Second Quarter Fiscal Year 2023 Financial Highlights: *Adobe achieved revenue of $4.82 billion in its second quarter of fiscal year 2023, which represents 10 percent year-over-year growth or 13 percent in constant currency. Diluted earnings per share was $2.82 on a GAAP basis and $3.91 on a non-GAAP basis. *GAAP operating income in the second quarter was $1.62 billion and non-GAAP operating income was $2.18 billion. GAAP net income was $1.30 billion and non-GAAP net income was $1.79 billion. *Cash flows from operations were $2.14 billion. *Remaining Performance Obligations (“RPO”) exiting the quarter were $15.22 billion. *Adobe repurchased approximately 2.7 million shares during the quarter.

4th Quarter Summary (results vs. prior year) *GAAP Results: Revenue of $526 million (-4%), Operating income of $82 million (+41%), and EPS of $1.22 (+$0.46). Full Year Summary (results vs. prior year): *GAAP Results: Revenue of $2,020 million (-3%), Operating income of $56 million (-$163 million), and EPS of $0.31 (-$2.31). GAAP earnings performance primarily due to $100 million ($1.77/share) of non-cash goodwill impairment in Education Services/University Services and restructuring charges totalling $49 million ($0.66/share). *Cash from Operations of $277 million (-$62 million) and Free Cash Flow of$173 million (-$50 million) mainly due to higher restructuring payments and interest payments.

A May, 2023 report from Student Monitor, a second independent research group, also found a dramatic decade-long decline of 41% in student spending on course materials, with an average spend of $333 per student for the 2022-2023 academic year. Inclusive Access is a course material model developed by colleges across the country to deliver learning resources to students at the lowest market rate, on or before the first day of class. In 2015, the U.S. Department of Education issued federal guidance for institutions of higher learning to charge for course materials as part of tuition and fees, reducing the level of effort it takes for students to utilize their financial aid dollars for timely use on their course materials. According to Student Watch, the number of students enrolled in Inclusive Access has increased to 44% of the student population, up from 39% last year.

Learning technology company HMH today announced that HMH President & CEO, Jack Lynch, has been named “EdTech Company CEO of the Year” in the 5th annual EdTech Breakthrough Awards program conducted by EdTech Breakthrough, a leading market intelligence organization that recognizes the top companies and solutions in the global edtech market. Under Lynch’s leadership, HMH has undergone a strategic transformation to a digital-first, connected learning company that engages learners, empowers educators and improves student outcomes. In less than six years, he has executed on key changes that have set HMH up for success as a K-12 technology company, from the divestiture of its Books and Media division in 2021, to HMH’s sale to Veritas Capital in 2022, which puts the organization in an even stronger position to increase its positive impact on millions of students and teachers. Supporting this goal, most recently Lynch led HMH's acquisition of assessment and research organization NWEA, bringing the potential to further transform the K-12 education experience for teachers and students.

In celebration of Pride Month, the White House today announced a set of actions designed to protect LGBTQIA+ communities, including the appointment of a new coordinator within the Department of Education to spearhead a response to the rising number of book bans at the state level. While details are still to come, White House officials say the new coordinator position will be situated within the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, and will “work to provide new trainings for schools nationwide on how book bans that target specific communities and create a hostile school environment may violate federal civil rights laws.”

The Association of American Publishers (AAP) today released its StatShot report for March 2023 reflecting reported revenue for Trade (Consumer Books), Higher Education Course Materials, and Professional Publishing. Total revenues across all categories for March 2023 were up 6.6% as compared to March 2022, coming in at $883.5 million. Year-to-date revenues were up 3.2%, at $3.2 billion for the first three months of the year. Trade (Consumer Books) revenues were up 0.2% in March, coming in at $710.9 million. In terms of physical paper format revenues during the month of March, in the Trade (Consumer Books) category, Hardback revenues were down 1.0%, coming in at $243.1 million; Paperbacks were up 0.3%, with $268.2 million in revenue; Mass Market was down 9.5% to $13.0 million; and Special Bindings were up 21.9%, with $18.9 million in revenue. Year-to-date Trade revenues were up 1.1%, at $2.2 billion for the first three months of the year.

