Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world’s largest retail bookseller, today announced the launch of Barnes & Noble Press, an enhanced and more user-friendly version of Barnes & Noble’s…

Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) today reported net income of $387 million or $0.99 per diluted share for the fourth quarter of 2017, as compared to $563 million or $1.40…

Discover today announced plans to raise its minimum hourly pay rate to $15.25 for virtually all of its full-time U.S. employees as a result of the recent corporate tax reductions…

Today, The Home Depot® announced plans to provide a new one-time cash bonus for U.S. hourly associates of up to $1,000 in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017.  The bonus…

Grainger (NYSE: GWW) today reported results for the year ended Dec. 31, 2017.  Sales of $10.4 billion were up 3 percent versus $10.1 billion in 2016.  Reported net earnings of…

Sun Chemical and its parent company, DIC Corporation, have acquired C.T.LAY S.R.L. Based in Modena, Italy, C.T.LAY is a global leader in pre-laid overlays, pre-patched holograms, and, through its joint-venture…

Kohl’s (NYSE: KSS) today announced 28 local non-profits as recipients of a combined $500,000 in grants through Kohl’s new Hometown Giving Program. The organizations will use the funding for programs…

The Federation of European Publishers (FEP) released its latest statistical report, which covers 2016 and aggregates data from 29 national associations across Europe. The report indicates that total annual sales…

An Instagram post from 57th Street Books in Chicago, showing the store’s window display featuring ‘Fire and Fury.’ Henry Holt’s efforts to rush more copies of Fire and Fury to…

Bonnier Corp., the Swedish-owned publisher of special-interest magazines like Field & Stream and Popular Science, has laid off 70 employees from its U.S. operation and will shutter the print editions of five titles, a spokeswoman confirmed to Folio: on Wednesday. Motorcycle titles Baggers and Dirt Rider, as well as the water sports magazines Sport Diver, Wakeboarding, and WaterSki will cease in print and continue as digital-only brands, although those titles are far from the only areas of the company affected. Click Read More below for additional information.

Unit sales of print books fell 4% in 2017 compared to 2016 in Canada, while dollar sales dropped 3%, according to figures compiled by BookNet Canada’s sales tracking service. BookNet reported that the Canadian book industry sold approximately 51.5 million copies in 2017, for just over C$1 billion. Figures are based on a group of retailers that provide sales data to BookNet annually and account for about 85% of print sales. Click Read More below for additional information.

Meredith Corporation announced that early termination of the waiting period has been granted under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvement Act of 1976 applicable to its acquisition of Time Inc. As a result, Meredith plans to complete the transaction – first announced on November 26, 2017 – within the next 30 days, subject to satisfaction of the other terms and conditions of the tender offer. Meredith also announced that it intends to offer, subject to market and other customary conditions, up to $1.4 billion in aggregate principal of new senior unsecured 8-year notes (the "Notes"). Meredith intends to use the net proceeds of the proposed offering to fund a portion of its proposed acquisition of Time Inc.; to repay existing Meredith and Time Inc. indebtedness and credit facilities; and pay other fees and expenses related to Meredith's acquisition of Time Inc. and the related refinancing. Click Read More below for additional information.

Amid extreme weather and tight capacity, national average spot truckload rates saw double-digit increases during the week ending Jan. 6, according to DAT Solutions, which operates the DAT network of load boards. The number of available loads increased 27%, in line with expectations when a full workweek follows a holiday-shortened one. However, the number of trucks posted to DAT load boards was up just 7.4% and the imbalance pushed load-to-truck ratios up for all three equipment types. In the van market, load posts jumped 26% but truck posts were up only 6%, as many truckers were still taking time off. The national average van rate was $2.30/mile, up 19 cents compared to the previous week. Click Read More below for additional information.

Sam’s Club, a division of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. announced changes to the business unit’s U.S. real estate portfolio, with the closure of 63 clubs around the country. The company will convert up to 12 of the impacted clubs to eCommerce fulfillment centers in a move that will speed delivery of online orders, with the balance of the facilities closing over the next few weeks. Currently, Walmart and Sam’s Club operate more than 5,400 locations across the U.S.; after the actions announced today the company will have 597 clubs. The action was taken after a thorough performance review. “Transforming our business means managing our real estate portfolio and Walmart needs a strong fleet of Sam’s Clubs that are fit for the future,” said John Furner, president and CEO of Sam’s Club. “We know this is difficult news for our associates and we are working to place as many of them as possible at nearby locations. Our focus today has been on those associates and their communities, and communicating with them.” Sam’s Club Shares Changes to Club Fleet

Meredith Corporation announced that it has extended its previously announced tender offer to purchase all of the outstanding shares of common stock of Time Inc. for $18.50 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at $2.8 billion. The Offer will now expire one minute after 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Time) on January 25, 2018, per terms of the merger agreement, unless further extended. All other terms and conditions of the Offer remain unchanged. Computershare Trust Company, N.A., the depository for the Offer, has advised Meredith that as of the close of business (Eastern Time) on January 10, 2018, approximately 59,024,324 shares of common stock of Time (not including 4,812,404 shares tendered by notice of guaranteed delivery for which shares have not yet been delivered) have been validly tendered and not properly withdrawn pursuant to the Offer, representing approximately 58.7% of the outstanding shares of common stock of Time. Click Read More below for additional information.

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.

Customers that couldn't get a physical copy of Michael Wolff's Fire and Fury were in good company. According to figures from NPD BookScan, the hottest book of the year sold 28,567 print copies in the three days it was available for sale last week (ended January 7). BookScan covers 80- 85% of all print sales, excluding those through libraries. Although the figure is surprisingly low for a book that has captured the attention of the media and the President in such striking fashion, that number was still enough to make the White House tell-all the top-selling title in the country last week. John Sargent, CEO of Holt parent company Macmillan, told the Wall Street Journal that Fire and Fury had a 150,000-copy first printing. The discrepancy between the announced first printing and last week's sales is likely, in part, the result of Holt moving the book's publication date up, from January 9 to January 5. Shipments of the book that were timed to hit stores early this week may have been on the road over the weekend. Click Read More below for additional information.

While the digital revolution is changing the way people learn, work, pay and play, print is still a preferred choice for many aspects of American life. New research shows that the perception of information credibility increases with print, and that people find reading on paper more enjoyable than reading on digital devices. In 2017, Two Sides North America commissioned a survey of more than 2,000 adults in the United States to find out how print and paper are viewed in a digital world. Two Sides is an independent nonprofit organization created to promote the sustainability of print and paper. Its members, including Domtar, span the print and paper value chain, including forestry, pulp, paper, inks and chemicals, pre-press, press, finishing, publishing, printing, envelopes and postal operators. Phil Riebel, president of Two Sides North America, spoke about the survey’s key findings and explored how digital and print play complementary roles in the ways consumers live. Click Read More below for additional information.

Meredith Corporation is pleased to announce the launch of Hungry Girl magazine. The spring issue will be on newsstands January 16th and carry a $9.99 cover price. This magazine was created under the vision of Lisa Lillien, the creator of the Hungry Girl brand and founder of hungry-girl.com. Lillien, a leader in the better-for-you food space, is the author of twelve bestselling cookbooks, six of which debuted at #1 on the New York Times Best Sellers list. Nearly 3 million email subscribers and social media followers eagerly await Hungry Girl's recipes, food finds, and tips & tricks each weekday. Click Read More below for additional information.

Nordstrom, Inc. announced an increase in its net sales of 2.5 percent and an increase in comparable sales of 1.2 percent for the nine weeks ended December 30, 2017, compared with the same period last year. This reflected an improvement in Nordstrom full-line and Nordstrom Rack stores relative to year-to-date sales trends and continued growth in e-commerce at Nordstrom.com and Nordstromrack.com/HauteLook. In the Nordstrom brand, including U.S. and Canada full-line stores and Nordstrom.com, net sales when combined with Trunk Club, increased 0.7 percent and comparable sales increased 1.0 percent. In the Nordstrom Rack brand, which consists of Nordstrom Rack stores and Nordstromrack.com/HauteLook, net sales increased 8.2 percent and comparable sales increased 2.9 percent. Click Read More below for additional information.

In a dramatic changing of the guard at the niche magazine publisher, F+W Media has dismissed its CEO, COO, and CTO, Folio: has learned. The company’s board of directors revealed Monday its decision to part ways with CEO Tom Beusse, COO Joe Seibert, and CTO Joe Romello, installing Greg Osberg, CEO of media consulting firm Revlyst, as F+W’s interim CEO while a replacement is sought. After determining that a change was needed, Osberg tells Folio:, ownership decided to bring him on—as well as a team of consultants from business advisory firm FTI Consulting—in a move that’s less an indictment of existing management’s strategic plan, but rather indicative of a desire to expedite the company’s necessary transformation. Click Read More below for additional information.

Hearst announced today that it has completed its transaction with Rodale to acquire the company’s global health and wellness brands. In addition to the U.S. editions and digital expressions, the newly-acquired brands publish 62 print editions and 57 websites in 31 countries. The acquisition adds complementary health and wellness titles to Hearst’s diversified portfolio of magazine brands, encompassing 20 titles in the U.S. and nearly 300 editions and websites around the world. The announcement was made by Hearst President and CEO Steven R. Swartz and Hearst Magazines President David Carey. Terms were not disclosed. Concurrent with the close, Penguin Random House purchased the assets of Rodale Books.

After completing its purchase of Rodale Inc. last week, the Hearst Corp., which announced the deal in October, quickly turned around and sold Rodale's trade book publishing assets to Penguin Random House. Terms of the acquisition, which involves more than 2,000 backlist titles and 100 frontlist books, were not disclosed. With the purchase, Rodale Books’ adult nonfiction titles will be released under the Rodale Books imprint. It will become part of the Crown Publishing Group, and will be an imprint of its Illustrated and Lifestyle division, comprised of the Harmony, Ten Speed Press, and Clarkson Potter publishing programs, overseen by Aaron Wehner, senior v-p of the unit’s imprints. Diana Baroni, v-p and editorial director of Harmony Books, will oversee Rodale Books. Click Read More below for additional information.

Barnes & Noble, Inc. announced that it collected approximately 1.6 million books during its 2017 Holiday Book Drive program. The books are being donated to more than 650 local charities across the country that provide services to children. The donation was made possible through the generous support of Barnes & Noble customers, who purchased books for donation at Barnes & Noble bookstores nationwide between November 1, 2017, and January 1, 2018. Community partners are distributing the books collected to hospitals, schools, literacy organizations and social service organizations. Click Read More below for additional information.

Target Corporation announced that its comparable sales in the combined November/December period grew 3.4 percent, compared with the expected range of 0 to 2 percent. Comparable sales across all of the Company's core merchandise categories – Home, Apparel, Food & Beverage, Hardlines and Essentials – were positive and accelerated from the third quarter, reflecting strong traffic growth, positive store comps and continued strength in digital sales. Target now expects 2017 will be the fourth consecutive year in which its digital sales grow more than 25 percent. Click Read More below for additional information.

Intense demand for the book has caught its publisher, Henry Holt, off guard as the Macmillan imprint scrambles to get copies into the marketplace. Gauging a book's traction in the marketplace and setting its print run is, arguably, one of the trickiest aspects of the publishing process. And Holt, in this instance, got it very wrong. Fire and Fury, which became a hot commodity last week after bombshell comments it contained from former (and current) White House staffers were released early by the media, is currently out-of-stock at the major chains, Amazon and independent bookstores. It's available in limited supply at most libraries. Amazon said in a statement that "due to a last-minute change in the release date [of the book] and heightened interest, we are working with the publisher to fulfill print book orders as quickly as possible." The book is currently #1 in all major formats at the retailer (print, e-book and audio), with Amazon estimating it could be as much as two to four weeks before it can ship copies. Click Read More below for additional information.

Kevin Mansell, Kohl's chairman, chief executive officer and president, said, “We are very pleased with our Holiday period sales, which were consistently strong through November and December. All lines of business and all regions reported positive comp sales. As expected, growth in digital demand accelerated significantly in the Holiday period from the year-to-date trend. In addition, we experienced positive sales in our stores driven by stronger traffic. I’d like to thank every Kohl’s associate across the organization for their commitment to delivering an outstanding Holiday experience for our customers.” Based on stronger than expected Holiday sales and expectations for fiscal January, the Company now expects its fiscal 2017 diluted earnings per share to be $4.10 to $4.20 versus its previous guidance of $3.72 to $3.92. Excluding the Company's previously disclosed fourth quarter tax settlement of $30 million, diluted earnings per share is expected to be $3.98 to $4.08, compared to its prior guidance of $3.60 to $3.80.

Chico's FAS, Inc. announced that the Company is updating its outlook for the fiscal 2017 fourth quarter ending February 3, 2018. Based on results to date, the Company anticipates fourth quarter total comparable sales in the negative 5% to negative 7% range, an improvement on its previous outlook of negative high single-digits. As previously announced, approximately $30 million in sales from the 53rd week of fiscal 2017 are not included in the comparable sales calculation for the Company's outlook. Click Read More below for additional information.

The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. announced that its comparable store sales for the nine-week holiday period ended December 30, 2017 decreased 2.9%. Total sales for the nine-week November and December period were $720.8 million compared to sales of $752.1 million in the prior year period. The Company's best performing categories over the period were Cosmetics, Children's, Outerwear and Fine Jewelry. Bill Tracy, president and chief executive officer for The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. said, "The Company's holiday period comparable store sales decrease of 2.9% is an improvement from the comparable store sales decrease of 6.6% reported in the third quarter. We are actively engaged in discussions with our debt holders in an effort to strengthen our capital structure to support the business going forward."

Midland Paper, Packaging & Supplies, a $1 Billion wholesale distribution company based in Chicago, IL, announced this week that Stan Hooker, the company’s long-time Chairman & CEO, has retired and sold his majority interest to his three partners, Ralph DeLetto, Mike Graves, and Jim O’Toole. This transition allows the company to continue its long tradition of being the leading independent paper and packaging distribution company in North America. Mr. Hooker said: “The timing of this transition is good for me personally, as my wife and I can devote more time to being with our friends and family, and the timing is good for Midland given the company’s strong financial position and its proven senior leadership team at the helm”. Mike Graves, the company's President and COO, will assume the role of CEO. Mr. Graves noted: “we are grateful to Stan for his longstanding leadership at Midland, and we look forward to continuing Midland’s legacy as an entrepreneurial, independent organization that strives to be the first choice for suppliers and customers alike”.

Pre®Brands, purveyors of the world's best grass-fed beef, has launched an e-commerce store to sell its premium, hand-trimmed 100% grass-fed and finished steaks and ground beef to eager consumers across America. Pre®prides itself in maintaining the highest quality standards for all of its products, in order to bring discerning shoppers the best beef nature provides. And consumers have noticed – since its start in 2015, Pre®has been America's fastest growing beef brand*. Two years later, Pre®'s expanding in-store retail presence, largely in the Midwest, hasn't kept up with burgeoning national consumer demand – a need e-commerce will help meet. Pre® can now be purchased online at www.eatpre.com. Click Read More below for additional information.

Barnes & Noble, Inc. reported holiday sales for the nine-week holiday period ending December 30, 2017. Total sales for the holiday period were $953 million, declining 6.4% as compared to the prior year. Comparable store sales also declined 6.4% for the holiday period, while online sales declined 4.5%. Entering December, the Company was encouraged by the comparable store sales improvements throughout the second quarter and into November. Click Read More below for additional information.

Unit sales of print books rose 1.9% in 2017, over 2016, at outlets that report to NDP BookScan, which captures between 80-85% of print sales. Total units sold at outlets that report to the service were 687.2 million, up from 674.1 million in 2016. The increase follows a 3.3% increase in 2016 over 2015 with units having risen every year since 2013. Since 2013, print unit sales are up 10.8%. The unit gain was driven by the retail and club channel, where sales rose 3.5% in 2017 over 2016. Units in the channel hit 593.7 million units, compared to 573.8 million units sold in 2016. Sales via the mass merchandisers channel fell 6.7% in the year, dropping to 93.6 million units, down from 100.4 million units in 2016. Click Read More below for additional information.

L Brands, Inc. reported net sales of $2.516 billion for the five weeks ended Dec. 30, 2017, an increase of 3 percent, compared to net sales of $2.438 billion for the five weeks ended Dec. 31, 2016. Comparable sales increased 1 percent for the five weeks ended Dec. 30, 2017. The company reported net sales of $11.592 billion for the 48 weeks ended Dec. 30, 2017, compared to net sales of $11.769 billion for the 48 weeks ended Dec. 31, 2016. Comparable sales decreased 4 percent for the 48 weeks ended Dec. 30, 2017. For the 48 weeks ended Dec. 30, 2017, the exit of the swim and apparel categories had a negative impact of about 3 percentage points and 5 percentage points to total company and Victoria’s Secret comparable sales, respectively. Click Read More below for additional information.

