Scholastic reported earnings results yesterday afternoon for the first quarter of fiscal 2021, ending August 31. Sales were $215 million, down 7 percent compared to $233 million last year, due largely to the delayed reopening of schools. Trade revenue was down $2.2 million, to $71.9 million compared to $74.1 million last year, as the new Dave Pilkey Dog Man book released on September 1, the first day of the second quarter. (“It’s doing extremely well and is outpacing the Dog Man from the year before,” ceo Dick Robinson said on the conference call for analysts.) Book clubs and fairs remained […]
Indigo Store Employees Vote In Favor of Unionizing
Employees of Indigo’s Square One store, one of 39 locations of the chain in Mississauga, Ontario, voted to join the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union yesterday, with 23 votes in favor and 13 opposing. UFCW representative Kevin Shimmin told PL in an email, “We are so happy to welcome the Indigo workers at Square One in Mississauga to our union. This victory demonstrates the necessity and viability of organizing unions, especially right now during the pandemic. Health and safety in retail work is the spark that started this campaign. Workers, and their community supporters, understand unionization is the […]
As Qatar Switches Sides, A Majority of Shareholders Seek to Reseat Lagardere’s Board
Lagardere’s third-largest shareholder Qatar Holding indicated support for major dissidents Amber Capital and Vivendi in giving owners of the stock a meaningful stake in the company’s governance. While the statement issued Tuesday night in a “rare public incursion” from the Qatar Investment Authority stopped short of explicitly backing the push for a special shareholder meeting that is headed to court, the fund deems it “legitimate that all significant shareholders be fairly represented.” Together, Amber and Vivendi control 41.5 percent of shares, and Qatar owns a 13 percent stake, giving them a majority of the stock. CEO Arnaud Lagardere owns just […]
Workers in an Ontario Indigo Store to Finish Vote on Unionizing Today
Workers in Indigo’s Square One location in Ontario, Canada, will conclude voting today on whether to join the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union. The move came after a failed petition asking their employer to stop forcing them to clean customer bathrooms, which they saw as a Covid health and safety issue, according to Kevin Shimmin, a representative for UFCW Canada, interviewed by Quill & Quire. The high-profile, multilevel store re-opened in late June. Shimmin said that a winning vote would lead to a series of meetings to gather employee proposals, followed by negotiations with Indigo, a process that […]
News Corp CEO Discusses Future Investments in Digital in a “Transitioning” Business
In a September 17 interview at the Goldman Sachs 29th Annual Communacopia Conference, News Corp. ceo Robert Thomson reaffirmed that “the book publishing business is one that we see having long-term value for us, and it too is a changing business.” Thomson spoke to internal partnerships between HarperCollins and the company’s news organizations including The Times and The Sun in the UK, calling them “very fruitful in recent months.” He added, “So those sorts of partnerships and finding all of those and promoting important books, obviously not just in print, but across the digital platforms, that complementarity and that leverage […]
Atlas Group Is the Winning Bidder to Purchase LSC’s Assets
LSC Communications announced the results of their bankruptcy auction today, a purchase agreement for “substantially all the company’s assets” with an affiliate of private equity investor Atlas Holdings for $63.4 million in cash and the assumption of “certain specified liabilities,” including the company pension plan. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter, pending approval by the bankruptcy court. There is a sale hearing scheduled for tomorrow. Atlas owns 21 manufacturing and distribution businesses, including paper producers Finch and Twin Rivers. Atlas had been the “stalking horse” bidder. LSC ceo Thomas J. Quinlan III says in the announcement, […]