Savvas Learning Company, a K-12 next-generation learning solutions leader, today announced that its Experience Physics program has been named a 2023 SIIA CODiE Award Finalist in the “Best Science Instructional Solution for Grades 9-12” category. Experience Physics © 2022 is a modern high school physics curriculum that implements an interactive learning model using the exploration of phenomena to drive student engagement. The program places students center stage as they make sense of phenomena with experiential learning routines that connect physics to the real world. Experience Physics also uniquely supports educators with comprehensive, editable resources and flexible teaching tools that allow them to adapt instruction to their students’ diverse learning needs.

The average piece of Direct Mail is looked at for 108 seconds across the course of a month, while the average Door Drop is viewed for 46 seconds. The mail channel is more attention efficient than a host of other media platforms, resulting in the recommendation that it is a “must-have” channel on attention-based media plans. JICMAIL (The Joint Industry Currency for Mail) has today revealed the findings from a major year-long study – The Time We Spend With Mail. This research into consumer attention with mail has involved collaboration with multiple measurement partners including Kantar, PwC and Lifestream. The year-long measurement program has seen JICMAIL roll out full attention measurement across its entire panel of 1,000 households per month (capturing time-spent metrics for Business Mail, Direct Mail, Door Drops and Partially Addressed Mail). At the same time, the AI-driven video analytics company Lifestream has provided directly observed mail attention data with which to validate the panel findings, while PwC has scrutinised the mail efficiency calculations that JICMAIL has generated to compare the delivery of time spent to other media channels.

Based on years of gear designing, experience, customer feedback, and industry-leading sustainability insights, REI Co-op introduces its first foray into running shoes since the 1970s, with the introduction of the REI Co-op Swiftland Multi-terrain (Swiftland MT). This versatile trail runner maximizes recycled and bio-based materials without compromising technical expectations, while giving runners the freedom to take their adventures over multiple surfaces beyond the pavement. The Swiftland MT is a foundational running shoe that joins a wide variety of running apparel, equipment and gear for REI customers to choose from, and continues the co-op's commitment to broaden its running assortment and more deeply invest in this activity category.

Email may be more convenient and less expensive for brands, but if you really want your customers to look at a communication, mail is much more effective, according to a new report. A study by automation specialist Quadient has found that almost two-thirds (62%) of UK consumers say they are more likely to open a physical letter than an email, with many citing the fact that letters feel more personal. When asked why a physical letter from a business might be better than email, 39% said letters feel more personalised to them and their needs than bulk email messages, while 42% said there is no risk of hacking, phishing or being infected by viruses. A further 37% said they appreciate the lack of spam messages received through physical mail. “Companies need to think strategically about the different scenarios in which they contact customers and choose the communication channel that best fits the situation.”

Barnes & Noble today announces their selections for The Best Books of the Year (So Far). The list is a stunning collection of books selected by the B&N bookselling team, representing the very best works published across various categories since January of 2023. As readers know well, narrowing down to a few choice titles can feel insurmountable when so many fantastic new books are published every week. This year, the booksellers of Barnes & Noble tackled the task first by compiling three-title shortlists across lots of categories ... and they liked the results so much that they have kept them. They now announce over 50 of the best shortlists, an original and hopefully inspiring way of looking at the best new books of 2023 — so far.

FY23 third quarter service performance scores covering April 1 through May 26, included: *First-Class Mail: 92.1% of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an increase of 1.2 percentage points from the fiscal second quarter. *Marketing Mail: 96.0% of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an increase of 1.4 percentage points from the fiscal second quarter. *Periodicals: 88.9% of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an increase of 2.4 percentage points from the fiscal second quarter.

More than 5,300 Postal Service employees were attacked by dogs while delivering the mail last year. Aggressive dog behavior is a common safety concern USPS employees face. To keep its workers safe, the organization is providing important information on how dog owners can be good stewards for safe mail delivery as part of its annual National Dog Bite Awareness Week public service campaign. The campaign runs Sunday, June 4, through Saturday, June 10. This year’s theme is “Even good dogs have bad days.” Spread the news of the campaign with the hashtag #dogbiteawareness.

Costco Wholesale Corporation reported net sales of $18.45 billion for the retail month of May, the four weeks ended May 28, 2023, an increase of 1.2 percent from $18.23 billion last year. For the thirty-nine weeks ended May 28, 2023, the Company reported net sales of $174.07 billion, an increase of 5.1 percent from $165.56 billion last year.

