A discount giant is closing the book on a women’s magazine — at least, across its checkout displays. Walmart is removing Cosmopolitan magazine from its checkout lines across more than 5,000 stores. The retailer’s decision is in response to a campaign against sexual violence spearheaded by the National Center on Sexual Exploitation. While the women’s magazine will no longer be available in checkout lanes, Walmart will continue selling the publication in its magazine section.

Forty-five-year-old Boulder Book Store in Boulder, Colo., was named the 2018 PW Bookstore of the Year by a panel of industry judges. The bookstore has been a pioneer in a number of industry initiatives. It was, for example, the first store to buy on Edelweiss and one of the pioneers in setting up consignment sections dedicated to specific publishers. Bookstore owner David Bolduc, who founded the bookstore in 1973, was also the co-founder of the country's first local first organization, the Boulder Independent Business Alliance. He co-founded the Boulder County Farmers' Market as well. "David has been a leader in many facets of our community," said Sean Maher, CEO of the Downtown Boulder Partnership, adding that the bookstore is "an absolute landmark. And we are thrilled that they are part of our community."

There are countless free newsletters in B2B publishing, as well there should be. Newsletters do great things. They are the number one traffic builder for most niche verticals, since social media and search only go so far in bringing hydrocarbon experts or facility managers to your site repeatedly. Sending daily - or at least weekly - newsletters keep people clicking through to your website, where hopefully you have effective contextual content and offers to get them to stick around. Each one also provides desirable advertising sales opportunities. You can’t have enough sub-niche newsletters in my book. This also keeps your brand vital in your market. If you send less frequently than weekly, your content remains an afterthought.

It has been a little over a year since Amazon began allowing third-party sellers to “win” the buy buttons on its book pages. Previously, orders placed using the main buy button on a book page were sourced directly from Amazon’s stock, thereby guaranteeing that publishers and authors would be paid for the purchases. But with the change, Amazon allowed orders placed using some buy buttons to be sourced from third parties, cutting authors and publishers out of those transactions. (Among the factors Amazon uses to determine who wins the buy button are price, availability, and delivery time.)

IWCO Direct, a leading provider of data-driven direct marketing solutions, today named Tedd Aurelius as vice president of sales. Aurelius will partner with current vice presidents of sales, Tom Hexamer and Jim Leone, to help lead IWCO Direct in creating new and expanded client engagements, and delivering on the company’s commitment to providing the highest level of service and results.

HarperCollins Publishers today announced that Judith Curr, formerly President and Publisher of Atria Publishing Group, will join the organization on April 2 as President and Publisher, HarperOne, Amistad, and Rayo. She will be based in New York, reporting to Brian Murray, President, and CEO, HarperCollins Publishers, and sit on the global executive committee.

To celebrate pre-K-12 public, private and homeschool educators and administrators, Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world’s largest retail bookseller, today announced the return of Educator Appreciation Days for every Saturday and Sunday in April. Starting Sunday, April 1, local stores will feature special discounts* for teachers and administrators such as 25% off most merchandise like books, toys and games. The offers will also be valid online at www.BN.com for purchases made on Saturday, April 28, and Sunday, April 29.

Cycle World magazine, the preeminent motorcycle journal, is proud to unveil a print redesign: a lush, high-quality quarterly focusing intently on the art of the motorcycle and the stories of people who create them, Cycle World’s Editor-in-Chief Mark Hoyer announced today. Design Director Ralph Hermens and Art Director Justin Page led the redesign effort. The larger-format, perfect-bound quarterly will continue to deliver the epic storytelling Cycle World is known for. The new Cycle World will celebrate the beauty and style of exceptional machines; captivating readers with compelling writing and stunning photography that they will want to display in their homes and return to again and again.

If you’re a fan of magazine-inserted scent strips, then we’ve got something that’s gonna blow your mind. If you’re one of those people that has to tear them out of magazines immediately due to impending nausea, read on if you’re a fan of kitschy promotions. If you’re neutral, well, everyone’s gotta take a stand on something someday, and magazine inserts are a relatively harmless place to start. With that longwinded intro out of the way, let’s take a deep dive into Old Spice’s latest high jinx.

