crafts, worksheets and colouring: A range of printable activities for children, with many themed around “Carton Campaigners”. Find out more about the intiative at: https://www.procarton.com/publications-news/educarton-home-schooling-initiative/

David Ritchie has been named CEO of Bonnier Corp., it was announced today by Jens Mueffelmann, Executive Chairman of Bonnier Corp. His appointment is effective August 1. Ritchie is succeeding Eric Zinczenko, who will be departing the company. “David’s track record and deep understanding of all facets of the company as former COO and CCO make him the right choice to lead Bonnier Corp. into the future,” Mueffelmann said. “What impressed me working with David in the past couple of months was his true passion for our brands, paired with a strong business acumen and a structured and hands-on approach to execution. These qualities will be critical to us in this pivotal time as we conclude efforts on mergers and acquisitions opportunities for our media properties, transform and restructure operations, and execute a clear go-forward plan for our nonmedia activities. On behalf of the Board of Directors, I wish Eric the very best and thank him for his 14 years of service at Bonnier.

Barnes & Noble CEO James Daunt began his tenure with a baptism by fire. He took over the role in September and made some tweaks to B&N’s holiday merchandising and a few personnel changes. He was expecting to make more extensive changes early this year. But then Covid-19 forced B&N to close all but 24 stores to in-person shopping. By early July, all but one store had been reopened, Daunt told PW. The company is following all local mandates, including limiting the number of customers in each store at a given time, establishing social distancing protocols, and creating designated areas where customers can leave books they have touched but decided not to buy (those books are then sanitized before being returned to shelves).

InnerWorkings, Inc. and HH Global Group Limited announced that they have signed a definitive agreement to combine operations. Under the terms of the agreement, HH Global will acquire InnerWorkings for $3.00 per share in an all-cash transaction representing approximately $177 million in equity value. This represents a premium of 127% to the closing price, and a premium of 104% to the 90-day volume weighted average price as of July 15, 2020. The transaction has been unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies. “Over the past several months, we’ve been taking actions to put InnerWorkings in the best position to weather the challenging environment in which we’re operating,” said Rich Stoddart, Chief Executive Officer of InnerWorkings. “In these times of significant economic uncertainty, the Board of Directors and management determined to undertake a comprehensive process to preserve and enhance value for shareholders. After exploring a range of financing and strategic alternatives, and implementing meaningful cost saving measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re confident this combination represents the best path forward for our shareholders and InnerWorkings. In addition to delivering an immediate cash premium to our shareholders, the combination will create a company with a stronger balance sheet and will enhance our ability to accelerate our transformation and serve our client base.”

Office Depot announced a new collaboration with Canva, the world’s fastest growing design platform. Canva’s high-impact, professional and visually-appealing graphic design solutions paired with the high-quality printing services offered on officedepot.com are now available to help small business customers keep business going during this pivotal time. “Whether small businesses are preparing to open their doors or never shut down, we’re here to help them accomplish more as they restore operations, restock their office and reconnect with their customers,” said John Gannfors, executive vice president and chief merchandising and supply chain officer for Office Depot. “The addition of Canva’s easy-to-use graphic design functionality enables our small business customers to easily build their brand with eye-catching print marketing materials that can help them keep business going.”

J. C. Penney Company, Inc. announced that it is aligning its workforce with its store optimization strategy and reduced store footprint. JCPenney has identified 152 store closures following a comprehensive evaluation of store performance and strategic fit for the Company and is having ongoing productive negotiations with landlords. The announcement follows a lengthy, structured, and thoughtful decision-making process. In connection with this organizational realignment, the Company will reduce its workforce by approximately 1,000 corporate, field management, and international positions. This organizational restructuring will create a smaller, more financially flexible company, and will help ensure JCPenney emerges from both Chapter 11 and the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic as an even stronger retailer.