J. C. Penney Company, Inc. announced that its comparable store sales for the combined nine-week period ending December 30, 2017 increased 3.4 % over the same period last year. The Company also reaffirmed all components of its most recent full-year financial guidance for fiscal 2017. "We are very encouraged with our overall comp sales performance during the holiday season, which was led by home, beauty and fine jewelry. Additionally, our apparel categories continue to demonstrate improved comp performance, particularly in women's and kids. We are also pleased by our e-commerce business that continues to outpace prior year results with double-digit sales growth, largely driven by sought-after gifting categories such as fine jewelry, home decor and luggage, toys, boots and athletic footwear. Our ability to execute e-commerce fulfillment from 100% of our brick and mortar stores helped fuel the growth in e-commerce for the holiday season. We remain confident that our strategic initiatives are taking hold and resonating with customers," said Marvin R. Ellison, chairman and chief executive officer of JCPenney. Click Read More below for additional information.

Costco Wholesale Corporation reported net sales of $14.94 billion for the month of December, the five weeks ended December 31, 2017, an increase of 14.3 percent from $13.07 billion during the similar period last year. For the first 17 weeks of fiscal year 2018 ended December 31, 2017, the Company reported net sales of $46.06 billion, an increase of 11.9 percent from $41.18 billion reported during the similar period last year. Click Read More below for additional information.

Time Inc. has officially sold Essence—the magazine as well as its website and events business—to a group of investors led by Shea Moisture founder Richelieu Dennis, the latter announced today. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the buyer confirmed that Essence president Michelle Ebanks will continue at the helm and will gain an equity stake in the business. Click Read More below for additional information.

Revenues from continuing operations for the quarter were $5.4 billion compared to revenues from continuing operations of $5.7 billion in the prior year's third quarter, a decrease of $315.9 million or 5.6 percent. Retail Pharmacy Segment revenues were $4.0 billion and decreased 3.0 percent compared to the prior year period primarily as a result of a decrease in same store sales and reimbursement rates. Revenues in the company's Pharmacy Services Segment were $1.4 billion and decreased 12.2 percent compared to the prior year period, due to an election to participate in fewer Medicare Part D regions and a decline in commercial business. Same store sales from continuing operations for the quarter decreased 2.5 percent from the prior year, consisting of a 3.5 percent decrease in pharmacy sales and a 0.5 percent decrease in front-end sales. Pharmacy sales included an approximate 198 basis point negative impact from new generic introductions. The number of prescriptions filled in same stores, adjusted to 30-day equivalents, decreased 2.4 percent from the prior year period due in part to exclusion from certain pharmacy networks that Rite Aid participated in the prior year. Prescription sales from continuing operations accounted for 66.5 percent of total drugstore sales. Net loss from continuing operations was $18.2 million or $0.02 per diluted share compared to last year's third quarter net income from continuing operations of $23.6 million or $0.02 per diluted share. The decline in operating results was due primarily to a decline in Adjusted EBITDA, partially offset by a higher income tax benefit. Click Read More below for additional information.

Fiscal 2018 first quarter net earnings attributable to Walgreens Boots Alliance determined in accordance with GAAP decreased 22.1 percent to $821 million compared with the same quarter a year ago, while GAAP diluted net earnings per share decreased 16.5 percent to $0.81 compared with the same quarter a year ago. The decreases in GAAP net earnings and GAAP net earnings per share were mainly due to impairment of the company's equity method investment in Guangzhou Pharmaceuticals. In addition, these decreases reflect a loss from the company's equity earnings in AmerisourceBergen and benefits from the UK tax rate reduction recorded in the same quarter a year ago. Sales in the first quarter were $30.7 billion, an increase of 7.9 percent from the year-ago quarter, and an increase of 7.2 percent on a constant currency basis. 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 American Catalog Mailers Association, Inc. filed a lawsuit against the Ohio Department of Taxation, seeking to declare unconstitutional a new state law that improperly expands the Department's jurisdiction beyond the state's borders in clear violation of existing U.S. Supreme Court precedent. The ACMA intends to demonstrate that Ohio’s software “cookie” nexus standard for sales/use tax is in direct contravention of the extraterritorial limits on state tax authority under Quill v. North Dakota. The state is claiming that the mere presence of electrons placed on an Ohio computer pierces the longstanding "physical presence" test under Quill and subjects remote sellers to sales tax collection and other compliance obligations. “This is an egregious assault on out of state companies seeking to sell to Ohio residents and effectively presents a barrier to interstate commerce that cannot be left unchallenged,” said ACMA President Hamilton Davison. “We have no doubt the Ohio judiciary, in light of the well-established national precedent created by the highest court in the land, will overturn this illegal new law.” ACMA has filed this action just before the law’s January 1, 2018 effective date. Click Read More below for additional information.

Amazon announced its Best of Prime 2017 – revealing some of the Prime member favorites of the year. Built on a foundation of fast, free delivery, more than five billion items worldwide shipped with Prime in 2017, including free same-day, one-day, and two-day shipping. Prime is designed to make members’ lives easier and more fun with a unique combination of shipping, shopping and entertainment. Prime members used their digital benefits in 2017 more than in any previous year - putting The Grand Tour on Prime Video, “Believer” by Imagine Dragons on Prime Music and The Handmaid’s Tale on Prime Reading on the U.S. ‘best of’ list for 2017. Find Amazon’s Best of Prime 2017 on Prime Insider. Click Read More below for additional information.

Hearst achieved record profits for the seventh straight year, as our efforts to build and acquire great companies in the business data and software sector helped overcome a tough year for many of our consumer media franchises. Our biggest majority-owned business, Fitch Group, led the way with an outstanding performance across the world, particularly in its core bond ratings business. 2017 was another great year to be a consumer of media products but less so to be a provider of that content. While platform companies like Google, Facebook, Amazon and Netflix thrived through their dominance of advertising and ecommerce channels, many individual media brands struggled to get their share of the advertising pie and consumers bought fewer television bundles or magazine subscriptions. In magazines, led by President David Carey and Publishing Director Michael Clinton, our world class digital operation made significant gains in 2017, and some of the newer magazines we have launched over the past 10 years, namely Food Network Magazine and HGTV Magazine, are among our best editorial products and most profitable titles. Still, the magazine business needs more change. With respect to many of our titles, we need the readers to pay more for the product. And we need to find a way to make digital subscription products work for magazines in the way that they are starting to work for newspapers. Near the end of 2017 we agreed to acquire Rodale’s magazine business, with such well-established titles as Men’s Health, Women’s Health and Prevention. The addition of these titles will give our magazine business a shot in the arm and some new talent to help in our efforts to keep innovating and experimenting as we reset the business model for the future. Click Read More below for additional information.

Last year JK Rowling reclaimed the No 1 spot in the bestseller charts by returning from mundane reality to the Potterverse (with the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child playscript); and before that EL James topped the 2015 charts by revisiting the Fifty Shades world from Christian’s perspective. In 2017 it was Jamie Oliver’s turn to play the comeback champion, after managing a best position of only 40th a year ago and being described in (ahem) the 2016 bestsellers analysis piece as “apparently fading”. Mysteriously revitalised (surely there’s more to it than Channel 4 restoring him to peak-time after marooning him in the afternoon?), Oliver leads a markedly blokey top 10 dominated by recurring figures, with two David Walliams titles joined by books from Dan Brown, Lee Child, Jeff Kinney and Guinness World Records. Click Read More below for additional information.

Mr. Magazine — or Sami A. Husni, the director of the Magazine Innovation Center at the University of Mississippi, School of Journalism and a renowned magazine expert — has selected the 20 “hottest” magazine launches of 2017. In February, the annual list will be whittled down to one — and that magazine will win “The Launch of the Year” at the American Magazine Media Conference hosted by MPA: The Association of Magazine Media. Between October 2016 and December 2017, Mr. Magazine counts 201 new magazine brands that launched with a regular publishing frequency. Click Read More below for additional information.

While holiday unit sales of print books got off to a slow start Thanksgiving weekend, they ended on a strong note. Print unit sales increased 7% in the week ended Dec. 24, 2017, over the comparable week in 2016 at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. The gain was driven by the retail and club channel, where unit sales were 8% higher than the week ended Dec. 25, 2016. Sales through mass merchandisers fell 2% in the week compared to 2016. Juvenile nonfiction had the strongest gain among the major book segments, with units up 19% over 2016. Rob Elliott’s Laugh-Out-Loud Jokes for Kids was #1 on the category bestseller list, selling more than 33,000 copies. Star Wars: The Last Jedi: The Visual Dictionary by Pablo Hidalgo moved up the list in the week, selling almost 25,000 copies, which put it in fourth place on the segment bestseller list. Click Read More below for additional information.

Unit sales of print books rose 3% in the week ended December 17, 2017, over the comparable period in 2016, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Last week was the first week that print unit sales were up over the comparable week in 2016 since the holiday selling season began during Thanksgiving week. The retail and club channel, which includes all bookstores plus Amazon, had a 5% increase in sales over the week ended December 18, 201, and with two weeks left to go in 2017, sales through that channel were up 3%. The mass merchandiser channel, however, continued to trend downward compared to last year. Last week, unit sales to mass merchandisers were down 9% compared to the similar week in 2016, and for the year to date, sales fell 8%. Click Read More below for additional information.

There’s a question that’s been asked since the early beginnings of digital communication over 30 years ago. That question has been the focus of many debates, discussions, articles and research papers, as well as arguments between billions of parents and their children all over the world. It’s preoccupied governments, academics, companies, organisations and brands, and will continue to do so for a long time to come. The question is simple: Is digital harming our health? The amount of digital information that’s being created, consumed and shared every day is staggering. In just one minute of an average day, Google receives over 4,000,000 search queries, YouTube users upload 72 hours of new video, Facebook users share 2,460,000 pieces of content, and Apple users download 48,000 apps. By the time you will have finished reading this article, those numbers will have increased further. All this content consumption brings with it a host of potential health issues for the user. Anxiety, depression, addiction, isolation, narcissism, all are becoming more and more common, particularly amongst the young. Click Read More below for additional information.

Rolling Stone, the magazine Jann Wenner started 50 years ago with a $7,500 loan from his family, closed a deal with Penske Media Corporation, sending Wenner Media's value to $100 million and giving PMC a controlling interest in the company. Wenner Media was previously valued at $50 million. The investment from PMC is within that same range, giving them a 51% stake. It is reported to rival what it paid for Fairchild's stable of titles in 2014. After rumors circled that PMC was the frontrunner in the bid for Wenner Media, the corporation closed the deal yesterday afternoon. Click Read More below for additional information.

Informed Delivery users can now view images of their household’s incoming mail and manage their package deliveries, the Postal Service announced today. More than seven million Informed Delivery users who opt-in to receive email notifications can now view their mail in their daily digest emails and also see tracking information about the expected delivery of their packages. Also, users are able to track package deliveries, leave delivery instructions and schedule redelivery from the online Informed Delivery dashboard. Click Read More below for additional information.

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. announces that it has entered into an agreement to reduce its stake in Guangzhou Pharmaceuticals Corporation, a pharmaceutical wholesaling joint venture in China, following an offer from its joint venture partner Guangzhou Baiyunshan Pharmaceutical Holdings Co. Ltd. Subject to regulatory review and approval and other customary closing conditions, Walgreens Boots Alliance will sell a 30% interest in Guangzhou Pharmaceuticals Corporation to Guangzhou Baiyunshan Pharmaceutical Holdings that, following the proposed sale, would own 80%. Upon completion, Walgreens Boots Alliance will own a 20% interest in Guangzhou Pharmaceuticals Corporation and will continue to account for its remaining stake as an equity method investment.

As an American friend said to me recently: “if you ain’t growing, you are shrinking”, and having given that rather asinine statement a decent amount of thought, I think that they may be right… In recent weeks, we have witnessed Time and Rolling Stone magazines change hands and getting new chunks of money, and today we are announcing that we are creating a new magazine for the European Airline Transavia France. And all of this comes on the back of the fact that we have never had a busier year both in terms of growth and advertisers flocking to our print magazines and digital products. We are all currently being bombarded by “commentators” and “journalists” saying that the print media business is over... but knowing what I know about media and travel media specifically, I think that is both a naïve and a false statement. We are currently seeing an average 3 – 5 % annual growth in passenger numbers across the airline world with some of our partners reporting increases as large as 9%. That more bums on seats and more people/eyeballs for our magazines. Click Read More below for additional information.

In August 2017, Trade publishers’ revenues (sales to bookstores, wholesalers, direct to consumer, online retailers, etc.) increased +1.0% compared to August 2016. For the year-to-date (Jan. – Aug. 2017) revenues were flat at 0.0%. AAP’s StatShot reports Trade Books in the categories of fiction books, non-fiction books and religious presses. The slight revenue increase in August 2017, compared to August 2016, came from growth in Childrens and Young Adult books (up +2.9%) and Religious Presses (up +7.8%). There was a slight decline in revenue in August and a -0.6% year-to-date decline for all tracked categories, which includes: Trade Books, PreK-12 Instructional Materials, Higher Education Course Materials, Professional Publishing, and University Presses. Click Read More below for additional information.

The Home Depot® announced that it has acquired The Company Store, a leading online retailer of textiles and home décor products, from Hanover Direct. The deal closed on December 19 and terms were not disclosed. In addition to its success as an online retailer, The Company Store has strong relationships and industry leading capabilities in the development and sourcing of high quality textiles across bedding, bath, and related categories. Founded in 1911, The Company Store has a rich history of providing products that are highly sought after by customers as they put the finishing touches on a room. Click Read More below for additional information.

Despite Indonesia's pulp and paper industry having experienced ups and downs, affected by challenges from both within and outside the country, one thing that is certain is that the industry's supply chain remains supportive of livelihoods and brings prosperity to communities in surrounding areas. Government data shows that the pulp and paper industry contributes 6.7 percent of national manufacturing industry gross domestic product (GDP) and last year, it contributed US$ 3.9 billion (non-oil export) to the country's exports. As part of this economic benefit, the government data shows that the industry has created jobs for 260 thousands direct jobs and 1.1 million indirect jobs throughout the value chain. The benefits of the industry's presence have also been felt by Sulaiman, who established his own company, Rifky Pratama Sanjaya, which supplies 200 tons of cocopeat per month to Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper (RAPP) – one of the biggest pulp and paper producers in Indonesia that uses technologically advanced and efficient processes. Click Read More below for additional information.

Add another accolade to the trophy case in what has turned out to be a banner year for Mryna Blyth, Bob Love, and co. According to the latest data from market research firm GfK MRI, AARP The Magazine has overtaken People as America’s most-read print magazine. An estimated 38.3 million adults read the magazine over the reporting period—which ran from March to November, 2017—narrowly edging out People, which was read by an estimated 37.9 million adults, according to the data, down from 41.4 million a year ago. Click Read More below for additional information.

The consumer survey, “Print and Paper in a Digital World,” highlights interesting consumer trends on reading preferences and habits related to print vs digital. The recent Toluna survey commissioned by Two Sides showed that 62% of U.S. consumers between the ages of 18 to 55+ preferred to read books in print vs electronic devices, including 63% of the youngest age group (18 to 24 year-olds). Both groups strongly agreed (72-73%) that reading a printed book is more enjoyable than reading a book on an electronic device. Reading magazines showed a difference between the overall consumer response (66%) and the 18 to 24 year-olds (56%) although both still prefer print to digital. When asked if reading a printed magazine is more enjoyable than reading a magazine on an electronic device, the overall response was 73% and the younger group response was 66%. Click Read More below for additional information.

Lawyers for Newegg, Wayfair and Overstock petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court, requesting that it decline to review a South Dakota Supreme Court decision that would require larger online retailers to collect sales tax on purchases made in the state. Online retailers are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to decline review of a case that would require larger e-retailers to collect sales tax from South Dakota residents and pay it to the state. The South Dakota law would require out-of-state retailers that don’t have a physical presence in the state and generate least $100,000 in online sales or more than 200 transactions in the state to collect sales tax from South Dakota customers and then remit those taxes to the state. Click Read More below for additional information.

ModusLink Global Solutions™, Inc. and Steel Partners Holdings announced that ModusLink has completed the acquisition of privately-held IWCO Direct, a leading provider of data-driven direct marketing solutions, for $476 million in cash. Warren Lichtenstein, Executive Chairman of ModusLink, said, “We have been looking to acquire a profitable business with attractive operations and financials, and with a strong management team in order to leverage our approximately $2.1 billion in net operating loss carryforwards (NOLs) and cash. We found a great fit in IWCO Direct. We essentially double the size of our Company and add significant earnings and free cash flow. We add a market leader with industry-leading solutions, a client base consisting of Fortune 500 companies, and significant opportunities to drive both top- and bottom-line results. We intend to aggressively grow IWCO Direct, organically and through acquisitions, and will look to leverage Steel Partners’ vast relationships and resources to drive operational excellence and enhance stakeholder value.” Click Read More below for additional information.

