First Half Sales Slipped 1.4% at PRH (publishersweekly.com)

Total sales for the second quarter were $791.1 million, declining 7.9% as compared to the prior year. Comparable store sales decreased 6.3%, with approximately half of this decline attributable to last year's release of Harry Potter and The Cursed Child. The balance of the decline was primarily due to non-book categories. "Comparable sales improved throughout the second quarter and into November," said Demos Parneros, Chief Executive Officer of Barnes & Noble, Inc. "Book sales continued to strengthen, and we saw improved traffic and conversion trends. As a result of the improving trends, we will continue to place a greater emphasis on books, while further narrowing our non-book assortment. We expect these improvements to continue as we head into the holiday season which, coupled with cost reductions, will enable us to achieve EBITDA of $180 million." Click Read More below for additional information.

The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. announced that it has amended its $880 million ABL Tranche A and Tranche A-1 credit facility, providing the Company with immediate flexibility and substantial additional liquidity under its current credit facility. Nancy Walsh, Bon-Ton's Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, commented, "We are pleased with this amendment which immediately provides us with additional liquidity cushion and strengthens our financial flexibility through the holiday season. We appreciate the ongoing support of our bank group as our team continues to execute key operational and financial initiatives focused on positioning the business for both near- and long-term profitable growth." Click Read More below for additional information.

*Total net sales of $148.7 million increased by 3.3% for the 2020 holiday period compared to $143.9 million for last year’s comparable nine-week holiday period ended January 4, 2020 (the “2019 holiday period”). *Total comparable net sales, including both physical stores and e-commerce, increased by 2.7% for the 2020 holiday period compared to a decrease of 2.0% for the 2019 holiday period. Comparable net sales of Footwear, Womens and Mens increased compared to the 2019 holiday period, partially offset by decreases in Boys, Accessories and Girls. *Comparable net sales in physical stores decreased by 12.4% for the 2020 holiday period compared to a decrease of 2.7% during the 2019 holiday period. Comparable net sales in physical stores decreased in all geographic markets during the 2020 holiday period compared to the 2019 holiday period. Net sales in physical stores represented 69.0% of total net sales for the 2020 holiday period compared to 80.5% of total net sales during the 2019 holiday period. *E-commerce net sales increased by 65.2% for the 2020 holiday period compared to an increase of 1.0% during the 2019 holiday period. E-commerce net sales increased across all 50 states during the 2020 holiday period compared to the 2019 holiday period. E-commerce net sales represented 31.0% of total net sales for the 2020 holiday period compared to 19.5% of total net sales during the 2019 holiday period.