Global online spending rose 28% in June compared to the year-ago period, making it the largest year-over-year increase in sales since COVID-19 restrictions were put in place in March, according to an analysis by ACI Worldwide of hundreds of millions of e-commerce transactions from global merchants. In the U.S., online spending rose 25% in June, which was steady with May’s increase. The report also showed a continued increase (117%) in athletic, footwear and sporting goods sales. Outdoor equipment was among the most popular purchase categories with an increase of 10% in June. In the U.S., consumer purchases were driven largely by apparel, as well as a continued demand for online games.

In response to the COVID-19 crisis that has left many Canadians struggling to provide basic necessities for their families, Gap (Canada) Inc. will be donating more than $3 million of new Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy (Canada) clothing to those in need, including unemployed Canadians who need support getting back to work and getting back on their feet. In partnership with Delivering Good – a non-profit organization that unites retailers, manufacturers, foundations and individuals to support those affected by poverty and tragedy – Gap (Canada) Inc. will donate the clothing to LIFE*SPIN in London, Ontario. This donation will help people as they build a brighter future and is the latest in the company’s ongoing efforts to support its communities and be the change, together.

Office Depot announced that it is providing $1.5 million to Feeding America®, the largest domestic hunger-relief organization in the country, in support of its COVID-19 Response Fund to help local food banks across the country distribute more than 1.3 billion pounds of food to communities in need. “We are proud to support the Feeding America network of food banks as it works tirelessly to address the increased demand for food assistance resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Gerry Smith, chief executive officer for Office Depot and The ODP Corporation. “Now more than ever, we are committed to strengthening local communities and hope that this donation will help to provide relief for families that are struggling to put food on the table.”

The Association of American Publishers released its StatShot report for May 2020 reflecting reported revenue for all tracked categories, including Trade (consumer publications), K-12 Instructional Materials, Higher Education Course Materials, Professional Publishing, and University Presses. Total revenues across all categories for May 2020 were approximately $1.0 billion, a decline of 12.1% as compared to May 2019. Year-to-date sales were $4.3 billion, a decline of 4.5% as compared to the same period last year. Trade sales were down 7.9% year-over-year. Religious press revenues were up 7.0% year-over-year in May. Professional Books, including business, medical, law, technical and scientific, declined 3.7% for the month. University Presses declined 5.4% as compared to May of 2019.

Meredith Corporation's PARENTS magazine's August "Raise a Reader" issue, available now, debuts its first-ever list of 100 Books to Inspire Your Kids covering a wide range of titles to help turn children of all ages into readers. To create the list, PARENTS asked celebrated authors to share the book that opened their or their children's eyes to the joy of reading. The issue's cover story features NBC's TODAY co-host Jenna Bush Hager, who shares how literacy has touched her life. Other features include tips on how to Raise a Child Who Loves to Read and the announcement of Raising the Future Book Club that will launch August 7. The Raising the Future Book Club launches with its first selection, Antiracist Baby by Ibram X. Kendi, Ph.D., who will lead a discussion of the book on PARENTS' Instagram on August 7 at 3:00 P.M.(ET). For details, visit http://parents.com/bookclub.

In what is perhaps the biggest surprise in publishing since the Covid-19 pandemic sent the U.S. economy into turmoil this spring, print unit sales saw a 2.8% increase in the first half of 2020, over the comparable period in 2019, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. The number of copies sold was 322.1 million in the six-month period, up from 313.5 million in the first half of 2019. The increase was led by a combination of children’s nonfiction books aimed at helping parents educate and entertain their children following the closing of most schools in March, as well as a spike in sales of books on race relations and social justice following the killing of George Floyd by members of the Minneapolis police department in late May.

McClatchy announced that the auction held as a part of its court-supervised sale process has concluded with Chatham Asset Management deemed the successful bid. Under terms of the proposed agreement, which will be finalized and filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the coming days, McClatchy will transition out of Chapter 11 as it entered it: in its totality, as one company serving 30 communities across America through its iconic local news titles, from the Miami Herald and The Charlotte Observer to The (Raleigh) News & Observer, The Kansas City Star, Fort Worth Star-Telegram and The Sacramento Bee.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has already sent warning notices to online companies over alleged violations of the state's new privacy law, a state official said Thursday. Companies that receive the notices will have 30 days to come into compliance, or risk lawsuits by the state. The California Consumer Privacy Act gives state residents the right to learn what information has been collected about them by companies, have that information deleted, and prevent the sale of that data to third parties. The measure went into effect in January, but wasn't enforceable until July 1.