Independent booksellers are expressing frustration and disappointment with Chronicle Books for its handling of comedian John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Presents a Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo. Oliver announced the immediate availability of the book at the end of his Sunday, March 18 show, but to the surprise of independent booksellers, Oliver said that the book was only available at that time through Amazon. The illustrated children’s book about a gay bunny parodies the newly released Marlon Bundo’s Day in the Life of the Vice President by Vice President Mike Pence’s wife Karen and daughter Charlotte, which is told through the eyes of the family’s pet rabbit.

It really is “a beautiful day in the neighborhood” now that the U.S. Postal Service has immortalized Mister Rogers on a Forever stamp. Please share the news using the hashtag #MisterRogersStamp. Postmaster General Megan J. Brennan dedicated the stamp honoring Fred Rogers at the studio named in his honor where it all began 50 years ago — WQED’s Fred Rogers Studio in Pittsburgh. “Mister Rogers and his Neighborhood of Make-Believe made the ups and downs of life easier to understand for the youngest members of our society,” said Brennan. “In Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, children learned, in a safe space, how to be a friend and create relationships. He shaped generations with his kindness and compassion. It’s why we honor him today.”

"The Postal Reform Act of 2018: Improving Postal Operations, Service, and Transparency" was introduced in the U.S. Senate yesterday as a bipartisan bill co-sponsored by Senators Tom Carper (D-Del.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.). If passed, the legislation would make sweeping changes to current rules and regulations that have led, in large part, to the dire long-term financial situation of the U.S. Postal Service, including 11 straight years of net losses and a net loss for its first quarter totaling $540 million - despite the USPS setting a record on Dec. 18, 2017, when more than 37 million packages were delivered, the most packages delivered in a single day in its more than 200-year history.

DC Entertainment, the publisher of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, announced it has signed an exclusive five-project deal (including at least two original book projects) with Frank Miller, acclaimed creator of the bestselling Batman graphic novel, The Dark Knight Returns. The deal will be announced during the DC Publishers panel, which will be live-streamed from the WonderCon convention in Anaheim, Calif., on Saturday. As part of the new deal, Miller will write Superman Year One, a new standalone graphic novel with art by John Romita Jr., in a story that DC says will redefine the Man of Steel for today’s fans. Also part of the new deal: Miller will write his first YA graphic novel, an untitled work with art by Ben Caldwell, that will star Carrie Kelley, a young girl first introduced in The Dark Knight Returns, who succeeds Robin as Batman’s partner.

Future plc, the global platform for specialist media, today announces the proposed acquisition of five specialist consumer titles from Haymarket Media Group for up to £14m. The five titles are, What Hi-Fi?, FourFourTwo, Stuff, Practical Caravan and Practical Motorhome. The intended acquisition of popular brand What Hi-Fi? provides an entry into the complementary audio visual market, whilst Stuff complements Future’s existing technology brands. The acquisition of Stuff is conditional on Competition and Markets Authority approval. These brands will present Future with the opportunity to continue its strategy of organic growth in line with its content monetization strategy.

Revenue at Scholastic rose 3% in the third quarter ended February 28, over the comparable period a year ago, from $336.2 million to $344.7 million. However, investments to improve the company’s profitability and one-time charges led to a net loss of $49.2 million in the most recent quarter, up from $15.4 million a year ago. Despite the higher loss, Scholastic chairman Dick Robinson said the company’s results were in line with expectations. He noted that Scholastic is upping its per-share earnings forecast for the fiscal year ending May 31.

America’s first woman in space, Dr. Sally Ride (1951–2012) inspired the nation as a pioneering astronaut, brilliant scientist, and dedicated educator. On June 18, 1983, Ride launched through Earth’s atmosphere aboard space shuttle Challenger, becoming the first American woman to reach space. For six days, she worked closely with her four male crewmates, proving to the world below that women were just as adept as their male counterparts in the final frontier.