Freedom to read advocates are applauding a final report and resolution agreement from the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights that could help blunt the surge of book bans in schools. In a May 19 letter and resolution agreement, DOE officials concluded that the Forsyth County (Georgia) School district’s removal of books largely featuring Black and LGBTQ characters created a potentially “hostile environment” for students, in violation of their civil rights. And in a potentially landmark resolution agreement, the district agreed to work with the DOE to address student discrimination issues arising from the book bans.

Highlights: *Net sales of $5 billion, down 7% versus the first quarter of 2022. -Brick-and-mortar sales decreased 6% versus the first quarter of 2022. -Digital sales decreased 8% versus the first quarter of 2022. *Comparable sales down 7.9% on an owned basis and down 7.2% on an owned-plus-licensed basis. *Gross margin rate for the quarter was 40.0%, up from 39.6% in the first quarter of 2022. Versus the first quarter of 2019, gross margin rate increased 180 basis points from 38.2%.

Summary: *Total Company net sales decreased 11.6 percent and GMV decreased 11.9 percent compared with the same period in fiscal 2022. The wind-down of Canadian operations had a negative impact on total Company net sales of 175 basis points. The first quarter of 2023 included one month of sales from Canadian operations, compared with a full quarter of sales from Canadian operations in the first quarter of 2022. *Gross profit, as a percentage of net sales, of 33.8 percent increased 110 basis points compared with the same period in fiscal 2022, reflecting the Company's focus on increasing inventory productivity. *Ending inventory decreased 7.8 percent compared with the same period in fiscal 2022, versus an 11.6 percent decrease in sales. *Loss before interest and tax was $259 million in the first quarter of 2023, compared with earnings before interest and tax ("EBIT") of $73 million during the same period in fiscal 2022.

The Association of American Publishers (AAP) today released the StatShot Annual report covering the calendar year 2022, estimating that the U.S. book publishing industry generated $28.10 billion industry-wide during the year, a decline of 2.6% as compared to 2021. In spite of the slight decline, total industry revenue remained 8.6% higher than the $25.87 billion total recorded for the year of 2019, just prior to the onset of the pandemic. “During the year the publishing industry continued to show considerable resilience, with total revenues still above pre-pandemic levels,” commented Syreeta Swann, Chief Operating Officer, Association of American Publishers. “The fact that the five-year trend also shows consistent growth suggests that the industry is well positioned to weather a challenging economic environment and an evolving marketplace over the long haul.”

Print media saw significant disruption during the coronavirus pandemic as many people moved online for news and information, but consumers’ preference for receiving and reading print on paper has rebounded over the past two years. This according to a new survey commissioned by Two Sides North America and conducted by global research firm Toluna. “Some observers predicted that people who switched from paper to digital media during the pandemic would never return, but this has not been the case,” says Two Sides North America President Kathi Rowzie. “Across every category of media included in the survey, from books and magazines to newspapers and product catalogs, consumers’ preference for paper has increased since 2021.”

Carried out every two years, the Two Sides Trend Tracker survey is one of the print and paper industry’s largest examining consumer preferences and perceptions of print, paper and paper-based packaging. This huge piece of research questions more than 10,000 consumers in 16 countries across the world, from South America and the United States to South Africa and Europe, and provides an assessment of consumers’ attitudes towards print and paper. “The Trend Tracker 2023 survey seeks to understand consumer perceptions across a wide range of topics relating to print, paper, paper packaging and tissue products,” says Jonathan Tame, Managing Director of Two Side Europe. “Having carried out the same research in 2017 and 2021, we are able to assess how these perceptions have changed over time, and have uncovered some interesting trends, including the effect that the pandemic has had on consumers’ reading habits.”

Midland Specialty Paper & Film, a division of Midland, is excited to announce the official launch of a new Digital Paper Catalog for HP Indigo and Toner Technology. This comprehensive new catalog provides a unique, powerful single source for all of a printer’s HP Indigo and Toner paper needs. “The new catalog has been in the making for the last 2 years. With all of the changes and challenges in paper supply, we took that time to continue to refine the final product into what is without question, the best paper selection resource for Digital Printers in the industry today” said Mike Ratcliff, President of Midland’s Specialty Paper and Film Division. Midland’s sales organization will be distributing this new catalog to its customers across the country over the coming weeks and months. “The catalog has some unique new tools included to help select the best paper for the printer’s customers”, said David Field, General Manager of Midland’s Specialty Paper and Film Division. “We couldn’t be more excited to get this into our customer’s hands”.

