Shutterbug Shuts the Door on Print After 45 Years

Pro Carton has launched new home-schooling intiative, EduCarton. The educational resources assist parents and carers of children in lockdown to teach them about the environment and the benefits of cartonboard. All materials are FREE to download. There are a range of materials to explore, including; Crafts, worksheets and colouring: A range of printable activities for children, with many themed around “Carton Campaigners”. Find out more about the intiative at: https://www.procarton.com/publications-news/educarton-home-schooling-initiative/

Despite a drop in sales in 2017 and store closings, the mood was mostly upbeat at the 2018 Diamond Retailer summit, held April 6-8 in conjunction with the C2E2 pop culture convention in Chicago. Many retailers indicated to PW that they are beginning to see a slight upturn in sales in recent months. But this comes after a year in which sales were down in every category. According to figures released by Diamond Comics Distributors—which distributes comics and graphic novels to a network of about 2,000 specialty comics shops around the country—periodical comics sales were down 10% in 2017 compared to 2016, graphic novels declined 9% and the number of direct market stores served by Diamond slipped about 1%. Click Read More below for additional information.

July 1. That’s the expiration date for the contract that covers the International Longshore and Warehouse Union’s more than 22,000 workers at the 29 ports along the West Coast. Negotiations are ongoing, but experts think it is unlikely a deal will be reached before July 1. (In the past, contract talks have run beyond the expiration date and led to major disruptions to port operations.) The stakes are especially high this time around, however, as the negotiations are playing out amid a backdrop of global supply chain disruptions. Chain Store Age spoke with Spencer Shute, senior consultant at procurement and supply chain consultancy Proxima, part of Bain & Company, about the possibility of a shutdown and its impact on retailers.