The next generation of British authors could struggle to land a book deal after Brexit, according to the publisher who launched Harry Potter writer JK Rowling’s career. The UK’s close ties with Europe meant British publishers enjoyed a huge financial benefit from exploiting the exclusive English-language rights to books sold across the continent. However, US publishing companies such as Simon & Schuster believe Brexit will open the door to competition and break the cosy historical deals enjoyed by British publishers. Under such a scenario, British publishers will be forced to focus on keeping their star writers happy, potentially offering them more lucrative deals to keep European rights. As a result, financially pressured British publishers are likely to become more risk-averse in signing and promoting new and aspiring authors. Click Read More below for additional information.

At outlets that report to NPD BookScan, unit sales of print books were 4% lower in the week ended Dec. 10, 2017, than in the similar week in 2016. It was the third consecutive week this holiday season that sales were down from last year. The only major segment to post a unit increase in the week was juvenile nonfiction, which had a 5% gain over the week ended Dec. 11, 2016. First 100 Words by Roger Priddy was #1 on the category bestseller list, selling more than 21,000 copies in the week. Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History by Vashti Harrison had a solid debut, selling more than 18,000 copies to land in fourth place on the category bestseller list. Unit sales in the juvenile fiction segment were 3% lower than in the similar week in 2016. Entries in Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid series were #1 in both 2016 and 2017; Double Down sold almost 118,000 copies in the week ended Dec. 11, 2016, and The Getaway sold about 107,000 copies in the most recent week in 2017. Click Read More below for additional information.

This week is expected to be the busiest week of the holiday mailing and shipping season for the Postal Service. The organization expects to process and deliver nearly 3 billion pieces of First-Class Mail, including greeting cards this week alone. The Postal Service also expects to deliver nearly 200 million packages each week from Dec. 11-24. The Postal Service anticipates delivering more than 15 billion total pieces of mail this holiday season. Between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, USPS expects to deliver more than 850 million packages, an increase of more than 10 percent compared to the same period last year. Click Read More below for additional information.

The book manufacturing segment has come a long way since the doom and gloom days five years ago when many people questioned whether the printed book was in death mode due to the rise of ebooks. But, as we head into 2018, the demand for printed books is rising. And, with customer demands driving shorter runs and ultra-fast turnarounds, book printers are rising to the challenge of meeting those demands by continuing to invest in production inkjet and digital imaging technologies. New Disrupter: Amazon’s Turnaround SLAs: “It’s an exciting time to be in the industry,” says John Conley, CEO of Borderland Advisors, and a 42-year book manufacturing industry veteran with stints at RR Donnelley and then Xerox. What he is referring to is a new disrupter in the industry: Amazon same-day delivery, which he points out, will totally change today’s book publishing, manufacturing and distribution markets. Although it is unclear at this point exactly what the Service Level Agreement (SLA) will be, Conley does note that the supply chain requirement will create new profit models and opportunities for both publishers and printers.

Fourth Quarter Fiscal Year 2017 Financial Highlights • Adobe achieved record quarterly revenue of $2.01 billion in its fourth quarter of fiscal year 2017, which represents 25 percent year-over-year growth. • Diluted earnings per share was $1.00 on a GAAP-basis, and $1.26 on a non-GAAP basis. • Digital Media segment revenue was $1.39 billion, with Creative and Document Cloud achieving record quarterly revenue of $1.16 billion and $235 million, respectively. • Digital Media Annualized Recurring Revenue (“ARR”) grew to $5.23 billion exiting the quarter, a quarter-over-quarter increase of $359 million. • Adobe Experience Cloud achieved record revenue of $550 million, which represents 18 percent year-over-year growth. • Operating income grew 37 percent and net income grew 26 percent year-over-year on a GAAP-basis; operating income grew 37 percent and net income grew 39 percent year-over-year on a non-GAAP basis. Click Read More below for additional information.

Net sales for the first quarter were $31.12 billion, an increase of 13.3 percent from $27.47 billion during the first quarter last year. While this year’s twelve-week first quarter included one less sales day in the U.S. than the first quarter last year (due to the shift of the Thanksgiving holiday this year), pre-Thanksgiving and Black Friday/Holiday weekend sales fell into the first quarter this year compared to the second quarter last year. Combined, these factors produced an estimated net benefit of approximately 1.5% in the U.S., and slightly less worldwide. Click Read More below for additional information.

Time Inc. has reportedly reached an agreement to sell off Golf Magazine and its related assets to Howard Milstein, chairman of Emigrant Savings Bank. The deal was first reported by Golfweek senior writer Geoff Shackelford, citing “sources briefed on the sale.” Time Inc. has not confirmed the deal, and a spokeswoman tells Folio:, “The sales process for Golf is proceeding well and as soon as there are further developments we will share them.” Click Read More below for additional information.

At a contentious meeting Thursday morning, the FCC voted 3-2 to repeal net neutrality rules that prohibit broadband providers from blocking or throttling traffic, and from charging higher fees for prioritized delivery. The agency's controversial move also prohibits states from passing or enforcing their own broadband laws -- including, in the view of at least one Commissioner, privacy laws. The vote came during a session that lasted longer than 3 hours and was briefly interrupted by a security threat. Click Read More below for additional information.

Eighteen state attorneys general on Wednesday asked the Federal Communications Commission to postpone a planned vote on net neutrality until investigators have weeded out fake comments submitted to the agency about its proposed rollback. "If the well of public comment has been poisoned by falsified submissions, the Commission may be unable to rely on public comments that would help it reach a legitimate conclusion to the rulemaking process," the law enforcement officials write. "Or, it must give less weight to the public comments submitted which also undermines the process." The FCC is scheduled to vote Thursday on a proposal to repeal net neutrality rules that prohibit broadband providers from blocking or throttling traffic and from creating paid fast lanes. The agency is expected to repeal the rules on a 3-2 party line vote.

Third Quarter Fiscal 2018 Highlights: •Net sales decreased 1.4% to $469.2 million; •Company comparable sales decreased 0.7% and reflect an estimated impact of approximately 100 basis points related to the hurricanes in Texas and Florida; •E-Commerce sales penetration reached 26%; Click Read More below for additional information.

Media pundits like to claim that the magazine industry is failing and that print is an antiquated medium. True or not, the “print is dead” drumbeat inevitably taints the perception media buyers have of print as a viable marketing mechanism. Linda Thomas Brooks, president and CEO of the Association of Magazine Media (MPA), argues that this tired rhetoric glosses over the reality, which is that print is one of the most effective ways to deeply engage consumers, build brand awareness, and sell products. During a presentation at DigiPub: Harnessing the Power of Data-Driven Print in November, Brooks shared third-party research on printed magazines, which reveal an alternative narrative. “We learned that magazine media works because it builds brand and sells product at the same time,” said Brooks. Marketers are beginning to reawaken to the value of print as well. The digital revolution made it easier than ever for brands to market directly to consumers, so in the past several years ad spend has gone toward direct marketing tactics, said Brooks. Click Read More below for additional information.

Barnes & Noble, Inc. announced that it donated $450,000 worth of products to the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation in both New York City and Reno, NV, to go to underprivileged families. The combined donation includes a handpicked selection of books, puzzles, plush toys, board games, electronic games, infant toys and many more fun and educational toys and games. “Barnes & Noble has always been committed to the communities it serves, and this year we’re proud to announce our significant donation to the Toys for Tots Foundation,” said Demos Parneros, Chief Executive Officer at Barnes & Noble, Inc. “The holiday season can be a tough time for families in need and we sincerely hope that this donation makes the holidays a little happier for those who need help.” Click Read More below for additional information.

Boise Paper announced three winners in the 2017 Give the Gift of Box Tops Sweepstakes. Waterford Montessori Academy of Waterford, MI; St. Labre Indian Elementary School of Ashland, MT; and R.E. Baker Elementary School of Bentonville, AR, will each receive 10,000 Bonus Box Tops and 400 reams of paper to benefit their students and staff in 2018. “Our Give the Gift of Box Tops Sweepstakes is a fun way for us to engage and connect with local schools in the communities our customers and employees call home,” said Paul LeBlanc, vice president of Boise Paper. “We are proud to fulfill our Paper with Purpose promise by presenting these three schools with an unexpected gift this holiday season!” Click Read More below for additional information.

At outlets that report to NPD BookScan, unit sales of print books were down 1% in the week ended Dec. 3, 2017, from the similar week in 2016. This was the second consecutive week in the holiday season that sales were lower than at the same time last year; the previous week saw a 2% decline from the similar week in 2016. The only major category in which sales rose was juvenile nonfiction: units were 5% higher than in the week ended Dec. 4, 2016. Harry Potter: A Journey Through a History of Magic by the British Library remained the category’s top seller, with more than 28,000 copies sold in the week. Among books that posted solid gains in the week were Laugh-Out-Loud Jokes by Rob Elliott, which sold more than 13,000 copies to land in fifth place on the category bestsellers list, and How to Draw 101 Animals by Dan Green, which was in sixth place with almost 13,000 copies sold. Both the adult categories had lower sales than in the similar week in 2016. Click Read More below for additional information.

In recent years, there has been an explosion of data breaches in the financial, business and health care sectors. This has made people everywhere sit up and take notice about where and how their important personal data is stored. It is not surprising then, that the recent Toluna survey commissioned by Two Sides revealed that 78% of U.S. respondents keep hard copies of important documents at home as they believe this is the safest and most secure way of storing their information. A similar number (76%) are increasingly concerned that personal information held electronically is at risk of being hacked, stolen, lost or damaged. For a taste of what these digital breaches can look like, check out a few examples covered in this blog. Millions of small businesses, households and patients are affected by data breaches every year. While moving from paper to digital records seems like it should save time and energy, the reverse can also be true. Click Read More below for additional information.

More details have emerged regarding the future of W magazine, a month after parent company Condé Nast announced it would reduce the frequency of the fashion magazine and a number of the company's other print titles. WWD is now reporting that W magazine is dropping from the 10 issues printed this year to eight “volumes” in 2018, as well as increasing its newsstand price to $9.99 an issue, up from $7.99. It is all part of the magazine’s effort to produce collectible, special issues. Click Read More below for additional information.

Retailers and consumers aren’t the only ones who think the holiday season is the “most wonderful time of the year.” With consumers stepping up the frequency of online shopping this holiday season, thieves are getting more brazen, and ready to pilfer home deliveries. And they have been honing their craft, as nearly one in five (19%) of homeowners in the United States were the victim of a package theft in the last year, according to a study from connected home security provider Ring. One in two homeowners (26%) receive a delivery at least once a week, and 24% receive packages multiple times a week. Yet, 73% of homeowners said carriers leave the deliveries on their front porch — in clear view of passers-by, especially criminals. Click Read More below for additional information.

Great Place to Work and FORTUNE have named Old Navy one of the 2017 Best Workplaces for Diversity. The ranking considered more than 440,000 employee surveys from organizations in a wide range of industries across the U.S. Great Place to Work, a research and consulting firm, evaluated more than 50 elements of team members’ experience on the job. These included professional development, behaviors linked to innovation, leadership confidence and consistent treatment among employees of different backgrounds. The ranking also accounted for the share of women, people of color, Baby Boomers and LGBT individuals in the workplace. Old Navy was also named to the 2017 “Best Workplaces in Retail” list. Click Read More below for additional information.

Rejecting requests by lawmakers and advocates, the Federal Communications Commission says it will proceed with next week's scheduled vote on whether to repeal the net neutrality rules. On Monday, the City of New York and 40 advocacy groups urged the FCC to hold off on a vote until after a federal appellate court decides whether a different agency -- the Federal Trade Commission -- has authority to bring consumer protection cases against broadband providers. Also on Monday, a group of 28 U.S. senators, along with New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, urged publicly urged the FCC to hold off on a vote due to problems with the public commenting process. "While I fundamentally disagree with the merits of the FCC’s proposal, what is equally concerning is the lack of integrity to the FCC’s process that has led to this point," Rosenworcel stated. Click Read More below for additional information.

The Postal Regulatory Commission is proposing that publishers’ postal rates increase by an estimated average of 34% to 41% over the next five years. The postage increases would be lower than average for magazines that use co-mail and higher than average for less efficient mailers. The PRC announced its proposal to bail out the U.S. Postal Service with future rate hikes late Friday. The vote on a final version seems likely to occur in spring of 2018, giving mailers, the USPS, and other interested parties time to comment. The PRC’s 10th-anniversary review of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA) concluded that the postal-reform legislation had met some of its goals – but not the one calling for stabilization of the Postal Service’s finances. As a result, the commissioners concluded, they must override the law’s inflation-based cap on most postal rates. Many mailers’ groups disagree with the PRC’s interpretation of the law, saying the agency must have Congress’s explicit approval to breach the price cap. A legal challenge to the PRC’s final plan seems likely, which could delay implementation until 2019. Click Read More below for additional information.

HIGHLIGHTS: • Revenue increased 6% to $452 million; +3% at constant currency • Adjusted EPS increased 32% to $1.03; +22% at constant currency. EPS on a GAAP basis at $1.04, up from ($0.20) • Free Cash Flow less Product Development Spending for six months improved by $38 million • Brian A. Napack named as President and CEO. “The second quarter was highlighted by the announcement of Brian Napack as our new President and CEO and Ella Balagula as our new EVP of Publishing. We also realized improved growth in Research, better than expected results in Publishing, and significant progress in our operational excellence initiatives,” said Matthew Kissner, Chairman. “This month, we celebrate 210 years of enabling many of the world’s advances in research and learning. While we are immensely proud of our legacy, we are just as energized by the opportunities ahead of us.” Click Read More below for additional information.

Meredith Corporation is pleased to announce that Martha Stewart Living has been named to Ad Age's Magazines of the Year list. Led by Editor-in-Chief Elizabeth Graves and VP/Group Publisher Daren Mazzucca, Martha Stewart Living has had a phenomenal year with both readers and advertisers. The brand debuted a magazine redesign with the October issue, revealing exclusive typography, fresh and enlarged imagery, and a number of new cross-platform franchises. The look is now modern and forward-thinking, yet still timeless, classic and always aiming to create trends rather than follow them. It's the Martha Stewart Living that millions of people love, but now even more. "It's truly an honor to be part of Ad Age's 'Magazines of the Year' list," says Graves. "It's exciting to build upon Martha's trusted expertise, take the brand to new heights, and have that recognized in the industry." Adds Mazzucca, "We have an incredible team, and I think we are only getting started." Click Read More below for additional information.

Meredith Corporation is pleased to announce that The Magnolia Journal has been named to Ad Age's "Magazines of the Year" list. In its first year on newsstands, The Magnolia Journal has showcased the monumental presence and impact of Chip and Joanna Gaines and their Magnolia brand. With only five quarterly issues published to date, this magazine's launch was one of if not the best in Meredith Corporation's 115-year history, raising its rate base to 1.2 million for the Spring 2018 issue. Click Read More below for additional information.

It’s been a rather tumultuous year for magazine media, to say the least. With so many consumers reading content on digital platforms, it appears that many publishers are reducing print frequencies or altogether shuttering print editions of magazines to focus on digital initiatives and cut costs. While most publishers seem to be drifting away from print, Bauer Media Group is doing just the opposite. In 2018, the media giant is not only continuing its print editions, but also increasing frequencies for four of its titles, with Life & Style slated to rise from 51 to 53 issues, and Closer, In Touch and Woman’s World from 52 to 53 issues. “Bauer earns a positive margin on every issue from single copy sales,” Bauer CEO Steven Kotok (pictured) tells Folio:. “So the more issues we publish, the more money we earn, unlike an ad-dependent model in which fewer ads each year are spread over the same number of issues.” Click Read More below for additional information.

In an interesting and potentially significant move for the scholarly publishing world, the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada has granted a preliminary injunction against a major journal publisher and conference organizer in response to a complaint by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The injunction was granted on the basis of the Court’s analysis of evidence provided by the FTC and its finding that the FTC’s complaint, if allowed to proceed, “is likely to succeed on the merits” and that the public interest would be served by granting it. The FTC alleges that OMICS Group and its affiliates iMedPub LLC and Conference Series Ltd have engaged in a variety of “unfair and deceptive practices with respect to the publication of online academic journals and organization of scientific conferences,” including: •Falsely claiming to provide rigorous peer review of articles submitted for publication in their journals; •Claiming as “editors” individuals who never received manuscripts to review or edit, or who never even agreed to be appointed as editors — some of whom say that OMICS ignored or refused their demands that they be removed from journal mastheads; •Sending solicitations to potential authors on behalf of other academics, without the latter’s permission or knowledge; •Giving their journals names “nearly identical to other respected journals, which has led to consumers mistakenly submitting articles to Defendants’ journal”; Click Read More below for additional information.

Expect some moderate growth in advertising in 2018. That growth will be boosted in part by big events like the Olympics and mid-term political elections. Below are summaries of the newly issued forecasts from WPP’s GroupM, Interpublic’s Magna, and Publics Group’s Zenith. WPP’s GroupM is forecasting global ad expenditure growth of 4.3% in 2018 to nearly $558 billion. That estimate is based on the assumption that 2017 expenditures will be 3.1% to about $535 billion. For North America, the firm estimates that expenditures will reach almost $200 billion next year, up 3.4%, following a 2.2% gain this year to more than $193 million. The release of the new forecast was timed to this week’s UBS Global Media and Communications Conference in New York. Click Read More below for additional information.