"We have made significant progress executing on these initiatives since we closed on the acquisition just six weeks ago," said Meredith President and CEO Tom Harty. "For example, today we are announcing we have completed our portfolio review and decided to explore the sale of the TIME, Sports Illustrated, Fortune, and Money brands. These are attractive properties with strong consumer reach. However, they have different target audiences and advertising bases, and we believe each brand is better suited for success with a new owner. We are pleased with the inbound interest we have received, and we are confident these brands will be positioned for growth with an owner that shares Meredith's respect for editorial integrity and independence." Finally, Meredith announced headcount reductions, part of its plan to realize between $400 to $500 million of cost synergies from the Time Inc. acquisition. Approximately 200 employees have been notified that their positions have been eliminated. Additionally, Meredith said approximately 1,000 more positions will be eliminated over the next 10 months. Previously, Meredith announced the elimination of approximately 600 positions as it transitions subscription fulfillment operations to a lower-cost provider. These headcount reductions do not include the impact of any potential divestitures. Click Read More below for additional information.

Midland Paper, Packaging & Supplies, one of North America's largest independent distributors of media for business communications, will feature a brand new synthetic paper product line for HP Indigo print technologies at Dscoop 2018 in Dallas TX. Blanks/USA Plastic Paper is a waterproof poly film that can be used in a multitude of applications such as menus, maps, brochures, instruction manuals, tags and point-of-purchase signage. Blanks/USA Plastic Paper is manufactured in 8 mil, 12 mil and 16 mil constructions and is available in all HP Indigo sizes including B-2. These products can be easily folded, stitched, die-cut, drilled, UV coated and laminated. The entire product line has RIT 3 Star certification. Click Read More below for additional information.

“Execution of our long-term growth strategies, customer demand for the unique value of our broad portfolio of solutions and healthy growth in the global economy are driving our performance,” said Frederick W. Smith, FedEx Corp. chairman and chief executive officer. “We expect strong operating performance in each of our transportation segments in the fourth quarter.” Operating results benefited from higher base rates, increased volume at FedEx Ground and FedEx Freight, and a favorable net impact from fuel. Results were negatively affected by significantly higher variable compensation accruals, increased peak-related costs at FedEx Express and the impact of adverse weather. Variable compensation increased in connection with the company’s pay actions that were announced following the passage of the TCJA. These variable compensation accruals include the year-to-date impact of the announced changes. TNT Express integration expenses were also higher. Click Read More below for additional information.

Celebrating its 20th anniversary, Athleta announced it has earned B Corp Certification from the nonprofit B Lab, becoming one of the largest apparel companies in the world to certify as B Corp. B Corp Certification requires a holistic review of a business’ social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency, and is based on a vision of creating a community of for-profit companies committed to redefining success in business. “We believe with Athleta’s growth, comes even greater responsibility to lead as a force for good,” said Athleta CEO and President Nancy Green. ”Athleta has been at the forefront of empowering and celebrating women for two decades; this B Corp Certification accelerates our course forward as a purpose-driven brand, honoring our mission to ignite a community of healthy, confident, active women and girls; and cementing our commitment to environmental sustainability.” Click Read More below for additional information.

UPS led consortium has deployed a radical new charging technology in London that overcomes the challenge of simultaneously recharging an entire fleet of electric vehicles (EVs) without the need for the expensive upgrade to the power supply grid. The breakthrough signals the beginning of the end of a reliance upon traditional combustion engine powered vehicles by allowing UPS to increase the number of EVs operating from its central London site from the current limit of 65 to all 170 trucks based there. This major advance – believed to be the first time these systems have been deployed at this scale anywhere in the world – is the result of the ‘Smart Electric Urban Logistics (SEUL)’ project with UK Power Networks and Cross River Partnership, with funding secured from the UK’s Office for Low Emission Vehicles. “UPS thinks this is a world first, right in the heart of a mega-city. We are using new technology to work around some big obstacles to electric vehicle deployment, heralding a new generation of sustainable urban delivery services both here in London and in other major cities around the world,” said Peter Harris, director of sustainability, UPS Europe. “Electric vehicles are an integral component within UPS’s alternative fuel and advanced technology fleet. Our collaboration with UK Power Networks and Cross River Partnership marks a major turning point in the cost effective deployment of electric vehicles which in turn will play a key role in ensuring the global trend toward urbanization is sustainable. We are applying new technology to make the charging process smarter and our delivery service cleaner.” Click Read More below for additional information.

