As part of the ongoing preparation for the election in November, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy will participate in a follow-up meeting with the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) Election Committee on Thursday, Sept. 17. This meeting follows an Aug. 26 conference call with NASS President and New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, NASS Elections Committee Co-Chairs Jocelyn Benson, Michigan Secretary of State, and Frank LaRose, Ohio Secretary of State, and Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft. During the Aug. 26 call, DeJoy reiterated to the Secretaries of State that delivering ballots entrusted to the Postal Service is the organization’s number one priority between now and Election Day, and that the Postal Service is ready, willing, and able to handle the nation’s election mail. He underscored the Postal Service’s commitment to partnering with state election officials as they work to ensure that those who choose to use the mail to vote will have their ballots counted in anticipation of the expected spike in Election Mail amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

For the Third Quarter: • Net sales increased 18.6% to $1,342.2 million from $1,131.2 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2016. The Company estimates that Hurricanes Harvey and Irma resulted in approximately $14 million in lost sales; • Comparable sales (sales for stores open at least 14 months and e-commerce sales) increased 10.3% compared to an increase of 16.7% in the third quarter of fiscal 2016. The 10.3% comparable sales increase was driven by 6.0% transaction growth and 4.3% growth in average ticket. The Company estimates that Hurricanes Harvey and Irma resulted in approximately 100 basis points of negative impact to comparable stores sales in the third quarter of fiscal 2017; • Retail comparable sales increased 6.6%, including salon comparable sales growth of 3.8%; • Salon sales increased 10.8% to $66.9 million from $60.4 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2016; Click Read More below for additional information.

After several months of increases, publishers’ revenues (sales to bookstores, wholesalers, direct to consumer, online retailers, etc.) declined by 11.7% in July 2017 compared to July 2016. Revenues for Jan. – July 2017 were relatively flat, up by 0.2%, according to the most recent StatShot data from the Association of American Publishers. Tracked categories include: Trade - fiction/non-fiction/religious, PreK-12 Instructional Materials, Higher Education Course Materials, Professional Publishing, and University Presses. Revenues for trade books (fiction/non-fiction/religious) declined in July, and were flat (down 0.3%) for the year-to-date, compared to the same periods in 2016. The only category to see growth in July 2017 was Religious Presses, which saw a 4.4% revenue increase in July 2017 compared to July 2016; despite that growth, the category remains down year to date. The only format that saw growth in July was downloaded audio, which saw 23.8% revenue growth compared to July 2016. Click Read More below for additional information.