Print Unit Sales Had Small Gain Last Week (publishersweekly.com)

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.

The Home Depot® reported sales of $37.5 billion for the first quarter of fiscal 2021, an increase of $9.2 billion, or 32.7 percent from the first quarter of fiscal 2020. Comparable sales for the first quarter of fiscal 2021 increased 31.0 percent, and comparable sales in the U.S. increased 29.9 percent. Net earnings for the first quarter of fiscal 2021 were $4.1 billion, or $3.86 per diluted share, compared with net earnings of $2.2 billion, or $2.08 per diluted share, in the same period of fiscal 2020. For the first quarter of fiscal 2021, diluted earnings per share increased 85.6 percent from the same period in the prior year.

Office Depot, Inc. announced it is pivoting the company from a traditional office products retailer to a broader business services and technology products platform. As the first step in this new strategic direction, the company has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire CompuCom Systems, Inc. ("CompuCom"), a market-leading provider of award-winning IT services, products and solutions that enable the digital workplace for enterprise, small and midsize businesses. The company also provided a preliminary estimate of third-quarter financial results and a lowered outlook for Office Depot's stand-alone business for 2017. "Technology is the office supply of the future," said Gerry Smith, chief executive officer of Office Depot. "Today marks a significant milestone as we move to provide a unique business services platform for our current and future customers. Acquiring CompuCom is the first step in this new strategic direction. The combination of CompuCom's enterprise IT services with our millions of customers and approximately 1,400 distribution points gives us the credibility and scale to build a sustainable platform and stand apart from the competition. The company will create value for shareholders from a diversified revenue base with a clear opportunity to grow higher value services and business-to-business revenues." Click Read More below for additional detail.