GNC files for bankruptcy; plans to sell itself (chainstoreage.com)

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.

Unit sales of print books dropped 3% in the week ended Jan. 15, 2022, from the comparable week last year, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Nonfiction sales remained soft, and adult nonfiction sales fell 7.8% from the week ended Jan. 16, 2021. Once again, it was softness throughout the category rather than the lack of a big bestseller that fueled the decline. Indeed, the two top titles in the category—Baby Steps Millionaires by Dave Ramsey and Glenn Beck’s The Great Reset—sold about 65,000 copies and 58,000 copies, respectively, easily beating the top title at this time last year: Barack Obama’s A Promised Land, which sold about 33,000 copies in the similar week. Juvenile nonfiction sales fell 11.6% in the week, as all of the category’s largest subcategories had double-digit declines. My Little Golden Book of Betty White by Deborah Hopkinson remained the #1 title, selling almost 12,000 copies. Juvenile fiction sales also fell, dropping 2.9%.

Dear Industry Executive: By now, you've heard plenty from us about the dire need for Congress to pass legislation to reform the US Postal Service. Passage of such a bill can potentially improve all aspects of your dealings with the USPS - better rates, service, accountability, and the like. The manager of the Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service (C21), the mailing industry group of which ACMA is an influential member, wrote an excellent opinion piece in today's edition of The Hill, an objective daily publication that connects the players, defines the issues and influences the way Washington's decision makers view the debates on Capitol Hill. Two Quick & Easy Asks: 1. Share this influential article on social media using the buttons at the top of the op-ed from both your personal and business accounts if possible. You can also visit the C21 Facebook page to like and share from there. 2. If your business or clients rely on a healthy Postal Service, help influence Congress to move the current postal reform bills along to eventual passage. If your company has ties with any Members of the Senate Appropriations Committee (especially Democrats), encourage them to work with Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS) on his “second review” language for the Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee of Appropriations. Click here to view a list of senators on this vital committee to see if one represents your state. As always, please alert us (via our action@catalogmailers.org address) of any/all actions you take, as it's very helpful in our broader efforts and allows our DC personnel to follow up directly. And of course, please pass this alert onto anyone you know in the catalog/remote marketing/e-com industries who you think could take similar actions.