Midland Paper, Packaging & Supplies, one of North America's largest independent distributors of media for business communications, is excited to feature Diamond Print Glitter at Dscoop 2018 in Dallas TX. Diamond Print Glitter is a brand new product developed by Harmony Paper that is unlike any other product on the market. Offering a tactile finish, the shimmer and shine you expect from traditional glitter paper, with none of the shedding, flaking or cracking, Diamond Print Glitter application opportunities are endless. The 3 Star RIT rated sheet is made using environmentally friendly materials and proprietary, patent pending coatings in a process that allows a wide variety of substrate versions. The Diamond Print Glitter product line will be available from Midland Paper in sizes for both series 3 and series 4 HP Indigo presses. Click Read More below for additional information.

Kohl’s Kitchen Products scored two of the top five most remembered print ads placed in culinary magazines in December, based on data from GfK MRI’s Starch Advertising Research. In the epicurean category, the highest noted ad score—that is, the percentage of readers of an issue who recalled noticing the advertisement—went to a two-page ad for the book “At the Southern Table with Paula Deen,” which appeared in the December issue of Cooking with Paula Deen. It scored a 90 percent. Two separate gatefold ads for Kohl’s Kitchen Products (Food Network Magazine) checked in at 89 and 82 percent, and KitchenAid Multi Major Appliances (Food & Wine) had a score of 85. Click Read More below for additional information.

Unit sales of print books in the week ended Mar. 12, 2018, inched ahead 1% over the comparable week in 2017, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. For the third consecutive week, the juvenile categories drove the sales gains. Unit sales in the juvenile nonfiction segment rose 8% over the week ended Mar. 11, 2017. Although children’s board books had a good week overall (unit sales were up 17%), two Chelsea Clinton titles helped lift sales in the category. She Persisted Around the World by Clinton and Alexandra Bolger sold more than 11,000 copies in its first week. The book is a follow-up to the pair’s She Persisted, which sold nearly 8,000 copies in the week, putting the titles in second and sixth place, respectively, on the category bestseller list. The release of the film A Wrinkle in Time pushed up two editions of the Madeleine L’Engle book into the first and sixth spots on the juvenile fiction bestseller list, helping raise unit sales in the segment 7%. Click Read More below for additional information.

For the Fourth Quarter of Fiscal 2017 • Net sales increased 22.6% to $1,937.6 million compared to $1,580.6 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016. Excluding the impact of the 53rd week in fiscal 2017, net sales increased 15.7%; • Net sales in the 53rd week were $108.8 million and represented approximately $0.14 of diluted earnings per share; • Comparable sales (sales for stores open at least 14 months and e-commerce sales) increased 8.8% compared to an increase of 16.6% in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016. The 8.8% comparable sales increase was driven by 6.2% transaction growth and 2.6% growth in average ticket; • Retail comparable sales increased 4.2%, including salon comparable sales growth of 3.2%; Click Read More below for additional information.

The streak of monthly bookstore sales declines reached six in January. According to preliminary estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, bookstore sales fell 9.1% in January 2018 compared to the first month of 2017. Sales fell from $1.42 billion last year to $1.30 billion. The January drop followed sales declines in the last five months of 2017 compared to the same period in 2016. For all of 2017, bookstore sales fell 3.6%. Click Read More below for additional information.

Operating income for the fourth quarter of 2017 was $4.1 million compared to an operating loss of $8.1 million in 2016. Fourth quarter results include non-cash pretax asset impairment charges of $3.2 million in 2017 compared to $1.2 million in 2016. Excluding these charges, adjusted operating income for the fourth quarter was $7.3 million, up $14.3 million from the adjusted operating loss of $7.0 million in 2016 (see Note 1). Net loss for the fourth quarter was $0.4 million or $0.01 per diluted share compared to a net loss of $4.9 million or $0.11 per diluted share in 2016. Click Read More below for additional information.

