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Bertelsmann has further expanded its global network of start-up investments. Last year, the international media, services and education group made more than 70 investments worldwide, through the funds bundled in its Bertelsmann Investments division. At the same time, the company completed a number of exits, and profits from the disposal of these investments – most notably by the Bertelsmann Asia Investments (BAI) fund in China – made an appreciable contribution to Group net income. Overall, at the end of the year Bertelsmann had holdings in more than 160 innovative start-ups and investment funds. Thomas Rabe, Chairman and CEO of Bertelsmann, said: “Investments in young digital companies with innovative business models play an important role in the implementation of our strategy. With these investments, we ensure the transfer of knowledge, about digital trends that support us in the transformation, as well as about promising markets. We have massively expanded our network of start-up holdings in recent years, especially in our strategic growth regions of China, India and Brazil, and have repeatedly demonstrated that we are an ideal partner for innovative founders who want to expand their activities.” Click Read More below for additional information.

"Macy's had a solid holiday shopping season, and we are pleased that our November/December performance resulted in positive comp sales for the period, setting us up for a positive fourth quarter. Consumers were ready to spend this season, and we delivered with solid execution, fresher inventory, a curated gift assortment and a focus on customer experience. We saw improved sales trends in our stores and continued to see double-digit growth on our digital platforms. Customers also responded well to our new loyalty program," said Jeff Gennette, Macy's, Inc. chief executive officer. "We intend to close the fourth quarter in a good position and head into 2018 with momentum." Macy's, Inc. saw improved holiday sales across Macy's, Macy's Backstage, Bloomingdale's, Bloomingdale's The Outlet and Bluemercury, with exclusive gifts showing strong performance. Active apparel, shoes, dresses, coats, fine jewelry, men's tailored clothing, children's and home were all top performers. Beauty was also a highlight and showed a marked improvement in trend, with particular strength in fragrance, prestige skincare and cosmetic gifting. Click Read More below for additional information.

The Association of American Publishers (AAP) today released its StatShot report for July 2022 reflecting reported revenue for Trade (Consumer Books), Higher Education Course Materials, and Professional Publishing. The report does not include PreK-12 revenue due to delays in data collection but will be updated as soon as that data becomes available. Total revenues across all categories, excluding PreK-12, for July 2022 were down 14.9% as compared to July 2021, coming in at $1.0 billion. Year-to-date revenues were down 4.1%, at $6.6 billion for the first seven months of the year. Trade (Consumer Books) sales were down 11.6% in July, coming in at $668.4 million. In terms of physical paper format revenues during the month of July, in the Trade (Consumer Books) category, Hardback revenues were down 26.5%, coming in at $177.7 million; Paperbacks were down 4.6%, with $273.6 million in revenue; Mass Market was down 42.5% to $14.8 million; while Special Bindings were down 2.5%, with $17.2 million in revenue.