J. C. Penney Company, Inc. announced that the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas has confirmed the Company’s Plan of Reorganization to create separate property holding companies comprising 160 of the Company’s real estate assets and all of its owned distribution centers, which will be owned and operated by JCPenney’s DIP and First Lien Lenders. The PropCos are expected to complete the Court-supervised restructuring process and emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the first half of 2021. The Plan is pursuant to the Company’s asset purchase agreement with Simon Property Group and Brookfield Asset Management, Inc. and the Company’s DIP and First Lien Lenders, supported by the Unsecured Creditors Committee. The APA also provides that Simon and Brookfield are acquiring JCPenney’s retail and operating assets. The PropCos and OpCo will enter into master leases with respect to the properties and distribution centers moved into the PropCos.

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.

The Association of American Publishers (AAP) today released its StatShot report for December 2022 reflecting reported revenue for Trade (Consumer Books), Higher Education Course Materials, and Professional Publishing. The report does not include PreK-12 revenue due to delays in data collection. Total revenues across all categories, excluding PreK-12, for December 2022 were down 10.0% as compared to December 2021, coming in at $995.9 million. Year-to-date revenues were down 6.4%, at $12.6 billion for the year of 2022. Trade revenues were down 6.2%, at $9.1 billion for the calendar year. Hardback revenues were down 13.9%, coming in at $3.2 billion; Paperbacks were up 1.1%, with $3.3 billion in revenue; Mass Market was down 25.5% to $181.6 million; and Special Bindings were down 8.1%, with $206.4 million in revenue. eBook revenues were down 6.6% as compared to 2021 for a total of $1.0 billion. The Downloaded Audio format was up 7.0%, coming in at $839.5 million in revenue. Physical Audio was down 29.8% coming in at $15.8 million.