Steve Lacy greeted me in his office as if we were old friends. A top executive at the Meredith Corporation, he was a main driver of the company’s $2.8 billion acquisition of Time Inc. last November. With that deal, the 116-year-old Meredith Corporation became the largest magazine publisher in America. When he spoke, it was clear Mr. Lacy took pride in Meredith’s unassuming corporate culture, so far removed from the New York magazine scene. “In Des Moines, Iowa, we don’t have to prove anything to anybody about the Meredith Corporation,” Mr. Lacy said. “We don’t have drivers. We’d look silly, and it would be not in keeping with who we are.” He added, “I presume you know that if I want a black car, I can get one.” Click Read More below for additional information.

Apple announced that it will acquire digital magazine subscription service Texture, adding another service into its repertoire of monthly-billed entertainment. Texture offers subscribers unlimited access to over 200 magazines, including titles such as The New Yorker, ESPN Magazine, Time and National Geographic. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Having launched in 2010, as Next Issue, Texture was created in a collaborative effort by Condé Nast, Hearst, Meredith, News Corp., Rogers Communications and Time Inc., to provide a place for readers to access stories and entire issues of familiar titles while also introducing them to new publications. Click Read More below for additional information.

Fourth Quarter 2017 Results: • Record gross revenue was $301.0 million in the fourth quarter, an increase of 11% compared with $270.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2016. • Gross profit (net revenue) was $71.3 million, or 23.7% of gross revenue, in the fourth quarter, an increase of 4% compared to $68.7 million, or 25.4% of revenue, in the same period of 2016. Full-Year 2017 Results and Recent Highlights: • Gross revenue was $1,136.3 million in 2017, an increase of 4% compared with $1,090.7 million in 2016. • Gross profit (net revenue) was $278.3 million, or 24.5% of gross revenue, in 2017, a 6% increase compared to $263.5 million, or 24.2% of revenue, in 2016. • Net income in 2017 was $19.0 million, or $0.35 per diluted share, compared to $4.4 million, or $0.08 per diluted share, in 2016. Click Read More below for additional information.

Seeking to preserve the Obama-era net neutrality rules, the mayors of 12 cities have signed a pledge stating that they will attempt to procure broadband service from companies that don't block or throttle traffic, and don't charge companies higher fees for prioritized delivery. The pledge -- written by Mayors Bill de Blasio of New York, Ted Wheeler of Portland and Steve Adler of Austin -- also includes a promise to encourage consumers to use Internet service providers that follow net neutrality principles. The city leaders created a website -- MayorsForNetNeutrality.org -- and are asking other mayors to publicly declare their support net neutrality. "Cities cannot allow private internet service providers to be the gatekeeper between our residents and the local government services on which they depend every day," the pledge states. Click Read More below for additional information.

Sales at the Hachette Book Group rose 2.7% last year, parent company Lagardere reported. The increase was attributed in part to contributions from Perseus (where You Are a Badass sold over 648,000 print copies) and its Nashville-based imprints (where The Shack had strong sales). HBG also benefited from a full year ownership of Perseus, which it acquired at the end of March in 2016. Earlier this year. Lagardere reported that total revenue in the publishing group was €2.29 billion, up 1.1% over 2016. In its release Thursday, the company said EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) rose 1.0%, to €210 million. Similar to the sales gain, Lagardere said the profit improvement was "mainly attributable to a strong performance in the United States," driven by "successful releases" as well as continued profitability gains from the consolidation of Perseus. Click Read More below for additional information.

Nordstrom announced that it's acquiring two leading retail technology companies: BevyUp, a digital selling tool, and MessageYes, a platform rooted in conversational commerce. More specifically, BevyUp is a platform that allows sales associates to communicate with each other on the back end, and encourages shoppers to share information with each other and browse items together online. Its digital selling platform will be incorporated into a new mobile app for Nordstrom's employees, rolling out next year, the companies said. MessageYes offers brands the opportunity to send shoppers more personalized notifications, with their consent, while they browse online. Shoppers can ultimately respond "Yes" to one of Nordstrom's messages to instantly buy products from their phones. Click Read More below for additional information.

