AAP Welcomes 2021 USTR Special 301 Report Addressing Continuing Copyright Protection and Enforcement Issues

• Third quarter net earnings were $114 million and earnings before interest and taxes ("EBIT") were $208 million, or 5.9 percent of net sales, compared with net loss of $10 million and EBIT of $55 million, or 1.6 percent of net sales, during the same period in fiscal 2016. ? Retail EBIT increased $137 million compared with the same quarter last year, primarily reflecting a goodwill impairment charge of $197 million in 2016. * Credit EBIT increased $16 million through the strategic partnership with TD Bank, primarily due to credit card revenues growth of 25 percent. • Total Company net sales of $3.5 billion for the third quarter increased 2.0 percent compared with the same period in fiscal 2016. Total Company comparable sales for the third quarter decreased 0.9 percent compared with the same quarter last year. ? In the Nordstrom brand, including U.S. and Canada full-line stores and Nordstrom.com, net sales when combined with Trunk Club, decreased 1.2 percent and comparable sales decreased 1.9 percent. The top-ranking merchandise categories were Men's Apparel and Kids' Apparel. The West was the top-ranking U.S. geographic region. Click Read More below for additional information.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) gave an early Christmas present to debt collectors, at the expense of the very consumers they are mandated to protect. Ignoring a mountain of public comments from citizens, cyber security experts and consumer advocacy groups including Keep Me Posted (KMP) detailing the multitude of harms and risks unleashed by its proposed rules, the Bureau plowed ahead and finalized a sweeping deregulation that will subject society to an unwelcome digital deluge of menace and fraud. Under the guise of so-called modernization, the CFPB will give the green light to 3rd-party debt collectors to exploit Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter messaging — as well as emails and text messaging — in their bounty hunting efforts. The new rules would further allow for an unlimited quantity of such unsolicited digital contacting — while simultaneously expanding the frequency of phone calls to 7 times per week per alleged debt. Meanwhile, the safe, secure and discreet practice of mailing paper letters will remain an option for professional firms seeking reliable communications options. To be clear, America’s consumers did not ask for this. And they will not even be given the option to opt-in to any such digital communications they might prefer.

MLPS (Medical Leaflet = Patient Safety), a subgroup of the European Carton Manufacturers Association (ECMA), is releasing a study today, shedding light on the potential economic costs associated with the proposed use of Print on Demand (PoD) leaflets in the pharmaceutical legislation revision. With the European Commission’s proposal allowing countries to decide on the format of medical leaflets, MLPS underscores the necessity of understanding the financial implications of this decision. The study, commissioned by MLPS, addresses a critical question left unresolved in the proposed Directive: the enormous total cost implications of implementing PoD leaflets alongside electronic Product Information (ePI). The study’s conservative quantification provides stakeholders with valuable insights into the economic impacts of PoD leaflets. The estimated total cost of PoD leaflets across Europe-27 ranges from €1.680 billion to €3.495 billion annually, depending on whether leaflets are printed in black or four-color ink. It is unclear who will bear these costs, which are currently borne by the pharma industry.