Readers purchased 825 million copies of print books in the U.S. in 2021—the best-selling year for print books, NPD Bookscan says, since it began tracking data in 2004—and analysts believe young people posting about books on social media played a serious role in those big numbers. The U.S. print book market was up 9% compared to 2020, according to NPD Bookscan, finishing 67 million copies ahead of 2020, and selling 125 million more copies than in 2019. Kristen McLean, executive director and industry analyst at NPD Bookscan, said social media—particularly TikTok users who post about books, known collectively as BookTok—has “definitely been a factor” in surging book sales, along with the pandemic in general, with many of the sales gains coming in Q1 and Q2 before the Covid-19 vaccines were widely available.

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.

Select Preliminary Unaudited Fourth Quarter 2017 Highlights • Gross revenue is expected to be between $303 million and $308 million in the fourth quarter, an increase of 12 to 14% compared with $270.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2016. • Gross profit (net revenue) is expected to be between $74 million and $75 million in the fourth quarter, an increase of 8 to 9% compared to $68.7 million in the same period of 2016. Select Preliminary Unaudited Full Year 2017 and Recent Highlights • Gross revenue is expected to be between $1,138 million and $1,143 million in 2017, an increase of 4 to 5% compared with $1,090.7 million in 2016. • Gross profit (net revenue) is expected to be between $281 million and $282 million, a 7% increase compared to $263.5 million in 2016. Click Read More below for additional information.