“We are delighted to have achieved these record results with sales up 15% to £264.1 million and profit up 16% to £31.1 million. Compared to two years ago, sales are up 43% and profits up 62%. Our growth outperformed the industry which was up 4%1. These results demonstrate the strength of our strategy to publish for both the consumer and the academic markets, unusual in our industry, and to grow digital revenues while expanding globally. In challenging economic times, readers are turning to books as affordable as they cut back on more expensive forms of diversion. Our long-term strategy to invest in digital content, which has delivered strong growth and cash, which enables future strategic investment in both our academic and consumer markets and potential acquisitions – the flywheel of Bloomsbury.

The Great Lakes Graphics Association will hold its annual Graphics Excellence Awards Celebrations on Wednesday, June 7, 2023. The Celebrations are the culmination of the annual GEA competition, which recognizes companies throughout Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin for superb craftsmanship in the design, creation and production of outstanding printed projects they produce for their customers. Dual sites will have simultaneous Celebrations that evening: the Wisconsin Club in Milwaukee, WI, and a new location in Illinois at the Stonegate Conference Center in Hoffman Estates. The Celebrations start at 4:30 p.m. with an extended networking reception. All of the award-winning projects from more than 100 categories will be on display for attendees to examine and to choose their favorite in the voting for the People’s Choice award.

FY23 third quarter service performance scores covering April 1 through May 19, included: *First-Class Mail: 92.0% of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an increase of 1.1 percentage points from the fiscal second quarter. *Marketing Mail: 95.9% of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an increase of 1.3 percentage points from the fiscal second quarter. *Periodicals: 88.9% of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an increase of 2.4 percentage points from the fiscal second quarter.

For the First Quarter of Fiscal 2023 *Net sales increased 12.3% to $2.6 billion compared to $2.3 billion in the first quarter of fiscal 2022 due to increased comparable sales, strong new store performance, and growth in other revenue compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2022. *Gross profit increased 12.1% to $1.1 billion compared to $941.0 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2022. As a percentage of net sales, gross profit decreased to 40.0% compared to 40.1% in the first quarter of fiscal 2022, primarily due to higher inventory shrink, lower merchandise margins, higher supply chain costs, and deleverage of salon expenses, partially offset by strong growth in other revenue and leverage of store fixed costs. *Operating income increased 1.0% to $442.1 million, or 16.8% of net sales, compared to $437.7 million, or 18.7% of net sales, in the first quarter of fiscal 2022. *Net income increased 4.7% to $347.1 million compared to $331.4 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2022.

Costco Wholesale Corporation announced its operating results for the third quarter (twelve weeks) and the first 36 weeks of fiscal 2023, ended May 7, 2023. Net sales for the quarter increased 1.9 percent, to $52.60 billion, from $51.61 billion last year. Net sales for the first 36 weeks increased 5.5 percent, to $160.28 billion, from $151.97 billion last year. Net income for the quarter was $1.30 billion, $2.93 per diluted share, which includes a non-recurring charge to merchandise costs of $298 million pretax, $0.50 per diluted share, primarily for the discontinuation of our charter shipping activities. Last year’s third quarter net income was $1.35 billion, $3.04 per diluted share, which included a non-recurring $77 million pretax charge, $0.13 per diluted share, for incremental employee benefits. Net income for the first 36 weeks was $4.13 billion, $9.30 per diluted share, compared to $3.98 billion, $8.94 per diluted share, last year.

First Quarter Fiscal 2023 - Financial Results: *Net sales of $3.28 billion, down 6% compared to last year, inclusive of an estimated 1-point foreign exchange headwind and 2 percentage points of negative impact from the sale of Gap China. Net sales were in line with the company's expectations for a mid-single digit decline in the quarter. *Reported gross margin was 37.1%. Excluding $4 million in restructuring costs, adjusted gross margin of 37.2% increased 570 basis points versus last year. *Reported operating loss was $10 million; reported operating margin of negative 0.3%.

Total Company net sales for the three months ended April 30, 2023, increased 5.9% to a record $1.11 billion. Total Retail segment net sales increased 4%, with comparable Retail segment net sales increasing 5%, partially offset by a 1% negative impact of foreign currency translation. The increase in Retail segment comparable net sales was driven by high single-digit positive growth in digital channel sales and low single-digit positive growth in retail store sales. By brand, comparable Retail segment net sales increased 17% at the Free People Group and 13% at the Anthropologie Group and decreased 13% at Urban Outfitters. Wholesale segment net sales decreased 11% driven by a 14% decrease in Free People Group wholesale sales due to a decrease in sales to department stores and specialty customers, while Urban Outfitters wholesale sales increased by $1 million. Nuuly segment net sales increased by $28.6 million driven by a 118% increase in our subscribers as of the current quarter end versus the end of the prior year’s comparable quarter.

