Mail order and publishing executives once followed every hiccup within the U.S. Postal Service. Their businesses depended on it. Those days aren’t over for publishers, judging by an article that appeared last week in The Washington Post. Periodical rates could leap by 8% on Aug. 29, a potentially devastating hit to struggling community newspapers, forcing them to reduce staffs and distribution, critics say. Such a hike could be the tipping point for survival for those publishers, Paul Boyle, senior vice president at the News Media Alliance, told WaPo. However, the USPS contends the impact will not be that serious.

For years, building an eCommerce Marketplace customers trust has been a priority for our business. That’s why we are joining forces with Shopify, an all-in-one commerce platform used by more than 1 million businesses, to open the Walmart Marketplace to their sellers. As our CEO Doug McMillon recently said, competition is good in the retail business, and we want more retailers not fewer. The U.S. eCommerce business grew 74% in total last quarter, and growth in marketplace outpaced the overall business even as first-party sales were strong. As we launch this integration with Shopify, we are focused on U.S.-based small and medium businesses whose assortment complements ours and have a track record of exceeding customers’ expectations. We’re excited to be able offer customers an expanded assortment while also giving small businesses access to the surging traffic on Walmart.com. Shopify powers a dynamic portfolio of third-party sellers who are interested in growing their business through new, trusted channels.

Urban Outfitters, Inc. announced a personnel change at the Anthropologie Group. Hillary Super has stepped down as Global Chief Executive Officer. Her last day was Friday, April 9th. We thank Hillary for her service over the past four years and wish her well in the future. Beginning today, Tricia D. Smith, has joined the Anthropologie team as the new Global Chief Executive Officer. Ms. Smith brings with her impressive retail experience earned over 26 years spent within the Nordstrom merchant organization where she was Executive Vice President, General Merchandise Manager of Women’s, Young Contemporary, Designer, and Specialized Apparel. In 2019, Tricia left Nordstrom to become Executive Vice President, Chief Merchandising Officer, of Tilly’s. Separately, URBN is pleased to report that total Retail segment comparable net sales thus far during the first quarter of Fiscal 2022 have increased by high single-digits versus Fiscal 2020. In North America, better sales were driven by double-digit ‘comp’ results at both the Free People and Urban Outfitters brands while Anthropologie sales have improved substantially but remain slightly negative.