In the wake of a wider quarterly loss than expected and a continuing sales slide, Barnes & Noble plans to a greater emphasis on what brought it the party in the first place: books. “Book sales continued to strengthen, and we saw improved traffic and conversion trends,” said Demos Parneros, CEO of Barnes & Noble. “As a result of the improving trends, we will continue to place a greater emphasis on books, while further narrowing our non-book assortment.” Along with a renewed focus on books, the retailer is looking is smaller stores. Barnes & Noble stores average approximately 26,000 sq. ft. But its new store, in Plano, Texas, is less than half that, about 10,000 sq.ft. “Our goal is to get smaller,” Parneros told analysts on the chain’s quarterly call. “We want to have smaller stores that are more efficient.” Click Read More below for additional information.

Today, the Postal Regulatory Commission (Commission) issued its findings related to the statutorily mandated review of the system for regulating rates and classes for Market Dominant products that was first established in 2006 by the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA). The law required the Commission to review the past 10 years of the existing market dominant rate and classification system to determine if the system achieved the nine objectives, considering the 14 factors, established by Congress. The objectives reflect the goals of the PAEA to create a flexible, stable, predictable, and streamlined ratemaking system that ensures the Postal Service’s financial health and maintains high quality service standards and performance. In its findings order, the Commission identifies three principal areas of the PAEA system which encapsulate the nine objectives: (1) the structure of the ratemaking system; (2) the financial health of the Postal Service; and (3) service. After extensive review, the Commission concludes that the system achieved some of the goals of these areas, but the overall system has not achieved the objectives taking into account the factors of the PAEA. Click Read More below for additional information.

Dear Catalog Industry Participant: Word out of Washington this week is encouraging for HR 756, the postal reform bill. According to our colleagues at the Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service, there is increasing talk of adding postal reform to the Omnibus funding measure for the government next week, or to some other must-pass legislation that can serve as a vehicle. Both House and Senate leaders are reportedly interested, but we only have until next Thursday when the current continuing resolution runs out. So we’re calling on you for some urgent action. Our Ask and Your Ask: Please reach out as quickly as possible to as many Republican members of the House as you may have connections with and urge that postal reform be added to the Omnibus funding measure or some other moving piece of legislation. Your messages should conclude with an ask of your representative(s) to personally take this message to House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy. Click Read More below for additional information.

Jessica Kingsley Publishers has been acquired by Hachette UK, effective immediately. It has been folded into John Murray Press as an imprint, and will be overseen by managing director Nick Davies. The agreement keeps Kingsley intact as a company, with Hachette UK made 100% shareholder. "Jessica Kingsley has built a business of great significance, renowned for anticipating trends and identifying gaps in the market, publishing books that are essential for professionals in their specialist areas, and that serve the communities with which they work," Jamie Hodder Williams, CEO of Hodder, Headline, Quercus and John Murray Press, said in a statement. "I am greatly looking forward to welcoming the Jessica Kingsley team into Hachette." Click Read More below for additional information.

Time Inc. announced the sale of SUNSET to Regent L.P., a Los Angeles–based private equity firm led by investor Michael Reinstein. Based in Oakland, California, SUNSET is the defining lifestyle brand of the modern American West, with coverage that includes travel, food, wine, home and garden across its monthly print publication, digital and social platforms, books, events and experiences. The storied brand, which was founded in 1898, has been a forum for literary giants like Jack London, Dashiell Hammett and Sinclair Lewis, a showcase for transformational architecture and design, and a launching pad for the modern environmental movement through its early affiliation with conservationist and Sierra Club founder John Muir. “As a native Californian, I am honored to take the mantle as the fourth owner of this iconic and beloved institution. For almost 120 years SUNSET has been the definitive, pioneering voice of the promise, hope, values and innovative spirit of the West,” said Michael Reinstein, Chairman, Regent L.P. “We are excited to partner with SUNSET’s talented Editor-in-Chief Irene Edwards and her accomplished team to ensure that SUNSET continues to thrive for generations to come.” Click Read More below for additional information.

For the Third Quarter: • Net sales increased 18.6% to $1,342.2 million from $1,131.2 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2016. The Company estimates that Hurricanes Harvey and Irma resulted in approximately $14 million in lost sales; • Comparable sales (sales for stores open at least 14 months and e-commerce sales) increased 10.3% compared to an increase of 16.7% in the third quarter of fiscal 2016. The 10.3% comparable sales increase was driven by 6.0% transaction growth and 4.3% growth in average ticket. The Company estimates that Hurricanes Harvey and Irma resulted in approximately 100 basis points of negative impact to comparable stores sales in the third quarter of fiscal 2017; • Retail comparable sales increased 6.6%, including salon comparable sales growth of 3.8%; • Salon sales increased 10.8% to $66.9 million from $60.4 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2016; Click Read More below for additional information.

Total sales for the second quarter were $791.1 million, declining 7.9% as compared to the prior year. Comparable store sales decreased 6.3%, with approximately half of this decline attributable to last year's release of Harry Potter and The Cursed Child. The balance of the decline was primarily due to non-book categories. "Comparable sales improved throughout the second quarter and into November," said Demos Parneros, Chief Executive Officer of Barnes & Noble, Inc. "Book sales continued to strengthen, and we saw improved traffic and conversion trends. As a result of the improving trends, we will continue to place a greater emphasis on books, while further narrowing our non-book assortment. We expect these improvements to continue as we head into the holiday season which, coupled with cost reductions, will enable us to achieve EBITDA of $180 million." Click Read More below for additional information.

Following recent findings by research psychologists Pam A. Mueller of Princeton University and Daniel M. Oppenheimer of the University of California, Los Angeles, which showed that students who took handwritten notes did better than those who took notes on their computers, new research indicates still further that too much technology in the classrooms harms students’ ability to learn. As millions of dollars are spent on increased investment in classroom technology, including students’ use of iPads and e-textbooks, it’s assumed that the learning environment in the classroom should reflect the high-tech realities of the digital culture in which students and their parents live. Working on this presumption, the state of California passed a law in 2009 requiring that all college textbooks be available in electronic form by 2020. Following suit, the state of Florida passed legislation in 2011 requiring public schools to convert their textbooks to digital versions. “Given this trend,” write Patricia Alexander and Lauren Singer of the University of Maryland, “teachers, students, parents and policymakers might assume that students’ familiarity and preference for technology translates into better learning outcomes. But we’ve found that’s not necessarily true.” Click Read More below for additional information.

L Brands, Inc. reported net sales of $1.267 billion for the four weeks ended Nov. 25, 2017, an increase of 2 percent, compared to net sales of $1.246 billion for the four weeks ended Nov. 26, 2016. Comparable sales decreased 1 percent for the four weeks ended Nov. 25, 2017. For November, the exit of the swim and apparel categories had a negative impact of about 1 percentage point for both total company and Victoria’s Secret comparable sales. The company reported net sales of $9.077 billion for the 43 weeks ended Nov. 25, 2017, a decrease of 3 percent compared to net sales of $9.331 billion for the 43 weeks ended Nov. 26, 2016. Comparable sales decreased 6 percent for the 43 weeks ended Nov. 25, 2017. For the 43 weeks ended Nov. 25, 2017, the exit of the swim and apparel categories had a negative impact of about 4 percentage points and 6 percentage points to total company and Victoria’s Secret comparable sales, respectively.

Costco Wholesale Corporation reported net sales of $11.26 billion for the month of November, the four weeks ended November 26, 2017, an increase of 13.2 percent from $9.95 billion during the similar period last year. For the twelve-week first quarter of fiscal year 2018 ended November 26, 2017, the Company reported net sales of $31.13 billion, an increase of 13.3 percent from $27.47 billion reported in the twelve-week first quarter of fiscal 2017. While this year’s twelve-week first quarter included one less sales day than the first quarter last year (due to the shift of the Thanksgiving closure this year), pre-Thanksgiving and Black Friday/holiday weekend sales fell into the first quarter this year compared to the second quarter last year. Combined, these factors produced an estimated net benefit of approximately 1.5% in the U.S., and slightly less worldwide.

BuzzFeed, long the darling of native digital publishing models, is hitting its brakes following a weakening of advertising demand. The company said it is laying off about 100 employees in the U.S. -- less than 10% of its global workforce -- and restructuring its advertising sales organization “amid a tough digital media market.” In an email to the company's staff, CEO Jonah Peretti announced Greg Coleman is stepping down as BuzzFeed’s president and would take on an advisory role. BuzzFeed News Editor-in-Chief Ben Smith said cuts will not affect BuzzFeed’s U.S. news team directly. Click Read More below for additional information.

Sales of print book got off to a slow holiday season start as units fell 3% in the Thanksgiving week ended November 26, compared to the comparable week in 2016, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Units fell 9% in the mass merchandiser channel compared to last year, while sales to retailers and clubs slipped 1%. The top-selling title in the week was Jeff Kinney’s newest Wimpy Kid book, The Getaway, which sold over 139,000 copies. A new release, Pete the Cat, by James Dean was in second place with over 104,000 copies sold. Four “5 Minute” Disney books also had a strong first week of sales with 5 Minute Disney Snuggle Stories, 5 Minute Disney Disney Princess, 5 Minute Disney Pixar, and 5 Minute Disney Avengers selling a total of roughly 281,000 copies in their first week on sale. Despite the the 3% decline in overall sales for the week, print units were still up 2% in the first 47 weeks of 2017, over 2016.

Tiny Prints unveiled an exclusive charitable holiday card collection, benefiting Baby2Baby, a non-profit organization that provides low-income children ages zero to 12 years with diapers, clothing and basic necessities that every child deserves. This year, Tiny Prints is increasing its donation pledge to 25 percent of the Baby2Baby Holiday Collection sales*. "Over the past four years, Tiny Prints has been committed to helping us impact the lives of so many deserving children in Los Angeles and beyond. With their help, this year we will provide over 150,000 children in Los Angeles with the basic essentials that every child deserves. We are so grateful for their continued support of the Baby2Baby kids," said Kelly Sawyer Patricof and Norah Weinstein, Co-Presidents of Baby2Baby. Click Read More below for additional information.

Continued gains from digital media -- and virtually unchanged results from national TV -- helped lift the U.S. ad market to a robust 7% hike in October. Digital media grew 11%, while national TV inched up 1% and radio rose a surprising 16%, Standard Media Index says. On the losing end, out-of-home was down 3%, magazines slid 19%, and newspapers gave up 3%. Click Read More below for additional information.

Amazon Publishing has launched Amazon Original Stories, a new imprint that will release short fiction and nonfiction works that can be read in a single sitting. The essays and reported pieces, available in the Kindle Singles store, will be free to Prime and Kindle Unlimited members. The pieces will be $1.99 for all other customers. The imprint's first titles are The Sign of the Beast by Joyce Carol Oates and Crown Heights by Colin Warner and Carl King. Forthcoming 2018 titles from the imprint include works by W. Kamau Bell, Jade Chang, Eddie Huang, Janice Y.K. Lee, Walter Kirn, Dean Koontz, Wednesday Martin, Nick McDonell, Harold Schechter, Dan Slater, Dodai Stewart, and Susan Straight. Click Read More below for additional information.

The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. announced that comparable store sales for the four weeks ended November 25, 2017 increased 3.1%. Total sales increased 1.9% to $280.6 million in the current year compared with $275.3 million in the prior year period. "We are very pleased with our November sales results and our strong start to the holiday season," said Bill Tracy, president and chief executive officer for The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. "We were well positioned heading into Black Friday weekend, and our new merchandising and marketing initiatives continue to generate positive initial results. We experienced in-store traffic that was better than industry regional trends, particularly on Black Friday, and our investments in our online and mobile shopping experience are resonating with customers. We continue to execute with a sense of urgency and remain focused on a successful holiday season."

Do you wait to see which co-workers, family members or friends send you holiday greeting cards before sending your own? Do you feel guilty about sending cards after-the-fact or worse — late? Well, stop feeling guilty. Your procrastinating ends this holiday season. Thanks to the latest innovative feature now offered by the U.S. Postal Service, you can preview those greeting cards from co-workers, family members and friends before they are delivered to your mailbox. Be among the first in your neighborhood to mail out cards this holiday season — not the last. “Informed Delivery is the perfect solution for mailing greeting cards this holiday season ahead of time,” said Product Innovation Vice President Gary Reblin. “See what’s coming soon to your mailbox before it’s actually delivered and manage your packages, too. Conveniently posted on your mobile phone, tablet or computer.” Click Read More below for additional information.

1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. announced that Personalization Universe®, a destination developed by the company featuring a curated assortment of distinctive customizable gifts and keepsakes, has joined its family of brands. This new brand offers shoppers a personalized option for their gifting needs and is part of the company's ongoing strategy to provide customers with a one-stop shop for all celebratory occasions. In addition to Personalization Universe, the 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. portfolio of brands includes 1-800-Baskets.com®, Cheryl's® cookies, FruitBouquets.com, Harry & David®, Moose Munch® premium popcorn, Simply ChocolateSM, The Popcorn Factory®, and Wolferman's®. "We are pleased to add Personalization Universe to our growing family of gifting brands," said Chris McCann, Chief Executive Officer, 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. "We've been testing the personalized business for some time, while closely monitoring the retail environment and ultimately identifying a strong opportunity within the customized gifts space. What resulted was the creation of a dedicated destination for a carefully curated assortment of unique items that may be personalized, providing gift-givers with truly special ways to act on their thoughtfulness." Click Read More below for additional information.

Adobe released its 2017 online shopping data for Cyber Monday and the holiday weekend overall. Cyber Monday is projected to hit a new record as the largest online sales day in history with $6.59 billion by the end of the day. This marks a 16.8 percent year-over-year (YoY) increase as of 10:00 p.m. ET. In comparison, Black Friday and Thanksgiving Day brought in $5.03 billion and $2.87 billion in revenue respectively. Top sellers on Cyber Monday included the Nintendo Switch, PJ Masks and Hatchimals & Colleggtibles figurines, Apple AirPods, streaming devices like Google Chromecast and Roku, and Super Mario Odyssey, the video game. The holiday shopping season so far (November 1 to 27) drove a total of $50 billion in online revenue, a 16.8 percent increase. Adobe predicts this will be the first-ever holiday season to break $100 billion in online sales. Click Read More below for additional information.

Rite Aid Corporation announced that it has completed the pilot closing and first subsequent closings under the amended and restated asset purchase agreement entered into on September 18, 2017, resulting in the transfer of 97 Rite Aid stores and related assets to Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (Nasdaq: WBA). Under the amended and restated agreement, WBA will purchase a total of 1,932 stores, three distribution centers and related inventory from Rite Aid for an all-cash purchase price of $4.375 billion on a cash-free, debt-free basis. Rite Aid and WBA expect to continue to transfer ownership of the stores in phases over the coming months, with the goal being to complete the store transfers in spring of 2018. The majority of the closing conditions have been satisfied, and the subsequent transfers of Rite Aid stores and related assets remain subject to minimal customary closing conditions applicable only to the stores being transferred at such subsequent closing, as specified in the asset purchase agreement. Click Read More below for additional information.

Torstar Corporation announced it has completed a transaction with Postmedia Network Inc. (“Postmedia”) relating to the purchase and sale of a number of community and daily newspapers. As part of the transaction, Torstar has acquired eight weekly community publications, seven daily community newspapers and two free daily newspapers from Postmedia. The daily publications are the Barrie Examiner, Niagara Falls Review, Northumberland Today, Orillia Packet & Times, Peterborough Examiner, St. Catharines Standard and Welland Tribune. The community papers are the Bradford Times, Collingwood Enterprise Bulletin, Fort Erie Times, Innisfil Examiner, Niagara Advance, Pelham News, Inport News (Port Colborne) and Thorold Niagara News. As well, Torstar acquired the free dailies 24Hours Toronto and 24Hours Vancouver. Click Read More below for additional information.

Meredith Corporation announced that it has entered into a binding agreement to acquire all outstanding shares of Time Inc. for $18.50 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at $2.8 billion. The transaction has been unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of Meredith and Time Inc., and is expected to close during the first quarter of calendar 2018. "We are creating a premier media company serving nearly 200 million American consumers across industry-leading digital, television, print, video, mobile, and social platforms positioned for growth," said Meredith Corporation Chairman and CEO Stephen M. Lacy. "We are adding the rich content-creation capabilities of some of the media industry's strongest national brands to a powerful local television business that is generating record earnings, offering advertisers and marketers unparalleled reach to American adults. We are also creating a powerful digital media business with 170 million monthly unique visitors in the U.S. and over 10 billion annual video views, enhancing Meredith's leadership position in reaching Millennials." Click Read More below for additional information.