Comparisons refer to the 13-week period ended April 29, 2023 versus the 13-week period ended April 30, 2022: *Net sales decreased 3.3% year-over-year, to $3.4 billion, with comparable sales down 4.3%. *Gross margin as a percentage of net sales was 39.0%, an increase of 67 basis points. *Selling, general & administrative (SG&A) expenses decreased 4.2% year-over-year, to $1.2 billion. As a percentage of total revenue, SG&A expenses were 34.7%, a decrease of 13 basis points year-over-year. *Operating income was $98 million compared to $82 million in the prior year. As a percentage of total revenue, operating income was 2.8%, an increase of 55 basis points year-over-year. *Net income was $14 million, or $0.13 per share. This compares to net income of $14 million, or $0.11 per share in the prior year. *Inventory was $3.5 billion, a decrease of 6% year-over-year. *Operating cash flow was a use of ($202) million.

Learning technology company HMH today announced that Jean S. Desravines, CEO of national education nonprofit New Leaders, and Barak Eilam, CEO of global technology company NICE, have been appointed to HMH’s board of directors. Desravines serves as CEO of New Leaders, a national nonprofit organization that develops leaders for high-need schools and impacts more than 2 million K-12 students annually. Prior to joining New Leaders, he served in senior positions in the New York City Department of Education, including as senior counselor to Joel Klein, the chancellor of New York City’s public school system under Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and was named to Forbes’ “Impact 30” list as one of the world’s leading social entrepreneurs. As CEO of NICE since 2014, Eilam has transformed the global company into a leader in cloud, analytics, digital and AI through groundbreaking innovations and strategic acquisitions. Eilam started his career as an engineer at NICE in 1999 and in his 24 years with the company held multiple senior leadership roles in R&D, product management and sales.

The New York Times and the New York Times Guild have reached a contract agreement that would give union members an immediate 12.5% salary raise. The deal follows two years of often contentious negotiations and events such as a 24-hour strike. “After more than two years of negotiations, we can finally say it: @NYTimesGuild and @nytimes have reached a tentative agreement on a groundbreaking new collective bargaining agreement,” the union tweeted Tuesday. The five-year deal must still be ratified by the union membership. A vote is expected in the coming week, the Times reports.

The U.S. Postal Service today launched an online service performance dashboard, consistent with one of the operational reforms included in the Postal Service Reform Act. After prompting users to enter only a ZIP Code, the website provides customers with a variety of useful information, including the percentage of on-time delivery for specific mail and shipping products in each USPS district. This data, updated weekly, is based on scans collected when mail enters the network, during processing and at the point of delivery. The dashboard is available at https://about.usps.com/what/performance/service-performance/external-service-measurement.htm.

Should there be an international conference for publishing professionals in the United States? It is a question numerous people have asked since the demise of BookExpo in 2020. It’s no secret that the bright-lights-big-city buzz that made BookExpo so much fun and so essential for so many years had fizzled out, and booksellers and publishers alike were finding it of limited value. When BookExpo and BookCon were “retired,” parent company Reed Exhibitions made it clear that it was cutting its losses; the company had previously ended production of the Tokyo International Book Fair and subsequently shut down the Salon du Livre in Paris. Reed continues to run the London Book Fair—but should it remain the primary book publishing conference for the English-speaking world? The simple answer is no. The U.S. is the biggest English-language publishing market it the world, yet it’s one of the few large countries without an industrywide conference.

FY23 third quarter service performance scores covering April 1 through May 12, included: *First-Class Mail: 92.0% of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an increase of 1.0 percentage points from the fiscal second quarter. *Marketing Mail: 95.9% of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an increase of 1.3 percentage points from the fiscal second quarter. *Periodicals: 88.8% of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an increase of 2.3 percentage points from the fiscal second quarter.