L Brands, Inc. reported net sales of $853.9 million for the four-week period ended March 3, 2018, compared to net sales of $765.5 million for the four-week period ended Feb. 25, 2017. Comparable sales for the four weeks ended March 3, 2018, increased 3 percent compared to the four weeks ended March 4, 2017. The company has authorized a new $250 million share repurchase program, which includes the remaining $23.1 million outstanding under the previous program.

The study, released by the influential marketing analytics specialists, states that Advertisers should re-evaluate the use of traditional media such as radio, newspapers and magazines based on new research by the independent marketing and media consultancy. In the first report of its kind, Re-evaluating Media reveals radio, newspapers and magazines perform significantly better than they are perceived to for brand building campaigns. TV and radio are by far the strongest advertising media for brand-building followed by newspapers, magazines and out-of-home. Yet it discovered that industry decision-makers believe that online video and social media are the second and third most effective media after TV. Click Read More below for additional information.

Reported net income for the quarter was $701 million, or $1.59 per diluted share, compared to $515 million, or $1.17 per diluted share, last year. Earnings per share increased $0.17 due to a net income tax benefit of $74 million, as a result of the new tax laws. Excluding this benefit, net income grew 22%. Net income for the first 24 weeks of fiscal year 2018 was $1.34 billion, or $3.04 per diluted share, compared to $1.06 billion, or $2.41 per diluted share, last year. For the four-week reporting month of February, ended March 4, 2018, the Company reported net sales of $10.21 billion, an increase of 12.8 percent from $9.05 billion during the similar period last year. For the twenty-six week period ended March 4, 2018, net sales were $68.51 billion, an increase of 12.0 percent from $61.18 billion during the similar period last year. Click Read More below for additional information.

Urban Outfitters, Inc. announced net income of $1 million and $108 million for the three months and year ended January 31, 2018, respectively. Earnings per diluted share were $0.01 and $0.96 for the three months and year ended January 31, 2018, respectively. For the three months ended January 31, 2018, adjusted net income was $75 million and adjusted earnings per diluted share were $0.69. Total Company net sales for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018 increased 5.7% over the same period last year to a record $1.09 billion. Comparable Retail segment net sales increased 4%, driven by strong, double-digit growth in the digital channel partially offset by negative retail store sales. By brand, comparable Retail segment net sales increased 8% at Free People, 5% at the Anthropologie Group and 2% at Urban Outfitters. Wholesale segment net sales increased 6.3%. For the year ended January 31, 2018, total Company net sales increased to $3.6 billion or 2.0% over the prior year. Comparable Retail segment net sales were flat. Wholesale segment net sales increased 9.5%. Click Read More below for additional information.

•Net sales increased 15% for the quarter and 5% for the year, including the additional week •Comparable sales increased 9% for the quarter and 3% for the year, with Hollister up 11% and Abercrombie up 5% for the quarter •Operating income more than doubled to $140.3 million for the quarter and increased to $72.1 million for the year. Click Read More below for additional information.

Amazon.com, Inc. announced plans for the first Missouri fulfillment center to be located in St. Peters, creating more than 1,500 full-time jobs with benefits and opportunities to engage with Amazon Robotics in a highly technological workplace. Amazon currently operates a sortation center in Hazelwood, where it employs hundreds of associates. “We’re excited to continue growing our team with our first, state-of-the-art fulfillment center in Missouri,” said Sanjay Shah, Amazon’s Vice President of North America Customer Fulfillment. “Our ability to expand in Missouri is the result of two things: incredible customers and an outstanding workforce. Amazon is committed to providing great opportunities for employment and creating a positive economic impact for the region.” Click Read More below for additional information.

S&P Global announced it has entered into a $1 billion accelerated share repurchase agreement with Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC. The transaction is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2018. The Company is using available cash to fund the accelerated share repurchase transaction. Since the 50 million share repurchase authorization from the Board of Directors in 2013, S&P Global has repurchased 31.6 million shares. Click Read More below for additional information.