Starbucks invests in solar for 170 Illinois stores (chainstoreage.com)

For the third quarter ended October 28, 2023, net sales decreased 6.8 percent versus the same period in fiscal 2022. Gross merchandise value ("GMV") decreased 7.1 percent. Third quarter net sales include a 270 basis point negative impact from the wind-down of Canadian operations. Anniversary Sale timing, with one week shifting from the second quarter to the third quarter, had a positive impact of approximately 200 basis points on net sales compared with 2022. Excluding the impacts of the Canadian wind-down and Anniversary Sale timing shift, net sales would have been down approximately 6 percent. During the quarter, Nordstrom banner net sales decreased 9.4 percent and GMV decreased 9.8 percent. Net sales for Nordstrom Rack decreased 1.8 percent. During the third quarter, active grew by double-digits, and beauty and accessories were up by low single-digits, versus 2022.

In an effort to demonstrate that it’s much more than a paper company, Midland Paper Packaging + Supplies has officially shortened its name to MIDLAND as part of a comprehensive rebranding initiative. The fresh approach, from the new logo and tagline to the updated brand messaging, reflects a modern distribution company with an eye toward the future. For more than a century, Midland has been a leader in paper distribution. But over the past two decades, it has evolved into much more than that. Today Midland is a dynamic company with a broad range of offerings. In addition to a full complement of paper offerings, MIDLAND offers solutions in sustainable packaging, automation equipment, and direct-to-consumer marketing and consulting. Given MIDLAND’s recent rapid sales growth and market diversification, the company underwent an exercise in brand clarity, starting with the name change. “By shortening our name to simply MIDLAND, we avoid being pigeon-holed into a single category, and are able to broaden our appeal beyond just paper. This is a logical evolution for our brand and will help unify our messaging” said Executive Vice President Jim O’Toole. With a renewed emphasis on performance and exceeding expectations, Midland’s mission is to deliver on commitments in its three core segments: • Packaging materials and custom design solutions • Paper and Specialty Media solutions for a variety of applications • Direct-to-consumer Marketing strategy and consulting. “At MIDLAND, performance matters. Delivering on our commitments is more than just our mission statement. It’s what defines us. It’s in our DNA” added O’Toole. “Our strength is our wide-ranging network of knowledge. We have a team of industry veterans for every service offered and our experience is unmatched. When people engage MIDLAND, they don’t just get one person – they get access to an entire network of experts.” said Mike Graves, MIDLAND’s President and Chief Executive Officer.

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.