Savvas Learning Company, a K-12 next-generation learning solutions leader, is proud to announce that its Savvas Essentials: Foundational Reading has earned a 2023 Readers' Choice Award presented by SmartBrief on EdTech. The new Savvas K-2 supplemental program, which supports the development of foundational skills that are so critical to the success of young readers, was recognized in the “Reading & Literacy” category. The SmartBrief Readers' Choice Awards celebrate the companies and products making a lasting impact on the education industry. Winners in the award program’s 11 categories are selected by those in the education community who vote for the innovative edtech tools and solutions they rely on most.

Savvas Learning Company, a K-12 next-generation learning solutions leader, is proud to announce that its enVision Mathematics K-12 series © 2024 has received a Gold Stevie Award in the 21st annual American Business Awards program, with the judges hailing the “innovative, student-centered math curriculum” as “very impressive.” With its unique and proven instructional design, enVision offers vertical alignment from kindergarten through grade 12, ensuring schools and districts meet student and teacher needs with one trusted program. The enVision series excels at helping educators teach with confidence and engaging students with hands-on, problem-based learning.

First Quarter Highlights •Consolidated revenue of $152.3 billion, up 7.6%, or 7.7% in constant currency (“cc”)1 •Consolidated gross margin rate declines 18 basis points on mix of sales •Consolidated operating expenses as a percentage of net sales down 58 basis points •Walmart U.S. comp sales up 7.4%3; eCommerce up 27%, led by pickup & delivery

The Postal Regulatory Commission released its Financial Analysis report, an in-depth evaluation of the overall financial position of the United States Postal Service in Fiscal Year (FY) 2022. With this year’s Financial Analysis report, the Commission introduces a fully accessible dashboard with downloadable data that provides a visual snapshot of key components of its analysis, including balance sheet and mail volume trends from 2007 to 2022. The dashboard is located on the Commission’s website, www.prc.gov. The enactment of the Postal Service Reform Act on April 6, 2022, resulted in significant changes to the Postal Service’s retirement obligations by canceling the outstanding $57 billion retiree health benefit liability, the annual payments for the retiree health benefits normal costs, and Retiree Health Benefit Fund amortization payments. In FY 2022, the Postal Service recorded a net operating loss of $0.5 billion, a $2.2 billion improvement over FY 2021. Furthermore, the Postal Service’s operating revenue increased by approximately $1.6 billion compared to FY 2021. This increase in revenue was primarily driven by First-Class Mail and USPS Marketing Mail rate increases. Competitive revenue declined from FY 2021 when package volumes were higher because of the pandemic-related surge in e-commerce, which continues to slow as the economy recovers.

Keep US Posted, a coalition of individual consumers, small businesses, nonprofits, newspapers, greeting card publishers, magazines and catalogs, is submitting new economic analysis to Congress challenging the U.S. Postal Service’s plans to continue increasing postage rates twice per year. The analysis was submitted to the House Oversight Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Federal Workforce ahead of Wednesday’s 10 a.m. hearing concerning the USPS “Delivering for America” plan. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy is expected to testify. Commissioned by the Greeting Card Association, a Keep US Posted member organization, the new analysis exposes serious flaws in the Delivering for America plan’s projections and calls into question the viability of excessive postage rate increases. Specifically, the report notes that mail volumes were better than forecast initially, but the recent pattern of twice-a-year rate increases have led to a perilous loss of mail.

A Nike customer is accusing the brand of greenwashing. In a complaint filed May 10 at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, plaintiff Maria Guadalupe Ellis claimed that Nike uses “deceptive and misleading” statements when marketing its sustainability collection. Specifically, the suit claims that Nike “deceives consumers into believing that they're receiving products that are sustainable, made with recycled fibers,” and can reduce carbon one’s footprint in a move to “zero carbon and zero waste.” “[The plaintiff] would not have purchased the products if she had known that they were not sustainable, not made from sustainable materials and not environmentally friendly,” the suit read. Ellis, who is asking the lawsuit to be certified as a federal and state class action, also said that of the 2,452 products Nike lists in its sustainability collection, “only 239 products are actually made with any recycled materials."

The United States Postal Service (Postal Service) and United States Postal Inspection Service (Postal Inspection Service) today announced expanded actions to protect Postal employees and the security of the nation’s mail and packages as threats and attacks on letter carriers and mail fraud incidents have escalated concurrently with a national rise in crime. The Postal Service and Postal Inspection Service held a joint briefing for Congress members and staff on these efforts on May 11, 2023. “As crime rises, so do the threats against our public servants,” said Postmaster General and Chief Executive Officer Louis DeJoy. “The men and women of the Postal Service are walking our nation’s streets every day to fulfil our mission of delivering mail and packages to the American people. Every Postal employee deserves to work in safety and to be free from targeting by criminals seeking to access the public's mail.”