To be innovative, we can't merely look and mimic what others have done before. The whole idea of blazing a new path is that there was no path there before. Steve Jobs really hit the nail on the head when he said: “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower…”. When one of the biggest awards night in the magazine industry calendar is loudly caveated by just how depressing and difficult the media industry is right now, it feels like the already battered brows are taking another beating. How disappointing on what is meant to be a night of celebration. For one, my table was upbeat, and it was for good reason. Not only for the optimism of four nominations to celebrate, but we have just closed our best ever month, our biggest issues and record revenue performances across our global titles in our 24 year history. In my opinion, the industry needs to stop crying into its champagne glasses and start celebrating the fabulous medium of magazines, the opportunities they pose and find new and innovative ways to get to the huge audience and bustling markets. Click Read More below for additional information.

•Total revenues decreased 5% to $566.7 million. Comparable company sales decreased 9% following a decrease of 8% in the third quarter last year. •J.Crew sales decreased 12% to $430.4 million. J.Crew comparable sales decreased 12% following a decrease of 9% in the third quarter last year. •Madewell sales increased 22% to $107.5 million. Madewell comparable sales increased 13% following an increase of 4% in the third quarter last year. •Gross margin increased to 40.1% from 38.1% in the third quarter last year. Click Read More below for additional information.

The Book Manufacturers’ Institute (BMI) held its Annual Conference Nov. 5-7, 2017 at Turnberry Isle in Florida. The Annual Conference - attended by a number of book manufacturing companies as well as suppliers to the industry -- is the flagship event of the association where members go to learn and network. The Annual Conference is also where new board members are voted into the leadership of the association. At the event, Kent Larson of Bridgeport National Bindery, finished his two-year term as president of the BMI. Taking over for Larson is Jim Fetherston, who is President and CEO of Worzalla in Stevens Point, Wis. Not only is BMI seeing a change in its volunteer leadership, the association is also experiencing a change in its staff leadership. Dan Bach, a longtime industry veteran, has led the BMI as executive VP since 2009. Bach announced his retirement earlier in 2017 and the BMI set out to find his replacement. Click Read More below for additional information.

Shutterfly, Inc. and David's Bridal formally announced an expanded partnership. The new collaboration builds off an already successful standing relationship, and makes Shutterfly the exclusively endorsed personalized wedding invitation and personalized photo product partner to David's Bridal. The deal gives Shutterfly direct access to the largest concentration of brides in the US through the David's Bridal website, dedicated emails, direct marketing communications and over 315 retail locations. In addition, brides will be able to choose from a new assortment of expertly curated wedding invitations and day-of stationery designed by David's Bridal beginning in early 2018. The collection will be available through the newly launched Wedding Shop by Shutterfly, and it will provide customers the unique ability to match their stationery "look and feel" with the corresponding David's Bridal color palette they select. Click Read More below for additional information.

Urban Outfitters, Inc. announced net income of $45 million and $107 million for the three and nine months ended October 31, 2017, respectively. Earnings per diluted share were $0.41 and $0.94 for the three and nine months ended October 31, 2017, respectively. Total Company net sales for the third quarter of fiscal 2018 increased 3.5% over the same quarter last year to a record $893 million. Comparable Retail segment net sales, which include the comparable direct-to-consumer channel, increased 1%. Excluding the estimated impact of the North American hurricanes in the quarter, comparable Retail segment net sales increased 2%, and by brand, comparable Retail segment net sales increased 5% at Free People, 2% at the Anthropologie Group and 1% at Urban Outfitters. Comparable Retail segment sales were driven by strong, double-digit growth in the direct-to-consumer channel, partially offset by negative retail store sales. Wholesale segment net sales increased 8.7%. Click Read More below for additional information.

For the thirteen weeks ended October 28, 2017, the Company reported net income of $16.7 million, or $0.13 per diluted share, compared to net income of $23.6 million, or $0.18 per diluted share, for the thirteen weeks ended October 29, 2016. Results for the third quarter include the unfavorable impact of hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria (collectively, the "Hurricanes") of approximately $5.0 million after-tax, or $0.04 per diluted share. Results for the third quarter of 2016 include the unfavorable impact of restructuring and strategic charges and Boston Proper of $2.8 million after-tax, or $0.02 per diluted share. For the thirty-nine weeks ended October 28, 2017, the Company reported net income of $73.0 million, or $0.57 per diluted share, compared to net income of $77.7 million, or $0.58 per diluted share, for the thirty-nine weeks ended October 29, 2016. Results for the thirty-nine weeks ended October 28, 2017 include the unfavorable impact of the Hurricanes of approximately $5.0 million after-tax, or $0.04 per diluted share. Results for the thirty-nine weeks ended October 29, 2016 include the unfavorable impact of restructuring and strategic charges and Boston Proper of $15.4 million after-tax, or $0.12 per diluted share. Click Read More below for additional information.

After several months of increases, publishers’ revenues (sales to bookstores, wholesalers, direct to consumer, online retailers, etc.) declined by 11.7% in July 2017 compared to July 2016. Revenues for Jan. – July 2017 were relatively flat, up by 0.2%, according to the most recent StatShot data from the Association of American Publishers. Tracked categories include: Trade - fiction/non-fiction/religious, PreK-12 Instructional Materials, Higher Education Course Materials, Professional Publishing, and University Presses. Revenues for trade books (fiction/non-fiction/religious) declined in July, and were flat (down 0.3%) for the year-to-date, compared to the same periods in 2016. The only category to see growth in July 2017 was Religious Presses, which saw a 4.4% revenue increase in July 2017 compared to July 2016; despite that growth, the category remains down year to date. The only format that saw growth in July was downloaded audio, which saw 23.8% revenue growth compared to July 2016. Click Read More below for additional information.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus — and the U.S. Postal Service can help you prove it when Santa replies to your child’s letter — complete with a North Pole postmark. Here are the steps for your child to get a letter back from Santa: •Have your child write a letter to Santa and place it in an envelope addressed to: Santa Claus, North Pole. •Later, when alone, open the envelope and write a personalized response. •Insert the response letter into an envelope and address it to the child. •Add the return address: SANTA, NORTH POLE, to the envelope. •Affix a First-Class Mail stamp, such as a new Christmas Carols Forever stamp to the envelope. •Place the complete envelope into a larger envelope — preferably a Priority Mail Flat Rate envelope — with appropriate postage and address it to: North Pole Postmark Postmaster 4141 Postmark Drive Anchorage, AK 99530-9998. “Letters from Santa” must be received by the Anchorage, AK, postmaster no later than Dec. 15. Santa’s helpers at the Postal Service will take care of the rest. Click Read More below for additional information.

Gap Inc.’s comparable sales for the third quarter of fiscal year 2017 were up 3 percent versus a 1 percent decrease last year, which excluded an estimated negative impact from the Fishkill distribution center fire of approximately 2 percentage points. Comparable sales by global brand for the third quarter were as follows: • Old Navy Global: positive 4 percent versus positive 4 percent last year, excluding an estimated negative impact from the Fishkill distribution center fire of approximately 1 percentage point. • Gap Global: positive 1 percent versus negative 4 percent last year, excluding an estimated negative impact from the Fishkill distribution center fire of approximately 4 percentage points. • Banana Republic Global: negative 1 percent versus negative 6 percent last year, excluding an estimated negative impact from the Fishkill distribution center fire of approximately 2 percentage points. Click Read More below for additional information.

Total sales for the third quarter increased 1.8% to $103.7 million from $101.9 million in the prior year's third quarter. Comparable sales for the third quarter decreased 0.1%. Gross margin, inclusive of occupancy costs, was 43.2%, compared with gross margin of 44.4% for the prior year's third quarter. The decrease in gross margin was due to a decrease of 120 basis points in merchandise margin from the third quarter of last year, primarily due to more aggressive markdowns related to our inventory productivity initiatives. Net loss for the third quarter was $(5.7) million, or $(0.12) per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $(4.5) million, or $(0.09) per diluted share, for the prior year's third quarter. Click Read More below for additional information.

"Our financial situation is serious, though solvable,” says Postmaster General and CEO Megan J. Brennan. “There is a path to profitability and long-term financial stability. We are taking actions to control costs and compete effectively for revenues in addition to legislative and regulatory reform. We continue to optimize our network, enhance our products and services, and invest to better serve the American public." Brennan stressed that the path forward for a financially stable future must also include urgent actions needed outside of the Postal Service's control. They include advancement and passage of the postal reform provisions contained in H.R. 756 in the 115th Congress and the adoption by the Postal Regulatory Commission of a new pricing system as part of its 10-year pricing review, enabling the Postal Service to generate sufficient revenues to cover our costs. Click Read More below for additional information.

Earnings per share for the third quarter ended Oct. 28, 2017, decreased 29 percent to $0.30 compared to $0.42 for the quarter ended Oct. 29, 2016. Third quarter operating income decreased 18 percent to $231.7 million compared to $283.6 million last year, and net income was $86.0 million compared to $121.6 million last year. The company reported net sales of $2.618 billion for the third quarter ended Oct. 28, 2017, an increase of 1 percent, compared to net sales of $2.581 billion for the quarter ended Oct. 29, 2016. Comparable sales decreased 1 percent for the third quarter ended Oct. 28, 2017. For the third quarter ended Oct. 28, 2017, the exit of the swim and apparel categories had a negative impact of about 2 percentage points to both total company and Victoria’s Secret comparable sales.

“In the third quarter, we delivered strong top and bottom line results with 4.4% comparable sales growth and 30% EPS growth,” said Hubert Joly, Best Buy chairman and CEO. “Technology innovation is fueling demand and our strategy is resonating with our customers. We are also making significant progress against our Best Buy 2020 strategy and are excited about the opportunities for long-term value creation. And while we are investing in key initiatives and capabilities, we are also able to generate significant returns for our shareholders through the growth of our EPS and our capital allocation strategy.” Joly continued, “Our Q3 results include the negative impact of two significant factors. First, despite our moderate expectations for mobile phone launches in the quarter, revenue in the mobile category was materially lower than expected. This was due to the fact that a major new phone did not launch until November, which is in our Q4. The related revenue impact in the quarter was more than $100 million. Second, like most retailers, we felt the impact of the natural disasters in south Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico and Mexico. We estimate the loss of revenue impacted our Enterprise comparable sales by 15 to 20 basis points, and that the related costs negatively impacted our EPS by approximately $0.03.” Click Read More below for additional information.

Barnes & Noble, Inc. announced the return of its Black Friday Signed Editions program, a customer favorite, with over a half-million autographed books by more than 150 highly acclaimed authors. The largest promotion of its kind kicks off on Black Friday, November 24, at Barnes & Noble stores nationwide, while supplies last. The autographed books span many genres and interests, and were signed by authors for Barnes & Noble customers. For more information, customers should visit www.BN.com/SignedEditions or contact their local Barnes & Noble. “Barnes & Noble is thrilled to announce its largest collection ever of Black Friday Signed Editions, a true holiday favorite with customers,” said Liz Harwell, Senior Director of Merchandising, Trade Books at Barnes & Noble. “Now in its fourth year, this combined effort between over 150 bestselling authors, our publishing partners, and Barnes & Noble booksellers continues to give readers across the country an opportunity to discover a special copy of a book by their favorite author, or to find that perfect holiday gift for a loved one.” Click Read More below for additional information.

Retail sales that occurred outside of stores increased 6.8% compared with October 2016. That's a major deceleration from September, when nonstore sales increased 9.2% year over year. New October retail sales data out this morning suggests that the fourth quarter could be off to a rocky start for e-commerce. Growth in U.S. retail sales that take place outside of stores, known as nonstore sales, decelerated in October, with sales dropping 0.3% compared with September 2017, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. Click Read More below for additional information.

Third Quarter Highlights: •Comparable store sales were down 6.9 percent for the quarter and flat for October. •Diluted loss per share was $0.31 compared to $0.24 in 2016. •Average store inventories were 20 percent lower than last year's third quarter. •Borrowings were $29 million lower than last year's third quarter. Click Read More below for additional information.

Results for the Third Quarter Ended October 28, 2017: •Comparable store sales decreased 6.6% as compared with the prior year period. •Selling, general and administrative ("SG&A") expense decreased $11.2 million, or 5.2%, as compared with the third quarter of fiscal 2016. •Net loss in the current year third quarter was $44.9 million, or $2.19 per share, compared with net loss of $31.6 million, or $1.58 per share, in the third quarter of fiscal 2016. Click Read More below for additional information.

In its half-year results to 24 September 2017, the group posted a slight sales increase of 2% to £4.83bn, while operating profit both before and after transformation costs were down sharply, from £206m to £89m and £148m to £26m respectively. Royal Mail put this down largely to an increase in its ongoing UK defined benefit pension service costs of £114m. Pre-tax profit fell 30%, from £110m to £77m, but post-tax profit almost doubled to £168m - largely due to a tax credit related to the closure of its pension scheme to future accruals. Net debt was down 15.5%, from £452m to £382m. The group expects its net cash investment to fall to £450m for the full-year, down from £590m per annum for the past three years. Chief executive Moya Greene described the first half as successful despite the “headwinds we are facing”. Click Read More below for additional information.

Comparable sales and EPS near the high end of expectations. Third quarter comparable traffic grew 1.4 percent. Comparable sales increased 0.9 percent. Third quarter GAAP EPS from continuing operations of $0.87 and Adjusted EPS1 of $0.91 were near the upper-end of the guidance range of $0.75 to $0.95. Comparable digital channel sales increased 24 percent, on top of 26 percent growth in third quarter 2016. In the third quarter, Target devoted $847 million to capital investment, paid dividends of $339 million, and returned $171 million through share repurchases. Click Read More below for additional information.

Quality Books, the Oregon, Ill., book distributor to schools and libraries, has filed for bankruptcy. In a letter sent to creditors last week, the company said that during the past few years it has "incurred substantial debt which it is unable to repay." After several meetings, the letter continued, the owners "found that they could no longer meet their obligations" and decided to liquidate the company's assets. Click Read More below for additional information.

The Home Depot® reported sales of $25.0 billion for the third quarter of fiscal 2017, an 8.1 percent increase from the third quarter of fiscal 2016. Comparable store sales for the third quarter of fiscal 2017 were positive 7.9 percent, and comp sales for U.S. stores were positive 7.7 percent. Net earnings for the third quarter of fiscal 2017 were $2.2 billion, or $1.84 per diluted share, compared with net earnings of $2.0 billion, or $1.60 per diluted share, in the same period of fiscal 2016. For the third quarter of fiscal 2017, diluted earnings per share increased 15.0 percent from the same period in the prior year. Click Read More below for additional information.

The U.S. Postal Service reported revenue of $69.6 billion for fiscal year 2017 (October 1, 2016 - September 30, 2017), a decrease of $1.8 billion compared to the prior year. The lower revenues were driven largely by accelerated declines in First-Class and Marketing Mail volumes. In 2017, mail volumes declined by approximately 5.0 billion pieces, or 3.6 percent, while package volumes grew by 589 million pieces, or 11.4 percent, continuing a multi-year trend of declining mail volumes and increasing package volume. While mail volume declines for the year were somewhat offset by growth in package volume, overall volume has declined by 4.9 billion pieces. The U.S. Postal Service reported revenue of $69.6 billion for fiscal year 2017 (October 1, 2016 - September 30, 2017), a decrease of $1.8 billion compared to the prior year. The lower revenues were driven largely by accelerated declines in First-Class and Marketing Mail volumes. In 2017, mail volumes declined by approximately 5.0 billion pieces, or 3.6 percent, while package volumes grew by 589 million pieces, or 11.4 percent, continuing a multi-year trend of declining mail volumes and increasing package volume. While mail volume declines for the year were somewhat offset by growth in package volume, overall volume has declined by 4.9 billion pieces. Click Read More below for additional information.

Gannett | USA TODAY NETWORK announced a major organizational change that more definitively aligns with the company’s refreshed business strategy, which focuses on two primary businesses: Marketing Solutions and Consumer. “These organizational changes will better position us to further enhance and expand our marketing solutions capabilities fueled by our audience growth and engagement. I am confident this new structure will open up opportunities, enable us to innovate more quickly and support long-term growth,” said Bob Dickey, president and CEO of Gannett. Two executives have been named to lead the company’s two primary businesses: Leading marketing solutions will be Sharon Rowlands, CEO of ReachLocal, who has been named president, USA TODAY NETWORK Marketing Solutions. Rowlands will focus on further strengthening and growing our business-to-business segment, leveraging not only ReachLocal and SweetIQ, but also USA TODAY NETWORK’s powerful media assets and national and local brands. Leading the consumer business will be Maribel Perez Wadsworth, current chief transformation officer, who has been named president, USA TODAY NETWORK. Wadsworth will lead USA TODAY NETWORK’s consumer business to include strategy and operations for the company’s award-winning portfolio of media brands such as USA TODAY, more than 100 local news and niche content brands such as For The Win (FTW) and Grateful. In addition, she will become associate publisher of USA TODAY, as part of the transition associated with John Zidich’s previously announced retirement as president of Domestic Publishing. Click Read More below for additional information.

Walmart has kept good on a pledge it made back in 2013 to hire thousands of veterans. Since Memorial Day 2013, Walmart has hired more than 188,000 veterans and promoted more than 26,000 to roles of greater responsibility. The company is well on its way to reach its hiring goal of 250,000 veterans by 2020. On Friday, Walmart announced it is launching a curated showcase where customers can shop to salute the nation’s military, veterans and their families. Click Read More below for additional information.