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.

Sur La Table is slashing its store footprint as it seeks to prosper under new ownership. The nearly 50-year-old, upscale kitchenware retailer said it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after considering the "rationalization of its national store footprint and “certain store closures to prosper in the current retail environment.” On its FAQ page, the privately held Sur La Table said it has decided to close over 50 of its 121 stores (see list at end of article). Great American Group LLC and Tiger Capital Group LLC will conduct the liquidation sales, which are expected to last eight to 12 weeks. “We have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to reduce the company’s expenses and recover from the financial impact of the COVID-19 crisis,” the company stated on its FAQ page.

Barnes & Noble Inc. announced that booksellers from across the U.S. selected ten titles as the Best Books of 2020 (So Far), including books that address our current moment, share lessons from the past, and bring memorable characters—both real and imagined—to life. “Our passionate bookselling team has undertaken the distinct challenge of narrowing down our favorite books from the first half of 2020 into a short list of ten diverse and thought-provoking titles. The result is a unique range that includes the informative and historical, to electrifying new novels and even a heartwarming children’s tale about a dog, a gorilla, and an elephant,” Jackie De Leo, Vice President, Bookstore, Barnes & Noble. “I am really impressed with our booksellers’ selections, and I am pleased to recommend these titles to our customers.”

Citing industry shifts as well as disruptions in the publishing supply chain caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, Ingram Content Group said it is investing millions of dollars in an upgrade to its global printing and distribution network. In the U.S., Ingram said it is investing “millions of dollars” to increase capacity in its print-on-demand manufacturing plants located in Allentown, Pa., Jackson, Tenn., and La Vergne, Tenn. New printing, binding, trimming, and shipping/sortation equipment will be installed now through October, which the company said will increase U.S. capacity “by double-digit percentages,” adding that it expects to “hire hundreds of new associates in these facilities.”

Torstar Corporation confirmed that it has received a non-binding unsolicited offer from a private investor group, pursuant to which the New Offeror has offered to acquire all of the issued and outstanding Class A shares and Class B non-voting shares of Torstar. The Torstar board of directors has determined that the New Offer may reasonably be expected to constitute or lead to a “Superior Proposal” under the arrangement agreement dated May 26, 2020 entered into between Torstar and NordStar Capital LP, and is engaging in discussions and negotiations with the New Offeror regarding its non-binding proposal.

Fiscal 2020 third quarter net loss attributable to WBA was $1.7 billion compared with net earnings of $1.0 billion the same quarter a year ago. Net loss per share1 was $1.95 compared with net earnings per share (EPS) of $1.13 the same quarter a year ago. The results reflect $2 billion in non-cash impairment charges related to goodwill and intangible assets in Boots UK reflecting deteriorated business conditions including the adverse impact of COVID-19 and resulting future uncertainty. Sales in the third quarter were $34.6 billion, an increase of 0.1 percent from the year-ago quarter, and an increase of 1.2 percent on a constant currency basis, as the pandemic sharply curtailed footfall in retail pharmacies. The company had an operating loss of $1.6 billion in the third quarter, compared to operating income of $1.2 billion in the same quarter a year ago, primarily due to impairment charges in Boots UK of $2 billion.