FY23 third quarter service performance scores covering April 1 through May 5, included: *First-Class Mail: 91.9% of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an increase of 1.0 percentage point from the fiscal second quarter. *Marketing Mail: 95.9% of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an increase of 1.3 percentage points from the fiscal second quarter. *Periodicals: 88.8% of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an increase of 2.3 percentage points from the fiscal second quarter.

The British Printing Industries Federation (BPIF) is calling for entries to the British Book Design and Production Awards 2023 with two brand new categories for Innovative and Sustainable Books. As one of the most prestigious and popular literary events of the year, these are the only industry awards to promote and celebrate the excellence and craftsmanship of the British book design and production industry. All books published between 1 July 2022 and 7 July 2023 are eligible for entry in this year’s awards. There are 18 categories that represent the many various forms books can take. These include everything from Best British Book, Children’s Trade to Sustainable Books categories.

The Company reported fiscal 2023 third quarter total revenues of $2.45 billion, a 2% decrease compared to $2.49 billion in the prior year period. The decline was primarily due to a $98 million, or 4%, negative impact from foreign currency fluctuations and lower revenues at the Digital Real Estate Services segment due to continued challenging housing market conditions in the U.S. and Australia. Net income for the quarter was $59 million, a 43% decline compared to $104 million in the prior year, primarily due to lower Total Segment EBITDA, as discussed below, higher depreciation and amortization expense and higher losses from equity affiliates, partially offset by lower impairment charges.

Total revenues across all categories for February 2023 were up 0.2% as compared to February 2022, coming in at $1.0 billion. Year-to-date revenues were up 1.8%, at $2.3 billion for the first two months of the year. Trade (Consumer Books) revenues were down 0.4% in February, coming in at $706.3 million. In terms of physical paper format revenues during the month of February, in the Trade (Consumer Books) category, Hardback revenues were down 6.4%, coming in at $235.5 million; Paperbacks were down 0.9%, with $244.7 million in revenue; Mass Market was down 3.2% to $15.5 million; and Special Bindings were down 5.5%, with $16.2 million in revenue. eBook revenues were down 4.8% for the month as compared to February 2022 for a total of $87.5 million, and overall Digital Audio format was up 31.6% for February, coming in at $84.5 million in revenue.

USPS Ground Advantage Will Feature: *$100 insurance included for both retail and commercial customers, USPS Ground Advantage outbound and return parcels. *Package forwarding and return to sender endorsements will be included for the USPS Ground Advantage product offering. *Free package pickup on the carrier’s route. Published prices for USPS Ground Advantage will decrease 1.4 percent relative to current Parcel Select Ground and First-Class Package Service pricing. USPS Ground Advantage Retail prices will decrease 3.2 percent and USPS Ground Advantage Commercial published prices will decrease 0.7 percent.

Sales increased 3% to $302.8 million, compared to $293.6 million during the same period last year. As previously disclosed, our 2023 results were impacted by the stop sale of certain soft coolers included in the voluntary recalls. Gross profit increased 5% to $161.9 million, or 53.5% of sales, compared to $154.9 million, or 52.7% of sales, in the first quarter of 2022. Gross profit was positively impacted by lower inbound freight, partially offset by higher product costs and the unfavorable impact of foreign currency exchange rates. Gross profit also included a $1.2 million, or 40 basis points, favorable impact from adjustments to inventory reserves related to the voluntary recalls. Net income decreased 59% to $10.6 million, or 3.5% of sales, compared to $25.7 million, or 8.7% of sales in the prior year quarter.

The New York Times Company announced first quarter 2023 diluted earnings per share of $.13 compared with $.03 in the same period of 2022. Operating profit increased to $27.9 million in the first quarter of 2023 from $6.3 million in the same period of 2022 as the impact of acquisition-related charges taken in the prior year and higher digital subscription and other revenues were partially offset by higher operating costs and lower advertising revenues.