• 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.

J. C. Penney Company, Inc. announced financial results for its fiscal third quarter ended Oct. 28, 2017. Total net sales decreased (1.8) % to $2.81 billion in the third quarter compared to $2.86 billion in the same period last year, primarily the result of the 139 stores closed this year through the end of the third quarter. Comparable sales increased 1.7 % for the third quarter, resulting in a positive two-year stack of 0.9 %. For the third quarter, the Company's net loss was ($128) million, or ($0.41) per share, compared to a net loss of ($67) million, or ($0.22) per share in the same period last year. This reduction was driven in large part by increased cost of goods sold, restructuring charges associated with the store closures and a charge related to settlement accounting on the Company's pension plan. Click Read More below for additional information.

The Company reported fiscal 2018 first quarter total revenues of $2.06 billion, a 5% increase compared to $1.97 billion in the prior year period, reflecting continued growth in the Digital Real Estate Services segment, the acquisitions of Australian Regional Media (“ARM”) and Wireless Group plc (“Wireless Group”) and a $26 million positive impact from foreign currency fluctuations. Growth was partially offset by lower print advertising revenues at the News and Information Services segment. Adjusted Revenues (which exclude the foreign currency impact, acquisitions and divestitures as defined in Note 1) increased 1%. Net income for the quarter was $87 million as compared to nil in the prior year. The increase was primarily driven by higher Total Segment EBITDA, as discussed below, and lower depreciation and amortization expense, partially offset by higher income tax expense associated with higher pre-tax income. Click Read More below for additional information.

Today the Postal Regulatory Commission approved the Postal Service’s planned price adjustments for First-Class Mail, USPS Marketing Mail, Periodicals, Package Services, and Special Services products. The Commission determined that the rates and related mail classification changes proposed by the Postal Service are consistent with 39 U.S.C. §§ 3622(d) and 3622(e), and may take effect as planned. The new prices, scheduled to take effect January 21, 2018, include a one-cent price increase for the Forever stamp from 49 cents to 50 cents. Postcards and metered letters will also increase by one cent from 34 cents to 35 cents and from 46 cents to 47 cents respectively. A complete listing of approved pricing and classification changes may be found on the Commission’s website, www.prc.gov in Docket No. R2018-1, Order No. 4215

Revenue at Hachette Book Group USA fell 2.8% in the third quarter ended September 30, compared to the same period in 2016. Parent company Lagardere attributed decline to unfavorable comparisons with last year’s third quarter. Lagardere said that last year HBG benefited from strong sales of new releases like Two by Two and Woman of God. Lagardere added that the Perseus publishing properties, which were acquired in March 2016, had a solid quarter. In a statement, HBG CEO Michael Piestsch said despite the sales dip in the third quarter, the company’s revenues through the first nine months of 2017 were “solidly ahead of 2016.” He cited growth in downloadable audio sales and a strong performance from the company's distribution side as high notes. Click Read More below for additional information.

We are firmly in the second wave of prepared meal kit delivery. Companies are specializing, doing more of the work for you, and are even built around specific devices. Which is what makes FirstChop intriguing, as it combines all of these new wave trends in its forthcoming service. Launching in December, FirstChop is looking to stand out in the competitive meal shipping space in few ways. First, it only does meal proteins: chicken, beef, lamb, etc.; no vegetables, no starches. Second, all those proteins are cooked, and then frozen and vacuum sealed, so you can eat them on your own schedule. And third, the Bay Area-based company is basically giving away a sous-vide wand so all customers have to do is put the frozen bag of meat in hot water to prepare it. For $109 (during pre-order, then it goes up to $139), customers can order the Starter Kit, which includes a sous vide wand and 9 servings of protein. There’s also the Family Box for $119 ($129 post pre-order), for 24 servings, and Co-Founder and CEO Ajay Narain told me that a third option with 14 servings will sell for $79. There is no monthly commitment. Click Read More below for additional information.

Kevin Mansell, Kohl's chairman, chief executive officer and president, said, "We are pleased to report an increase in comp sales for the quarter as the traffic momentum we saw in the first half of the year continued. We saw strong results during the back-to-school season, achieving a low single-digit positive comp. The middle of the quarter was soft as we experienced disruptions from the hurricanes and other unseasonal weather. The quarter closed with strong sales in the second half of October." Kohl’s ended the quarter with 1,156 Kohl's stores in 49 states compared with 1,155 Kohl's stores at the same time last year. Kohl's also operates 12 FILA Outlets and four Off/Aisle clearance centers. The Company now expects fiscal 2017 diluted earnings per share of $3.72 to $3.92, which includes the impact of a fourth quarter tax settlement. Click Read More below for additional information.

Total reported sales for the third quarter of 2017 were $2.6 billion compared to $2.8 billion in the third quarter of 2016, a decrease of 8%. Third quarter sales include the negative impact on both the Retail and Business Solutions Divisions from hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, which disrupted operations in Puerto Rico and the southeastern United States where a heavy concentration of customers are located. In the third quarter of 2017, Office Depot reported operating income of $108 million, net income from continuing operations of $98 million, or $0.19 per diluted share and total company net income of $92 million, or $0.17 per diluted share. Both net income from continuing operations and total company net income include a net tax credit of approximately $37 million associated with the reduction of the U.S. tax valuation allowance. Click Read More below for additional information.

The international media, services and education company increased its revenues by 1.3 percent year-on-year to €12.1 billion (previous year: €12.0 billion). Bertelsmann's strategic growth businesses were particularly instrumental in this development: RTL Group's digital activities continued their dynamic growth, increasing by around 30 percent to €560 million. The music company BMG grew by 29 percent; the Bertelsmann Education Group recorded growth of 38 percent. Overall, the share of total revenues contributed by the high-growth businesses increased to 32 percent (previous year: 29 percent). Group profit increased to €694 million at September 30, surpassing the previous year's figure by 6.4 percent (previous year: €652 million). The result before sale of investments was therefore at a record level. With capital gains of €69 million, the Bertelsmann Asia Investments (BAI) fund once again made a high contribution to earnings. Click Read More below for additional information.

Sales in the third quarter of 2017 totaled $5.281 billion, a decrease of 6.1 percent, compared with sales of $5.626 billion in the third quarter of 2016. The year-over-year decline in total sales reflects, in part, the closure of stores previously announced by the company. Comparable sales on an owned basis were down 4.0 percent in the third quarter and down 3.6 percent on an owned plus licensed basis. Macy’s, Inc.’s operating income for the third quarter of 2017 totaled $121 million, or 2.3 percent of sales, compared to $107 million, or 1.9 percent of sales, for the third quarter of 2016. Operating income for the third quarter of 2017 totaled $176 million, or 3.3 percent of sales, excluding restructuring and other costs of $33 million and non-cash retirement plan settlement charges of $22 million. Operating income for the third quarter of 2016 totaled $169 million, or 3.0 percent of sales, excluding non-cash retirement plan settlement charges of $62 million. Click Read More below for additional information.

Transcontinental Inc.'s Media Sector, TC Media, announces the sale of 21 of its publications and their related web properties, as well as its InMemoriam.ca site to Icimédias Inc., a company led by its President Renel Bouchard, with Marc-Noël Ouellette as Managing Director. In total, 140 employees of these various publications and 28 employees from TC Media's Production team are transferred to Icimédias. TC Transcontinental also concluded a multi-year agreement for the printing and distribution of all of these publications. This represents the largest transaction to date in the process for the sale of TC Media's local and regional newspapers in Québec and Ontario. With the completion of this transaction, close to 50% of the titles included in this process are now in the hands of local owners. The publications sold to Icimédias are: L'Avenir de l'Érable, La Nouvelle union – Wednesday edition and La Nouvelle union – Sunday edition, in Centre-du-Québec; Beauce Média, L'Éclaireur Progrès, Hebdo Régional, La Voix du Sud and Courrier Frontenac, in Chaudière-Appalaches; Le Progrès de Coaticook and Le Reflet du Lac, in Estrie; Le Courrier Sud, L'Écho La Tuque/Haut-St-Maurice, L'Écho de Maskinongé, L'Hebdo du St-Maurice and L'Hebdo Journal, in Mauricie; L'Avenir et des Rivières, Granby Express, Journal Le Guide, Le Canada Français, Le Richelieu and Coup d'œil, in Montérégie. Click Read More below for additional information.

Revenues decreased $71 million, or 9%, in the third quarter of 2017 from the year-earlier quarter to $679 million, reflecting declines in Print and other advertising and Circulation revenues, partially offset by growth in Digital advertising and Other revenues. The U.S. dollar relative to the British pound did not have a significant impact on Revenues for the quarter ended September 30, 2017. Operating Income (Loss) was income of $51 million for the three months ended September 30, 2017 and loss of $167 million for the three months ended September 30, 2016. We recognized Asset impairments of $188 million, related primarily to a domestic tradename intangible, during the three months ended September 30, 2016. Click Read More below for additional information.

Financial and Business Highlights •Record gross revenue was $288.4 million in the third quarter, an increase of 3% compared with $280.0 million in the third quarter of 2016. Year-to-date gross revenue was $835.3 million, a 2% increase compared with $820.3 million in the prior period. •Record gross profit (net revenue) was $72.5 million, or 25.1% of gross revenue in the third quarter, a 7% increase compared to $67.8 million, or 24.2% of gross revenue, in the same period of last year. Year-to-date gross profit (net revenue) was $207.0 million, or 24.8% of gross revenue, an increase of 6% compared to the prior-year period. •Net income was $7.5 million or $0.14 per diluted share in the third quarter, compared to net income of $4.3 million or $0.08 per share in the third quarter of 2016. Year-to-date net income was $17.5 million or $0.32 per diluted share, compared to net income (loss) of $(0.7) million or $(0.01) per diluted share in the same period of 2016. Click Read More below for additional information.

In a move toward growth, Target has decided to close stores, and a dozen of them at that. The Minneapolis-based Star Tribune first reported on the news Tuesday afternoon. "We have a rigorous process in place to evaluate the performance of every store on an annual basis, closing or relocating underperforming locations as needed," a spokeswoman for the big-box retailer told CNBC. "Typically, a store is closed as a result of seeing several years of decreasing profitability," she added. The 12 stores — spread across states including Michigan, Florida, Illinois and Texas — will close on Feb. 3 of next year. Click Read More below for additional information.

In a move that surprised many in the self-publishing community, Macmillan has announced that it will cease all operations at Pronoun, a self-publishing platform that it acquired in May 2016. Jeff Seroy, senior v-p of publicity and marketing at Macmillan's Farrar Straus and Giroux unit, confirmed the shutdown. Asked why Pronoun was being shuttered 18 months after the acquisition, Seroy said despite Macmillan investment in the platform and “terrific” feedback from Pronoun authors, “we came to the conclusion that there wasn't a path forward to a profitable business model and decided to shut down the platform." Seroy said Macmillan will, “continue to invest in the data and analytics side of the company as we have found it of great value.” He also said that former Pronoun CEO Josh Brody and former chief product officer Ben Zhuk left Macmillan earlier in the year. Click Read More below for additional information.

TIME ranks #1 most trusted news brand and PEOPLE ranks #1 most trusted entertainment news brand, according to a new study released by Sharethrough. The study was conducted to compare trust, transparency and engagement between premium publishers and social media platforms – revealing that premium publishers rank ahead of Facebook and Twitter. According to the results, Time Inc.’s TIME and PEOPLE are the most trusted premium publishers, when comparing the mindset of audiences that access news content through premium publishers versus major social media platforms. Click Read More below for additional information.

Hachette Book Group has acquired most of the assets of Meadowbrook Press, which is based in the Minneapolis suburb of Minnetonka. Approximately 25 of Meadowbrook’s pregnancy, childcare, and parenting backlist titles will be updated and reissued under the Da Capo Lifeline Books imprint. Another 25 of Meadowbrook’s children’s and gift/humor backlist titles will be reissued by HBG's Running Press unit. Meadowbrook Press was founded in 1975 by Bruce Lansky and his then-wife, Vicki, to publish her first book, Feed Me I’m Yours, a cookbook for parents of young children; it has sold to date more than three million copies. The company is also the publisher of several bestselling titles for parents and expectant parents, such as The Simple Guide to Having a Baby, which has sold 1.5 million copies, Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Newborn, which has sold almost 1.4 million copies, as well as six baby-naming books, including 100,000+ Baby Names. The baby-naming books, which were authored by Lansky, have sold a total of more than 11.5 million copies. Click Read More below for additional information.

Sears Holding Corp. has announced yet another round of store closures, with Kmart taking a big hit. The embattled retailer said it will close 63 stores, including 45 Kmart locations and 18 Sears stores. The stores will close after the holidays, in late January. But liquidation sales will begin as early as Nov. 9. “Sears Holdings continues its strategic assessment of the productivity of our Kmart and Sears store base and will continue to right size our store footprint in number and size,” the retailer stated in an announcement on its website. “In the process, as previously announced we will continue to close some unprofitable stores as we transform our business model so that our physical store footprint and our digital capabilities match the needs and preferences of our members.” Click Read More below for additional information.

Condé Nast has shuttered its print edition of Teen Vogue, adjusting the frequency of various titles, and laying off approximately 80 staffers, Folio: has learned. The cuts represent approximately 2.5 percent of its 3,000 employees, and the company “is expected to complete its final round of cuts by next Thursday,” reports WWD. In addition to the changes at Teen Vogue, GQ, Glamour, Allure, Architectural Digest, Bon Appétit, W and Condé Nast Traveler are among the company’s magazines set to see decreases in print frequency. Vanity Fair, Vogue, Wired, Brides and The New Yorker, however, will remain unaffected and continue to print at the same frequency. Click Read More below for additional information.

Frontline has announced today the acquisition of Gold Key Media, the Publishing and Venue Services division of COMAG. Gold Key Media Ltd becomes a fully owned subsidiary of Frontline Ltd on 1 November 2017 and will continue to be led by the existing, highly experienced management team. With an exciting mix of market-leading dynamic distribution services, Gold Key Media creates bespoke solutions supplying newspapers and magazines in print and digital format to the business, leisure, travel, luxury and event industries across the world. Established in 2001, Gold Key Media has grown to represent over 300 international publishers, distributing over 60 million newspaper and magazine copies per annum across a complete range of international venues and global events. Click Read More below for additional information.

For the third quarter of 2017, the company reported non-cash after-tax charges of $252.5 million, leading to a quarterly net loss of $260.5 million, or $34.11 per share. The non-cash charges relate almost solely to a non-cash deferred tax asset valuation allowance. The third quarter 2017 adjusted net loss remains unchanged from the previously reported results at $5.9 million. The net loss for the first nine months of 2017 was $393.5 million, or $51.67 per share, and included the effect of $359.4 million non-cash after-tax charges inclusive of the write-down of its CareerBuilder investment, mastheads, inventory, and the deferred tax asset valuation allowance mentioned above. The company refers readers to its October 16, 2017 release on third quarter results and its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 24, 2017 for additional information. Click Read More below for additional information.

L Brands, Inc. reported net sales of $794.1 million for the four weeks ended Oct. 28, 2017, an increase of 5 percent, compared to net sales of $756.7 million for the four weeks ended Oct. 29, 2016. Comparable sales increased 2 percent for the four weeks ended Oct. 28, 2017. For October, the exit of the swim and apparel categories had a negative impact of about 1 percentage point and 2 percentage points to total company and Victoria’s Secret comparable sales, respectively. The company reported net sales of $2.618 billion for the 13 weeks ended Oct. 28, 2017, an increase of 1 percent, compared to net sales of $2.581 billion for the 13 weeks ended Oct. 29, 2016. Comparable sales decreased 1 percent for the 13 weeks ended Oct. 28, 2017. For the 13 weeks ended Oct. 28, 2017, the exit of the swim and apparel categories had a negative impact of about 2 percentage points and 2 percentage points to total company and Victoria’s Secret comparable sales, respectively. Click Read More below for additional information.

Third quarter operating revenues were $744.3 million, including a $1.4 million negative impact from hurricanes Harvey and Irma, compared to $772.3 million in the prior year quarter. There was no material impact on revenues related to currency changes in the quarter. The year-over-year performance reflected lower print advertising and circulation revenues offset partially by higher digital advertising revenues and the contribution from acquired operations (1). On a same store basis, operating revenues in the third quarter declined 9.4% (or 10.2% when excluding $6.7 million related to the 2016 third quarter revaluation of acquired deferred revenue), an improvement compared to a decline in the 2017 second quarter of 10.6%, as a result of digital revenue growth. Total digital revenues in the third quarter increased to $245.0 million, or approximately 33% of total revenue, including the contribution from ReachLocal which was acquired in August 2016. GAAP net income for the third quarter was $23.0 million, including a $20.1 million tax benefit offset partially by $15.4 million of after-tax severance, acquisition, asset impairment, facility consolidation and other costs; approximately $10.3 million of these charges were non-cash. Adjusted EBITDA (2) for the third quarter increased 27.3% to $73.9 million compared to $58.0 million in the prior year quarter with a 240 basis point margin improvement year-over-year, which includes the favorable comparison related to the aforementioned deferred revenue revaluation. Click Read More below for additional information.