Bed Bath & Beyond plans to close about 200 stores during the next two years as it looks to return to profitability. The embattled home furnishings retailer, which operated a total of 1,478 stores as of May 30, announced the decision to “right-size” its real estate portfolio in reporting its first-quarter results. Bed Bath & Beyond said the closings, which will mostly affect its 955 namesake locations, and other cost restructurings should generate annual cost savings of between $250 million and $350 million, excluding related one-time costs. The company reported that its net loss narrowed to $302.29 million, or $2.44 per share, for the quarter ended May 30, from $371.09 million, or $2.91 a share, in the year-ago period. Sales tumbled 49% to $1.31 billion from $2.57 billion a year ago, as the retailer’s stores were temporarily shuttered for much of the quarter amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Costco Wholesale Corporation reported net sales of $16.18 billion for the retail month of June, the five weeks ended July 5, 2020, an increase of 11.1 percent from $14.57 billion last year. For the forty-four weeks ended July 5, 2020, the Company reported net sales of $136.37 billion, an increase of 8.1 percent from $126.13 billion during the similar period last year.

The Retail Industry Leaders Association on Tuesday sent a letter to the National Governors Association in which it urged every governor to require customers to wear a mask when entering a retail store or other enclosed public space. The letter encourages uniform, statewide orders “to create clarity for businesses, customers and law enforcement,” noting that different rules around the country have made it confusing for shoppers and often lead to arguments between customers and store employees who trying to enforce company policies.

In our digital world, you can pay bills and bank online, sign online contracts with an e-signature and click to accept terms and conditions. In fact, you don’t need to use a written signature for most day-to-day transactions. But there are still plenty of situations where it’s legally required to put pen to paper, and often those legal documents require a seal from a notary public. “People appreciate the added security that a notarized piece of paper brings,” says Ginger Shore, senior funding sales officer and notary public at North Carolina State Employee’s Credit Union. “I find myself providing notary services every single day. It’s still a very necessary part of the business and legal world.” A notary public is an official appointed by the state government to serve as an impartial witness and fraud deterrent during the signing of important documents.

As people get ready to reopen many businesses, SAGE (the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies that provides scientific and technical advice to support government decision makers during emergencies) has reviewed the evidence on the spread of COVID-19 and the efficiency of mitigation measures. One of the issues considered is washroom hygiene with a large amount of useful information on cleansing and air flows. Specifically on hand drying the documents states: Replacement of jet dryers with paper towels. Rationale: Jet air dryers can aerosolise microorganisms from poorly washed hands. Incomplete drying of hands means that contamination can persist on hands. The full SAGE document can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/transmission-of-sars-cov-2-and-mitigating-measures-update-4-june-2020

Meredith Corp. is launching a company-wide, cross-platform editorial initiative this fall in response to the difficult events this year, called “Reasons for Hope in America.” The project will focus on the “inspiring stories of community, giving thanks, inspiring change and reflecting on what matters most,” according to the publisher. "Reasons for Hope in America" — which will span across print, digital, video, broadcast and social — is inspired by the People franchise “100 Reasons to Love America.”

With all major categories posting gains, unit sales of print books jumped 18% in the week ended June 27, 2020, over the comparable week in 2019, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. The YA nonfiction category had the biggest increase over the week ended June 29, 2019, with unit sales skyrocketing 111.6%. The increase was led by Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi, which sold more than 30,000 copies, a 145% increase over the week ended June 20. The adult nonfiction category also had a big increase over 2019, with John Bolton’s The Room Where It Happened selling more than 221,000 print copies in its first week, making it the #1 title overall for the week.

Despite objections by the ad industry and business groups, California's Attorney General Xavier Becerra said Wednesday he will begin enforcing the state's new privacy law. “Today we begin enforcement of the California Consumer Privacy Act,” Becerra stated. “We encourage every Californian to know their rights to internet privacy and every business to know its responsibilities.” He added: “The website of every business covered by the law must now post a link on its homepage that says ‘Do Not Sell My Personal Information.'”

Macy’s, Inc. reported results for the first quarter of 2020. As previously reported, the company had net sales of $3.017 billion. Nearly all of the company's stores have now reopened, including stores in the major metropolitan regions. Stores continued to perform ahead of expectations through May and June, and the company's digital business sales remained strong across geographies. The company continues to expect a gradual sales recovery. Primarily as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the company’s long-term projections and market capitalization changed, requiring interim impairment assessments for its goodwill and long-lived assets. As a result of these assessments, the company recognized pre-tax, non-cash goodwill and long-lived asset impairment charges of $3.1 billion and $80 million, respectively, during the 13 weeks ended May 2, 2020. The company is now reporting a Diluted loss per share of $11.53 and Adjusted Diluted loss per share of $2.03.