Total operating revenue was $19.3 billion for the quarter, a decrease of $484 million, or 2.4 percent, compared to the same quarter last year. First-Class Mail revenue increased $33 million, or 0.5 percent, on a volume decline of 1.1 billion pieces, or 8.1 percent, compared to the same quarter last year. Marketing Mail revenue decreased $161 million, or 4.3 percent, on a volume decline of 1.7 billion pieces, or 11.0 percent, compared to the same quarter last year. Shipping and Packages revenue decreased $162 million, or 2.1 percent, on a volume decline of 89 million pieces, or 5.0 percent, compared to the same quarter last year. Total operating expenses were $22.0 billion for the quarter, an increase of $1.6 billion, or 7.6 percent, compared to the same quarter last year. On a non-GAAP basis, adjusted operating expenses increased by $641 million, or 3.3 percent, compared to the same quarter last year.

Adobe announced the latest online inflation data from the Adobe Digital Price Index (DPI), powered by Adobe Analytics. Online prices in April 2023 fell 1.8% year-over-year (YoY), marking the eighth consecutive month of YoY price decreases, with the majority of categories (11 of 18) tracked by Adobe seeing falling prices on an annual basis. On a month-over-month (MoM) basis, online prices fell 0.7% in April. April’s YoY price decline was driven by notable drops in categories such as appliances, which fell 7.1% YoY (down 2.1% MoM), the largest YoY drop for the category since Adobe began tracking online prices in 2014. Prices continued to fall YoY in categories including sporting goods (down 6.4% YoY, up 1.5% MoM), toys (down 5.9% YoY, down 0.2% MoM) and home/garden (down 5.6% YoY, down 0.8% MoM). Steeper YoY declines were observed in electronics, which fell 11.6% YoY (up 0.5% MoM), as well as computers, which fell 15.4% YoY (up 1.9% MoM).

Congestion at the nation’s ports has largely disappeared as import levels have fallen amid economic uncertainty. That’s according to the Global Port Tracker report released Monday by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates. It found that while import cargo volume at the nation’s major container ports is climbing back from a nearly three-year low in February, it is expected to remain well below last year’s levels heading into the fall. “Consumers are still spending and retail sales are expected to increase this year, but we’re not seeing the explosive demand we saw the past two years,” NRF VP for supply chain and customs policy Jonathan Gold said.

FY23 third quarter service performance scores covering April 1 through April 28, included: *First-Class Mail: 91.8% of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an increase of 0.8 percentage points from the fiscal second quarter. *Marketing Mail: 95.8% of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an increase of 1.3 percentage points from the fiscal second quarter. *Periodicals: 88.6% of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an increase of 2.1 percentage points from the fiscal second quarter.

Amazon’s latest state-of-the-art supply chain facility is located in southern New England. The e-tail giant is opening a fulfillment center in Windsor, Conn., equipped with advanced robotics technology. The 3.8.-million-square-foot facility began processing and delivering customer orders starting in November 2022, and will eventually employ more than 2,000 workers. At this facility, employees pick, pack and ship smaller customer items such as books, electronics, small household goods and toys.

Two Sides had filed a complaint following an advertisement broadcast by DocuSign claiming that the use of electronic signatures notably made it possible to save CO2 and save trees. By confirming that such environmental communication is contrary to professional recommendations, this decision will help combat the all too frequent unfounded allegations promoting digital tools at the expense of paper.

Costco Wholesale Corporation reported net sales of $17.85 billion for the retail month of April, the four weeks ended April 30, 2023, an increase of 3.0 percent from $17.33 billion last year. For the thirty-five weeks ended April 30, 2023, the Company reported net sales of $155.62 billion, an increase of 5.6 percent from $147.33 billion last year.

First Quarter 2023 Financial Highlights: • Total revenues of $668.9 million decreased 10.6% compared to the first quarter of 2022 ◦ Same store revenues(1) decreased 9.3% compared to the first quarter of 2022 • Total digital revenues were $247.5 million or 37.0% of total revenues, down 0.9% over the same period in the prior year on a same store(1) basis primarily as a result of declines in digital media year-over-year • Net income attributable to Gannett of $10.3 million, representing an income margin of 1.5%, improved by $13.3 million versus the net loss attributable to Gannett of $3.0 million in the first quarter of 2022

S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI) announced that it has completed the sale of its Engineering Solutions business to investment funds managed by KKR, a leading global investment firm. S&P Global received the full proceeds from the sale of $975 million in cash, subject to purchase price adjustments, which S&P expects to result in approximately $750 million of after-tax proceeds. The transaction will also include local closings in certain jurisdictions, which are expected to occur during the balance of 2023. In the future, the Engineering Solutions business will operate as an independent company by the name of Accuris.