It’s plenty hard for a battle-tested publisher to launch a print magazine these days. Nevertheless, a bold (or delusional) company that’s in a retail business will occasionally think, “Hey, we can do that!” — and so chooses, against great odds, to dive into the magazine fray. It seems crazy, counterintuitive, and financially irresponsible, right? But it does not foreclose the possibility that these outfits can actually put out interesting books. Cash and smart hiring can go a long way. As to why they’d want to get into something as last-century as ink-on-paper mags — well, one word: “Brooklyn.” Meaning there’s always a place and a time for throwbacks (craft beer and artisanal bread, anyone?), even if it turns out to be ephemeral. “Vintage” is what’s new right now, and that’s reflected in both of the magazines I address in this edition of “The Modern Magazinist.” Click Read More below for additional information.

Adobe released its online shopping predictions for the upcoming holiday season. Based on Adobe Analytics, Adobe expects that online sales will be $107.4 billion, an increase of 13.8 percent, while in-store retail is expected to grow ten percent.* Cyber Monday is expected to become the largest online shopping day in history, generating $6.6 billion in sales, 16.5 percent growth compared to last year. Sales on Thanksgiving Day are expected to increase 15 percent YoY to $2.8 billion. One out of every six dollars this holiday season will be spent between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday, leading to $19.7 billion in sales. The most anticipated gifts include Hasbro NERF guns, Nintendo Switch, Apple Air Pods and Sony PlayStation® VR. While large retailers (more than $100 million in annual revenue) will see higher order values and desktop conversion rates than smaller retailers (less than $10 million in annual revenue), the latter are expected to have the mobile advantage with a higher average conversion rate of 1.9 percent by attracting more shoppers with an intent to buy. Adobe Analytics data also forecasts that shoppers will gravitate towards purchasing more lower-priced items online as opposed to big ticket items. While toys and apparel saw a 39 percent and 20 percent unit growth respectively last holiday season, jewelry sales came in low, with a three percent decline in unit growth. These trends are expected to continue this season. Click Read More below for additional information.

Costco Wholesale Corporation reported net sales of $10.02 billion for the month of October, the four weeks ended October 29, 2017, an increase of 10.1 percent from $9.11 billion during the similar period last year. For the first eight weeks of fiscal year 2018 ended October 29, 2017, the Company reported net sales of $19.87 billion, an increase of 11.3 percent from $17.85 billion for the first eight weeks of fiscal 2017 ended October 23, 2016. *The U.S. comparable sales figure excluding the impacts from changes in gasoline prices and foreign exchange for the eight week YTD period was initially reported incorrectly as 8.1%. Click Read More below for additional information.

Net Sales for the third quarter were $532 million, down 0.2% or $1 million, year over year. The net sales decrease was driven by a $6 million decrease in our Education segment, partially offset by a $5 million increase in our Trade Publishing segment. Within our Education segment, which includes our Basal business and our Extension businesses, the decline in year over year net sales was attributable to our Basal business, inclusive of international sales, which declined by $6 million from $301 million in 2016 to $295 million. Billings for the third quarter of 2017 were $584 million, down 6% or $36 million compared with $620 million for the same period in 2016. The decrease was driven by a $41 million decrease in our Education segment billings, slightly offset by a $5 million increase in our Trade Publishing segment billings. Within our Education segment, the decline in year over year billings was attributable to our Basal business, inclusive of international sales, which declined by $27 million from $338 million in 2016 to $311 million. Net income of $91 million in the third quarter of 2017 was slightly higher compared to a net income of $90 million in the same quarter of 2016, due primarily to the same factors impacting operating income offset by an unfavorable change in our income tax benefit of $5 million, from an income tax benefit of $16 million for the same period in 2016 to an income tax benefit of $11 million in 2017, primarily related to a change to our estimated annual effective tax rate during the prior year period. Click Read More below for additional information.

This was the clear conclusion of the multi-country survey recently undertaken by Two Sides. At the annual meeting of Two Sides Country Managers in London on October 23, 2017, representatives from Europe, North America, South America, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand discussed the results of the survey and will build upon the findings to ensure that print on paper remains the preferred and sustainable way to communicate. Two Sides also plans to strengthen its global Anti-Greenwash campaign which is targeted at major banks, utilities, telecoms and others. Over 600 organizations have been researched. Of these 77% have been found to be using greenwash in their marketing, usually in breach of local regulations, and, after being challenged by Two Sides, 60% have voluntarily amended their messaging – a great success story! Click Read More below for additional information.

Appleton, Wisc.-based Book World Inc. has announced that it is closing all bookstores in its Book World chain that operates 45 outlets across the Midwest. In a letter to its business partners and vendors as well as in a release sent to media, Book World said that liquidation sales will begin on November 2 at all 45 locations. The sales will continue until all inventory -- books, magazines, greeting cards, gifts, and other sidelines – is gone. The company expects that all stores will be closed by January 15. In the letter to Book World’s business partners, senior v-p Mark Dupont said that while the chain had been able to weather the advent of e-books, in the past 12 months sales started plummeting and still continue to drop. Dupont attributed the downturn to the national consumer shift towards e-commerce and away from large department stores. This, Dupont wrote, “has triggered the loss of vital mall anchor stores and a downward spiral in customer counts, reducing sales to a level that will no longer sustain our business.” Click Read More below for additional information.

Highlights for the third quarter: • Ended the third quarter of 2017 with $51.4 million of cash and cash equivalents and $9.1 million of restricted cash; Torstar has no bank indebtedness. • Cash provided by operating activities was $9.7 million in the third quarter of 2017 reflecting a $7.8 million decrease in working capital combined with $1.9 million of cash generated by operating activities in the quarter. • Our net loss attributable to equity shareholders was $6.6 million ($0.08 per share) in the third quarter of 2017. This compares to a net income of $1.4 million ($0.02 per share) in the third quarter of 2016. Click Read More below for additional information.

The New York Times Company announced third-quarter 2017 diluted earnings per share from continuing operations of $.20 compared with $.00 in the same period of 2016. Adjusted diluted earnings per share from continuing operations (defined below) was $.13 in the third quarter of 2017 compared with $.06 in the third quarter of 2016. Operating profit was $33.0 million in the third quarter of 2017 compared with $9.0 million in the same period of 2016, largely due to higher digital subscription revenues and lower severance costs, which more than offset lower print advertising revenues. Adjusted operating profit (defined below) was $56.5 million in the third quarter of 2017 compared with $39.2 million in the third quarter of 2016, principally driven by strong digital subscription revenues, which were partially offset by lower print advertising revenues. Mark Thompson, president and chief executive officer, The New York Times Company, said, “We had a strong quarter once again, with solid growth in digital subscriptions, digital advertising and subscription revenue and overall profitability. Click Read More below for additional information.

The publisher of Better Homes & Gardens and Martha Stewart Living asked the court to order a refund in a lawsuit filed Monday in federal court in Des Moines, where the company is headquartered. The lawsuit says Meredith historically has claimed a deduction on income derived from production of its magazines and books. Last year the IRS disallowed the deduction and ordered payment of additional taxes for 2006 through 2012 saying Meredith didn't maintain ownership of the publications while they were running through the contract printers' presses. Meredith says that's a misinterpretation of the law. Click Read More below for additional information.

Total revenues were $157.3 million compared with $165.8 million in the prior year period. Adjusted for the sale of Fannie May Confection Brands (which closed on May 30, 2017), total revenues increased 1.81 percent. EPS loss for the quarter was $0.20 per share, compared with a loss of $0.24 per share in the prior year period. Adjusted for the sale of Fannie May, the prior year period EPS loss was $0.201 per share. Adjusted EBITDA1 was a loss of $10.1 million, compared with an Adjusted EBITDA1 loss of $13.1 million in the prior year period. Reflecting the sale of Fannie May, Adjusted EBITDA1 loss in the prior year period was $9.5 million. Click Read More below for additional information.

Expecting shipping volume to jump 5% this holiday season, UPS is on track to shatter its holiday shipping records. The carrier plans to deliver more than 750 million packages globally in the 25 days between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve. This volume is approximately 5% above last year’s holiday peak shipping season volume. During 17 of these 25 days, UPS expects to deliver more than 30 million packages. To ensure it can get packages into recipients’ hands in a timely manner, the company is launching UPS Saturday Ground, a service that features five additional ground pickup and delivery days between Thanksgiving and Christmas. This service will add approximately 6,000 permanent, year-round jobs when fully implemented. Click Read More below for additional information.

The American Catalog Mailers Association, whose membership heavily relies on a properly-functioning postal system, urges the U.S. Senate to quickly consider and confirm the President’s new nominees to be U.S. Postal Service Governors. America’s postal system currently has no board – thus, no proper oversight. The ACMA has been instrumental in getting this important agenda item to the top of the priority list for a busy White House. In addition to our aggressive lobbying in Washington, the ACMA wrote a memo suggesting criteria and provided several strong candidates. We applaud the White House for moving this forward and are thrilled that nominations have been made. Click Read More below for additional information.

Meredith Corporation announced that it will raise the rate base of quarterly magazine The Magnolia Journal to 1.2 million beginning with the Spring 2018 issue. "The Magnolia Journal has been one of the most successful launches in the history of the magazine industry," said Meredith Magazine President Doug Olson. "In just a year we've generated 1 million paid subscribers. On newsstands, The Magnolia Journal has averaged nearly a 70 percent sell-through rate, compared to the industry average of 25 percent. And advertisers are clamoring to be in its pages. The Magnolia Journal is a home run in every sense of the word." Click Read More below for additional information.

Calvin R. Tucker of Pennsylvania, for the remainder of a term expiring December 8, 2023. Robert M. Duncan of Kentucky, for the remainder of a seven-year term expiring December 8, 2018, and an additional term expiring December 8, 2025. David Williams of Illinois, for the remainder of a seven-year term expiring December 8, 2019.

The electronics retailer, which has no physical presence in Massachusetts, says the state's demand that it collect and remit tax from online sales there is unconstitutional. Massachusetts officials want Crutchfield Corp. to fork over sales taxes for online transactions made their state, and the Virginia-based consumer electronics retailer is going to court over the request. Crutchfield, No. 190 in the Internet Retailer 2017 Top 500, on Tuesday filed a complaint in a Virginia court seeking a declaratory judgment to exempt it from Massachusetts’ efforts to collect sales tax for online transactions, despite the fact that Crutchfield has no physical presence there. Click Read More below for additional information.

Sears is bringing back its Wish Book holiday catalog after a six-year hiatus. "Our members told us they missed the Wish Book, so we had to bring it back, but in a special way that lets you share more joy wherever you are,” Kelly Cook, chief marketing officer for Hoffman Estates-based Sears and Kmart, said in a news release Wednesday. It came out almost every year — with a gap in 1993 and 1994 — until 2011, when Sears decided to focus on other holiday initiatives, Cook said. Wish Books varied in size, but they often topped 600 pages, she said. Click Read More below for additional information.

Net sales increased 34% to $43.7 billion in the third quarter, compared with $32.7 billion in third quarter 2016. Net sales includes $1.3 billion from Whole Foods Market, which Amazon acquired on August 28, 2017. Excluding Whole Foods Market and the $124 million favorable impact from year-over-year changes in foreign exchange rates throughout the quarter, net sales increased 29% compared with third quarter 2016. Operating income decreased 40% to $347 million in the third quarter, compared with operating income of $575 million in third quarter 2016. Operating income includes income of $21 million from Whole Foods Market. Net income was $256 million in the third quarter, or $0.52 per diluted share, compared with net income of $252 million, or $0.52 per diluted share, in third quarter 2016. Click Read More below for additional information.

J. C. Penney Company, Inc. provided a preliminary update on its expected third quarter performance, following actions taken during the quarter to accelerate the liquidation of inventory. The Company's fiscal third quarter ends Oct. 28. "Based on the encouraging results from a third quarter reset in women's apparel, which expanded our casual and contemporary offering, we made the strategic decision to accelerate a wider transformation of the entire women's department by clearing slow-moving inventory primarily in women's and other apparel categories. Following this comprehensive reset, we saw an improvement in performance, particularly in our women's division, confirming these actions were necessary to drive growth in our women's apparel business," said Marvin R. Ellison, chairman and chief executive officer for JCPenney. For the third quarter, the Company expects that comparable store sales will increase in the range of 0.6 % to 0.8 % and cost of goods sold, which excludes depreciation and amortization, will increase 300 to 320 basis points compared to the same period last year, impacted primarily by a greater sales penetration in major appliances and e-commerce and the decision to accelerate the liquidation of inventory. The Company expects third quarter adjusted earnings per share to be in the range of ($0.45) to ($0.40)1. Click Read More below for additional information.

Sales of adult trade book rose 3.1% in the first six months of 2017, over the comparable period last year, according to figures released Thursday morning by the Association of American Publishers as part of its StatShot program. Sales of children’s/young adult books increased 4.5% over the first half of 2016. The largest sales increase in the period came in the higher educational course material segment, where sales were up 11.2%; the category had a soft 2016, with sales for the year dropping 12.6%. The religious press segment was the only category where sales fell in the most recent six-month period, declining 3.8%. Click Read More below for additional information.

Stein Mart, Inc. announced that it has instituted cost reductions expected to total savings of approximately $10 million (pre-tax) in 2018 including the elimination of approximately 10 percent of its corporate office headcount. These actions are part of the Company's ongoing efforts to control costs and simplify its business processes in this highly competitive retail environment. Most of the other cost reductions are also at the corporate headquarters. Today's announcement is in addition to tight expense controls and other steps the Company has taken this year to strengthen its financial position, including: •Lowering inventories by 15 percent •Reducing capital expenditures by $22 million over the prior year •Suspending the quarterly dividend ($14 million annual savings). Click Read More below for additional information.

Publishers’ revenues (sales to bookstores, wholesalers, direct to consumer, online retailers, etc.) were $5.72 billion - up by $195.9 million (3.5%) for the first half of 2017 compared to the same period in 2016. Tracked categories include: Trade - fiction/non-fiction/religious, PreK-12 Instructional Materials, Higher Education Course Materials, Professional Publishing, and University Presses. Revenue for Trade Books grew by 3.0%, with revenue increases in both Adult Books and Childrens/YA books over 2016. “What a testament to the importance of the publishing industry,” said Maria A. Pallante, President and CEO, Association of American Publishers. “Whatever the category, format or distribution platform, books remain a constant in the marketplace and in our lives.” Click Read More below for additional information.

Looking more closely at Meredith's fiscal 2018 first quarter compared to the prior-year period: •Local Media Group revenues were $154 million, operating profit was $41 million and EBITDA was $49 million, all record highs for a non-political first quarter. Non-political advertising revenues increased 4 percent to $88 million, led by growth in the Atlanta, Phoenix and St. Louis markets. Digital advertising revenues grew 14 percent. Other revenues increased 24 percent, primarily due to growth in retransmission-related revenues. •National Media Group revenues were $239 million. Operating profit grew 17 percent to $28 million. Excluding the special item in the first quarter of fiscal 2018, operating profit grew 4 percent to $25 million, driven primarily by lower operating expenses in Meredith's magazine business. Circulation revenues grew slightly compared to the prior-year period. •Total Company digital advertising revenues were a fiscal first quarter record. Traffic across Meredith's digital properties increased to 83 million average monthly unique visitors. National Media Group digital advertising revenues accounted for 30 percent of National Media Group advertising revenues. Click Read More below for additional information.

Net income decreased 54% to $414 million and diluted earnings per share declined 52% to $1.61 as a result of the prior period benefiting from a pre-tax gain of $722 million on the sale of J.D. Power. Adjusted net income increased 16% to $442 million and adjusted diluted earnings per share increased 19% to $1.71. The adjustments in the third quarter of 2017 were for deal-related amortization and restructuring. Both net income and adjusted net income benefited from an accounting change associated with the recognition of excess tax benefits from stock-based compensation in 2017. "The underlying environment for our businesses is healthy with an improving global GDP, higher commodity prices, strong equity markets, and modest growth in U.S. bond issuance. With this backdrop, our Company is thriving as all of our business segments contributed solid organic revenue and adjusted operating profit growth during the quarter," said Douglas L. Peterson, President and Chief Executive Officer of S&P Global. "We continue to focus on delivering meaningful revenue growth, launching new products, investing in productivity, and returning capital to shareholders." Click Read More below for additional information.

For the total company in 3Q 2017: ◦Revenue increased 7.0%, and currency-neutral revenue* was up 7.1%. ◦Revenue increased in all segments and major product categories, as expanded customer demand spread across the company’s broad product portfolio. ◦Operating profit was $2.0 billion, driven by strong performance in the International and Supply Chain and Freight segments. ◦Year-to-date capital expenditures were $3.7 billion, supporting our investment strategies. Click Read More below for additional information.