Active Interest Media has sold off its healthy living, fitness and outdoor divisions, collectively representing several of its largest publications, to Pocket Outdoor Media, a Colorado-based publisher of a handful of enthusiast magazines, the two companies announced Tuesday. Included in the sale are Backpacker, Better Nutrition, Clean Eating, Climbing, Muscle & Performance, NatuRx, Oxygen, Ski, Vegetarian Times and Yoga Journal magazines, as well as the digital outlet SNEWS and the action sports film studio Warren Miller Entertainment, among other properties.

Net loss for the first quarter of 2020 was $(65.7) million or $(1.38) per diluted share compared to net income of $4.0 million or $0.08 per diluted share for the first quarter of 2019. First quarter 2020 results include non-cash pre-tax asset impairment charges of $10.3 million or $0.22 per diluted share. Net sales for the first quarter of 2020 were $134.3 million compared to $314.2 million for the first quarter of 2019. Net sales were impacted by the temporary store closures related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Omni sales for the first quarter increased 17 percent over last year. In April, omni sales were 47 percent higher than last year driven by fulfillment from closed stores where allowed. Gross profit for the first quarter of 2020 was a loss of $(10.0) million or (7.5) percent of sales compared to $87.5 million or 27.8 percent of sales in the comparable period last year. The lower gross profit reflects deleverage of occupancy costs as a percentage of sales and higher markdowns.

July 1 is National Postal Worker Day and National U.S. Postage Stamp Day. This special day recognizes the men and women who deliver our mail, rain or shine, and the many unsung heroes who also play an important role in mail delivery, like the workers who process the mail, drive the trucks, and fly the planes. It also celebrates the ease and simplicity with which we can send and receive mail thanks to the humble postage stamp and the United States Postal Service (USPS). For nearly 250 years, the USPS has kept pace with evolving technology and expanded its services to include package delivery and retail sales. That agility has kept the organization relevant and capable of adapting to the fluctuating needs and culture of the country.

In early spring, when the Covid-19 pandemic forced most bookstores to close and disrupted print book sales through Amazon, no one could have predicted that by summer unit sales of print books would be up 1.4% for the year to date over the same period in 2019, nor that sales would hit a weekly high for the year. But that is what happened in the week ended June 20, when unit sales from outlets that report to NPD BookScan topped 15 million—22.9% higher than the similar week last year—and total units sold for the year hit 295.7 million, up from 291.6 million in the first 24 weeks of 2019. The increase came from a combination of continued strong sales of books on racism and social justice, as well as from Father’s Day books. Sales also benefitted from the slow reopening of more bookstores and continued solid online orders.

Microsoft said on Friday it will permanently close all of its 83 store locations and will instead focus on its e-commerce business, where customers can visit for support, sales, training and more. The decision comes after Microsoft temporarily closed stores in March due to the spread of the coronavirus. Microsoft said the thousands of workers from these stores have already transitioned to new roles where they're providing sales, training, and support to customers from Microsoft corporate facilities or remotely. Total Retail's Take: Microsoft opened its first brick-and-mortar store in 2009, where people could go to try the company's software and hardware. This decision was made after Apple, its main competitor, was enjoying great success and popularity with its modern, clean retail outlets. Over the past decade, Microsoft expanded its retail presence in an effort to create a shopping experience similar to Apple’s.

The Washington Post plans to add 14 new positions to the graphics and design teams. “We live in an increasingly visual society, and communicating information with the powerful visual tools we now have is proving to be particularly effective – in explaining complex subjects, encouraging readers to explore subjects more deeply and attracting more readers and subscribers,” Marty Baron, executive editor of The Washington Post, told Publishers Daily. Six of the seven most visited stories in WaPo's history have been graphics, including the coronavirus simulator that became the most visited article in the publisher's history.

