How Will USPS Policy Changes Impact Shippers and the Agency Itself? (multichannelmerchant.com)

REI released its 2022 Impact Report and financials results, closing the year with a record $3.85 billion in sales. The co-op ended the year with a strong liquidity and working capital position and continued to invest in its mission of investing in its members, employees, and the outdoors. “I’m incredibly impressed by all we’ve accomplished as a co-op,” said Eric Artz, President and CEO, in a public letter released alongside the report. “Throughout 2022, we invested in our people, in our capabilities, and in the communities we serve. We invested in membership with new and enhanced offerings and held fast to our commitment to distributing our full Co-op Member Reward to more than 23 million members during a year without profits to fund it. As a co-op, we are in the fortunate position to be able to make long-term choices and investments like this, but we do not do so lightly. We remain focused on a path back to sustainable profitability for the co-op to ensure a healthy long-term future.” In 2022, REI focused on investing in the employee experience. Often cited as a top place to work, the co-op remained committed to competitive pay and introduced new industry-leading benefits. In 2022, REI put an additional $50 million toward pay raises for hourly employees and delivered another $92 million toward employee retirement and bonuses.

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said the U.S. Postal Service will be forced to initiate “uncomfortable” price increases for market dominant USPS products such as first-class mail, marketing mail and periodicals, while shippers using Parcel Select Ground can benefit from use of cubic pricing. The USPS’s new pricing schedule goes into effect July 10, with the agency warning that twice-yearly pricing adjustments will be the norm going forward, even as the delivery service standard has slowed. The USPS delayed implementation of the service slowdown until after the peak holiday season. The recent Postal Reform Act’s undoing of mandated prefunding of retiree healthcare benefits will save $50 billion over 10 years by switching pensioners to Medicare – which many argue causes other economic liability issues. But DeJoy said that still leaves a projected $110 billion dollar USPS loss over that period.

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.