The U.S. Postal Service will deliver more than 15 billion pieces of mail this holiday season. In the period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, the Postal Service also expects to deliver 850 million packages, which is more than a 10 percent increase compared to the same period last year. “The Postal Service is well prepared to meet our customers’ needs during the holiday season, especially as demand for package deliveries continues to grow,” said Megan J. Brennan, Postmaster General and CEO. The Postal Service will be expanding its Sunday delivery operations to locations with high package volumes beginning Nov. 26. The Postal Service already delivers packages on Sundays in most major cities, and anticipates delivering more than 6 million packages on Sundays this December. Mail carriers will also deliver packages on Christmas Day in select locations. Click Read More below for additional information.

“We posted another solid quarter of earnings, margins, and cash flow in line with our expectations, supported by our on-going Strategic Transformation initiatives,” said Jeff Jacobson, Xerox chief executive officer. “Revenue decline improved sequentially which we expect to carry through the rest of the year.” Jacobson added, “All 29 of our new ConnectKey®-enabled office products are now available and shipping to large and small customers around the globe; momentum is building, as expected, entering the last quarter of the year.” The company delivered third-quarter 2017 GAAP earnings per share (EPS) from continuing operations of 67 cents, up 1.5 percent year-over-year. Adjusted EPS was 89 cents, up 6.0 percent year-over-year, and excludes 22 cents per share of after-tax costs related to the amortization of intangibles, restructuring and related costs, and certain retirement-related costs. Revenues were $2.5 billion in the quarter, down 5.0 percent or 5.9 percent in constant currency. Post sale revenue was 79 percent of total revenue. Click Read More below for additional information.

The New York Times Company announced today that it has entered into agreements with Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) to transfer pension benefits and annuity administration for approximately $225 million in pension obligations. The agreements relate to two of the Company’s pension plans, The New York Times Company's Pension Plan and The Retirement Annuity Plan for Craft Employees of The New York Times Company. Under the agreements, these pension plans will purchase group annuity contracts from MassMutual for approximately 3,800 retirees (or their beneficiaries). The group annuity contracts include an irrevocable commitment by MassMutual to make annuity payments to the affected retirees. All other retirees will continue to receive monthly benefit payments from the plans. The agreements will transfer the payment administration and obligations to this highly rated insurance company with a long history of efficiently providing annuity benefits. This arrangement is part of the Company’s continued effort to manage the overall size and volatility of its pension plan obligations, and the administrative costs related thereto. Click Read More below for additional information.

Third Quarter Highlights: • Total loans grew $6.9 billion (9%) from the prior year to $80.4 billion. • Credit card loans grew $5.5 billion (9%) to $63.5 billion and Discover card sales volume increased 5% from the prior year. • Total net charge-off rate excluding PCI loans increased 61 basis points from the prior year to 2.71% and the total 30+ day delinquency rate excluding PCI loans increased 26 basis points from the prior year to 2.05%. • Consumer deposits grew $3.4 billion (10%) from the prior year to $38.7 billion. Click Read More below for additional information.

When it comes to honoring an anniversary as big as Harper’s BAZAAR’s 150th, Editor-in-Chief Glenda Bailey knew one celebration simply wasn’t enough. In fact, the magazine—which will officially turn 150 years old on November 2 of this year—has been celebrating for most of 2017. The culmination of these festivities reveals itself with an entirely redesigned November issue that hits newsstands today. “My mission is to create a party that everyone is invited to,” Bailey said, and the BAZAAR anniversary year has embodied the legendary style of the magazine. In April, the Empire State Building lit up with iconic images from the pages of Harper’s BAZAAR. That same month, the magazine’s history unfolded in Bailey’s new book Harper’s BAZAAR: 150 Years: The Greatest Moments. “I am a great believer in having a party every day, so naturally when it came to our anniversary, we decided to celebrate the whole year,” Bailey said. “One issue just isn’t enough when you have a history as illustrious as Harper’s BAZAAR's.” Click Read More below for additional information.

"Q3 marked an important milestone for the company as we substantially completed the platform consolidation and the restructuring announced earlier this year in February," said Christopher North, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Now, Shutterfly, TinyPrints, and our Weddings business - representing the overwhelming majority of our Consumer customers - are on a single technical platform. Combined with our streamlined cost structure and sharpened focus, we're in a strong position to execute against our growth plan going forward." "Our Shutterfly brand and Shutterfly Business Solutions performed well in Q3. We continue to make good progress against our areas of strategic focus while maintaining strong cost control, and also closed a $500 million credit facility. And we're ready for the fourth quarter with a beautiful selection of holiday products for both Shutterfly and TinyPrints customers, and having significantly improved customer experiences both on the web and in our mobile app." Net revenues totaled $195.4 million, a 4% year-over-year increase. Consumer net revenues totaled $135.4 million, a 6% year-over-year decrease as anticipated, as we migrated TinyPrints customers to the Shutterfly Platform, and shut down Wedding Paper Divas in the quarter and MyPublisher earlier in the year. Shutterfly Business Solutions net revenues totaled $60.0 million, a 39% year-over-year increase. GAAP Operating loss totaled $35.8 million and Net loss was $25.6 million or $0.78 per share. Click Read More below for additional information.

The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. announced that it has amended its $880 million ABL Tranche A and Tranche A-1 credit facility, providing the Company with immediate flexibility and substantial additional liquidity under its current credit facility. Nancy Walsh, Bon-Ton's Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, commented, "We are pleased with this amendment which immediately provides us with additional liquidity cushion and strengthens our financial flexibility through the holiday season. We appreciate the ongoing support of our bank group as our team continues to execute key operational and financial initiatives focused on positioning the business for both near- and long-term profitable growth." Click Read More below for additional information.

Fiscal 2017 highlights: •GAAP diluted net earnings per share decrease 1.0 percent from the prior year, to $3.78; Adjusted diluted net earnings per share increase 11.1 percent to $5.10, up 12.9 percent on a constant currency basis •GAAP net earnings attributable to Walgreens Boots Alliance decrease 2.3 percent, to $4.1 billion; Adjusted net earnings attributable to Walgreens Boots Alliance increase 9.9 percent to $5.5 billion, up 11.6 percent on a constant currency basis •Sales increase 0.7 percent to $118.2 billion, an increase of 3.3 percent on a constant currency basis •GAAP operating income decreases 7.4 percent to $5.6 billion; Adjusted operating income increases 4.6 percent to $7.5 billion, up 6.5 percent on a constant currency basis. Click Read More below for additional information.

Group Financial Highlights: •Total revenues up 15% to £72.1 million (2016: £62.7 million) •Digital revenues up 15% to £8.9 million (2016: £7.7 million) •Print revenues up 16% to £60.1 million (2016: £51.7 million) •Adjusted* profit before tax up 74% to £2.5 million (2016: £1.5 million) •Profit before tax £1.7 million (2016: £0.1 million) •Net cash up 85% to £16.9 million (2016: £9.1 million). Click Read More below for additional information.

Kohl’s announced its continued partnership with Children's Hospital of Wisconsin with a donation of $800,000 over the next two years to fund a new program, Mission: Healthy Kids, that raises awareness statewide about the importance of healthy eating and active living in children’s physical development, ability to learn and emotional well-being. “Kohl’s shares Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin’s commitment to children’s health,” said Jen Johnson, Kohl’s vice president, corporate communications. “We are proud to partner with Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin to encourage children and families across the state to make active and healthy choices in support of a healthy lifestyle.” Click Read More below for additional information.

Today, it seems we are conditioned to think about innovation in terms of disruption or the emergence of products that are bigger, brighter, sharper, contain more memory or longer battery life. Paper has been so embedded in our lives over multiple generations that it is not only taken for granted, but sometimes thought of as an analog industry in a digital world. Yet our industry has survived recessions, war, global competition, soaring energy costs, increasing environmental regulation, e-books, tablet computers. We have proven time and again, through the resilience and ingenuity of our people, we can evolve our products and meet new customer needs. The paper industry has found innovative ways to reduce costs, increase productivity and developed new, value-added products that continue to make life better. Innovation comes in many forms; sometimes accompanied by press releases and media coverage and sometimes through continuous improvement and optimization of operations that are implemented without major fanfare or hoopla. All deserve to be recognized during National Forest Products Week, celebrated this year from October 15- 21. By leveraging emerging technologies, the U.S. paper industry has made dramatic improvements in energy use, resource efficiency and operational flexibility, which has enabled it to compete in the global marketplace. Through innovation, older, inefficient facilities have been transformed into world-class operations that reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions, reduce water intake, extract more value from renewable biomass and are positioned to capture value in emerging markets. Click Read More below for additional information.

Book publishers are giving an advance review of the industry’s future, and it looks a lot like the past. After a decade of technological upheaval and lackluster growth, executives at the top four U.S. consumer book publishers say they are done relying on newfangled formats to boost growth. It has been nearly 10 years since Amazon.com Inc. introduced its Kindle e-book reader amid the financial crisis, destabilizing publishers and challenging their well-honed business models. Now, e-book sales are on the decline, making up a fraction of publishers’ revenue, and traditional book sales are rising. The consumer books industry is enjoying steady growth in the U.S., with total revenue increasing about 5% from 2013 to 2016, according to the Association of American Publishers. Executives gathered in Frankfurt for the industry’s biggest trade fair said they are returning to fundamentals: buying and printing books that readers want to buy—and they are streamlining their businesses to get them out faster than ever before. It is about “knowing what [readers] want,” said Markus Dohle, chief executive of Bertelsmann SE and Pearson PLC’s joint venture Penguin Random House, “to drive demand at scale.” Click Read More below for additional information.

The redesign includes a vibrant and elevated approach to photography and visuals, updated layouts and formats, and a revamped editorial lineup. The dynamic refresh offers a modern, easy-to-navigate format with an opportunity for readers to engage with Rachael on a personal level. Rachael Ray Every Day restructured the magazine, creating four distinct departments: •On Our Radar: A bitsy, beautiful front-of-book section full of news and trends spotted by Rachael herself and our team of in-the-know editors. •Real Food: A series of visually distinct recipe franchises that hit the busy person's bull's-eye—fast, easy, fresh, and delicious. •The Well: Where zeitgeist-y stories get the deep-dive treatment with lush, sumptuous food photography and spectacular design. •Real Life: All about your home and the people (and animals!) who fill it—interior upgrades, DIY decorating, entertaining, family moments, and heartstring-tugging pet stories. Click Read More below for additional information.

Hearst and Rodale Inc. announced that Hearst has agreed to acquire the magazine and book businesses of Rodale, a global health and wellness content company based in New York and Emmaus, Pennsylvania. The announcement was made by Hearst President and CEO Steven R. Swartz, Rodale CEO Maria Rodale and Hearst Magazines President David Carey. The transaction is expected to close in early 2018, following receipt of necessary government approvals. Terms were not disclosed. Upon completion of the acquisition, Rodale’s multi-platform content business will be managed by Hearst Magazines, a unit of Hearst with more than 300 editions and websites around the world, including 20 titles in the U.S. Click Read More below for additional information.

“The progress we’ve made during the past two years has created a company that is more nimble and more focused on the solutions our customers want. We are delivering cutting-edge innovation faster than our competitors. And, we have improved our financial profile and increased shareholder value by more than 90% since we launched,” said Meg Whitman, CEO of HPE. “Going forward, we will accelerate profitable growth through a focus on higher margin services and solutions. We will redesign our company to deliver Hybrid IT and Edge innovations tailored to our services strengths.” HPE’s strategy remains focused on three key pillars. First, to make Hybrid IT simple through its data center technology, systems software, private cloud and public cloud partnerships. Second, to power the Intelligent Edge through offerings from Aruba in campus and branch networking, and the Industrial Internet of Things with products like Edgeline and the Universal IOT software platform. Third, to provide Advisory, Professional and Operational Services capabilities, including giving customers financial flexibility through consumption-based models. Click Read More below for additional information.

The value of goods transacted on eBay Inc.’s U.S. marketplace grew 4.8% to $8.78 billion during the company’s third quarter ended Sept. 30, the online marketplace reported Wednesday. That’s up from $8.38 billion during the third quarter a year ago. For the first nine months of 2017, U.S. gross merchandise value was $26.43 billion, up 2.6% from $25.76 billion. Globally, sales on eBay’s marketplaces increased 8.1% to $21.68 billion from $20.05 billion in the same quarter a year ago. Excluding the impact of foreign exchange rates, global sales grew 7% year over year, eBay says. For the first three quarters of the year, global GMV grew 4.2% to $63.98 billion from $61.42 billion. Click Read More below for additional information.

Amazon now has 90 million Prime members as of Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal third quarter, which is an estimated 63% of all Amazon customers in the U.S., according to data released Wednesday by securities research firm Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP). The number of Prime customers is up 38.5% from 65 million this time last year and up 5.9% from an estimated 85 million at the end of the second quarter, June 30. Prime is Amazon’s membership program that costs shoppers $99 annually or $10.99 monthly and offers perks such as free expedited shipping and streaming video. CIRP’s estimates are based on a survey of 500 shoppers in the U.S. who made purchases from Amazon during the July-September period. Amazon does not release exact figures on the number of Prime customers. Click Read More below for additional information.

Sales in the first nine months decreased by 2% in underlying terms primarily due to expected declines in North America in school assessment, school and higher education courseware, and the retirement of Learning Studio. Sales in US higher education courseware declined by 1% on an underlying basis, towards the upper half of our expected range. The negative impact of lower enrolments and attrition from growth in the secondary market driven by print rental was partially offset by the benefit of increased digital revenue and a year on year benefit from the reduction in returns from last year’s unprecedented levels, helped by the actions we announced at the beginning of the year. Underlying sales in Core and Growth were in line with our expectations. Click Read More below for additional information.

Grainger reported results for the 2017 third quarter ended September 30, 2017. Sales of $2.6 billion increased 2 percent versus the third quarter of 2016. There were 63 selling days in the 2017 third quarter, one fewer than the 2016 third quarter. On a daily basis, sales increased 3 percent versus the prior year. Net earnings for the quarter of $162 million were down 13 percent versus $186 million in 2016. Earnings per share of $2.79 decreased 9 percent versus $3.05 in 2016. "Our U.S. business had strong volume in the quarter driven by our strategic pricing initiatives and an improving demand environment. We saw a solid response from digital marketing activities that began in mid-August, particularly from our mid-sized customers. We continued to streamline our portfolio with the divestiture of a noncore U.S. specialty business, which affected sales in the quarter," said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer DG Macpherson. "Our single channel online businesses continued their strong sales growth and improved profitability. Our Canadian business continues to be challenged as we execute our turnaround strategy. Click Read More below for additional information.

Global learning company Houghton Mifflin Harcourt announced changes to its executive team, with a slate of new talent and the promotion of internal leaders to support its goal of improving learning outcomes for all students. “With a passionate and talented team in place, I look forward to what’s on the horizon for HMH as we deliver on our unique ability to provide truly integrated learning solutions,” says Jack Lynch, President and CEO, HMH. “This group brings the right balance of K-12 teaching and learning experience and customer-centered innovation to the table to deepen HMH’s longstanding position as a leading core curriculum provider and to expand and diversify our portfolio in faster growing segments within intervention, supplemental curriculum and professional services.” Click Read More below for additional information.

“I am delighted to introduce Brian Napack as the 14th CEO in Wiley’s proud 210-year history of empowering discovery, advancement, and learning,” said Mr. Kissner. “After a thorough and thoughtful search, the Board of Directors unanimously agreed on Brian as the type of proven leader that can drive our continuous evolution as the trusted, innovative partner that our customers rely on to deliver the critical content, tools and services that they need to meet their goals. Brian has the deep industry experience, the passion for our business, and the leadership ability to get us there.” Mr. Napack has an extensive background as a leader and innovator in the media, education, and information industries. He comes to Wiley from Providence Equity Partners, a global private equity firm with more than $50 billion under management, where he has been a Senior Advisor focused on investments in education and media. Mr. Napack currently serves as a Director on the Boards of Blackboard, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Burning Glass, Ingram Industries, Recorded Books, myON, Synergis Education, and Zero To Three, a science-based early childhood advocacy organization. Due to the Wiley appointment, he will transition off certain of these boards. Click Read More below for additional information.

Nordstrom, Inc. announced that members of the Nordstrom family – Company Co-Presidents Blake W. Nordstrom, Peter E. Nordstrom, and Erik B. Nordstrom, President of Stores James F. Nordstrom, Chairman Emeritus Bruce A. Nordstrom, and Anne E. Gittinger – (the "Group") have notified the Special Committee of the Board of Directors of Nordstrom that the Group has suspended active exploration, for the balance of the year, of the possibility of proposing a transaction to take the company private. The Group informed the Special Committee that it intends to continue its efforts to explore the possibility of making a going private proposal after the conclusion of the holiday season. The Special Committee, which is committed to protecting the interests of the Company and all its shareholders, is prepared to thoroughly evaluate such a proposal from the Group at that time, if one is made. In the meantime, the Company and its employees will remain focused on running the business and delivering the best shopping experience for customers. Click Read More below for additional information.