Alongside its year-end results the postal operator's interim executive chair, Keith Williams, outlined a new three-step plan to get the business back on track. "In recent years, our UK business has not adapted quickly enough to the changes in our marketplace of more parcels and fewer letters. Covid-19 has accelerated those trends, presenting additional challenges,” he said. Some 2,000 management jobs will go, more than 20% of the current total of 9,700 management positions. Royal Mail said the biggest reductions would be in “senior executive roles and non-operational functions”. The restructure will cost about £150m, and will result in annual savings of £130m. Capex will be reduced by £300m across the group over the next two years, with £250m of the cutbacks affecting the UK.

Average student spending on college textbooks and digital course materials has steadily declined in recent years, according to new data unveiled from Student Watch, which is funded by the National Association of College Stores Foundation, and Student Monitor, an independent research firm. In its new annual report, Student Watch reports a decline in student spending on course materials of 35 percent over the past six years, while Student Monitor’s semi-annual report similarly indicates a 39 percent decline over the same time period. “Students are actually spending less on college course materials than we have seen them spend before,” commented Brittany Conley, Research Analyst, On Campus Research for the National Association of College Stores (NACS). “We saw that students spent about $413 across the academic year on course materials. Ten years ago, that number was closer to $700.”

Amazon announced its choices for 2020’s Best Books of the Year So Far, selecting Abi Daré’s debut novel, The Girl with the Louding Voice, as the top pick. Throughout the year, the Amazon Books editorial team pores over thousands of pages to determine the Best Books of the Month, Best Books of the Year So Far, and Best Books of the Year, debating new releases across various categories—including literary fiction, mystery and thriller, biography, children’s books, and young adult—all to help customers find their next great book. For Best Books of the Year So Far, the Amazon Books editorial team read and selected titles released between January 2020 and June 2020. This year’s list includes the first adult novel of a longtime children’s book author, a sought-after tattoo artist’s memoir on assimilating to American culture after leaving Vietnam, and a gripping true story of a family trying to understand how schizophrenia has affected their lives and future.

GNC Holdings Inc. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with plans to close at least 800 to 1,200 stores as it looks to cut its debt and restructure amid the COVID-19 crisis. The struggling, 85-year-old vitamin and supplement retailer said it has reached an agreement with the majority of its secured lenders and key shareholders to pursue a dual-path restructuring process that will allow the company to emerge as a standalone business or for it be sold as a going concern. The plan allows GNC to restructure its balance sheet and accelerate its store optimization strategy.

Macmillan Publishing's trade group will establish a new 13-member "trade management committee" to set goals and objectives for all publishers, divisions, and departments under its purview, the company announced in two letters to staff on Monday, one from CEO John Sargent and another from president Don Weisberg and COO Andrew Weber. The new management team will set company-wide goals and objectives, though the publishing houses will remain as independent companies, and the publishers will continue to report directly to Weisberg. As for his role, Sargent said he will "step back from day-to-day management to make room for new voices" in the U.S. trade publishing operation, although he will remain in charge of the overall Macmillan global businesses. Macmillan's college operations are not part of the new initiative. The move is the most significant to date at Macmillan to address issues of diversity and representation in the publishing business, and comes two weeks after an industry-wide collective action protesting racism initially organized by five Macmillan employees took place (an action on which the publisher declined to comment).

Macy’s, Inc. announced details of a restructuring that will align its cost base with anticipated near-term sales as the business recovers from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the closure of stores from March 18 through May 4, 2020 and gradual re-opening. The company will reduce corporate and management headcount by approximately 3,900. Additionally, Macy’s, Inc. has reduced staffing across its stores portfolio, supply chain and customer support network, which it will adjust as sales recover. The company expects the actions announced to generate expense savings of approximately $365 million in fiscal 2020 and approximately $630 million on an annualized basis. These savings will be additive to the anticipated $1.5 billion in annual expense savings announced in February, which the company expects to fully realize by year-end 2022.