REI building fourth distribution center to support growth (chainstoreage.com)

In recent years, a surge in the use of counterfeit postage has been found in the mail stream. The intentional use, or sale, of counterfeit postage is a crime because it seeks to obtain services without payment. This activity reflects an intentional effort to defraud the Postal Service of the funds it needs to provide services to the public. In response to this problem, the Postal Service is filing a federal register notice about changes to the Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®), that will allow the Postal Service to treat items found in the mail stream bearing counterfeit postage as abandoned. “As the most trusted government agency in the nation, we will continue to work together with other law enforcement and government agencies to protect the sanctity of the mail,” said Chief Postal Inspector Gary Barksdale.

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.

L Brands, Inc. reported net sales of $1.267 billion for the four weeks ended Nov. 25, 2017, an increase of 2 percent, compared to net sales of $1.246 billion for the four weeks ended Nov. 26, 2016. Comparable sales decreased 1 percent for the four weeks ended Nov. 25, 2017. For November, the exit of the swim and apparel categories had a negative impact of about 1 percentage point for both total company and Victoria’s Secret comparable sales. The company reported net sales of $9.077 billion for the 43 weeks ended Nov. 25, 2017, a decrease of 3 percent compared to net sales of $9.331 billion for the 43 weeks ended Nov. 26, 2016. Comparable sales decreased 6 percent for the 43 weeks ended Nov. 25, 2017. For the 43 weeks ended Nov. 25, 2017, the exit of the swim and apparel categories had a negative impact of about 4 percentage points and 6 percentage points to total company and Victoria’s Secret comparable sales, respectively.