Compiled by Ray Young (RPM) and John Kelly (Daily Clips)

Wednesday January 25, 2017

The Demise of the Department Store Experience

Department stores can't compete against internet shopping because they are bland and predictable. Unexpected and quirky

is a better formula.

The economic model for national department stores doesn't work anymore. What's the fun of going to stores that are just the

same as all the others in the chain?

Consumers can and do jump from one shopping site—including websites for department stores—to another, hitting the

refresh button as they go. Doesn't that beat the prospect of trekking to a local chain store whose floor plan you know by

heart?

The problem is that local versions of national chains like Sears and Macy's can't make changes on their own, so they can

project a uniform identity in their ads.

Back in 2008 Macy's tried a tricky balancing act: Trying to find the perfect mix of national and local. As our newspaper

Crain's Chicago Business reported, Macy's sought to balance its one-size-fits-all national TV ads with locally-tailored

products and promotions. The theme, dubbed "My Macy's," based merchandising selections on area preferences, so coats

were marketed more heavily in Minneapolis than they were in Miami.

How innovative. One of the biggest marketing mistakes of all time was Macy's move to buy up local department stores, like

Marshall Field's in Chicago, Hecht's in Maryland, Foley's in Texas, Burdine's in Florida. These stores naturally served the

local needs of area shoppers, and they served as destinations that drew people from all around. Great harm was done when

Macy's decided to change all the names of the department stores it bought so it could facilitate a national ad buy.

None of that worked. Macy's has said it's planning to shutter 100 stores, or about 15% of its total, in 2017. Sears is closing

at least 30 Sears and Kmart stores by April, and more are expected to be announced soon.

Furthermore, mall stores like Aeropostale, which filed for bankruptcy in May, American Eagle, Chicos, Finish Line, Men's

Wearhouse and The Children's Place are also in the midst of multiyear plans to close stores. Many more announcements

like these are expected in the coming months.

The irony is that when R.H. Macy first started in 1858 on 14th Street and Sixth Avenue in Manhattan, he was known for his

creative merchandising. He was the first to introduce the Idaho baked potato and colored bath towels, and he was the first

retailer to hold a liquor license. Macy's pioneered a one-price system in which the same item was sold to all customers at

one price, and quoted specific prices for goods in newspaper ads.

But it was Selfridge's in London that really celebrated the shopping experience. "Harry Selfridge was the first in the U.K. to

allow customers to touch and interact directly with the store's products and the first to sell a broad mix of inexpensive and

extremely luxurious items under one roof," according to the Selfridge website. "Effectively, he wanted for every customer to

feel welcome at his store. He was also the only one to relentlessly use his store as a theatre, an exhibition space and a

playground to delight customers with unexpected experiences. Real theatre was born."

That's what department stores need to be today—experiential enterprises. The hotel companies are going through the

process as we speak. Millennials, especially, want "hipper, more happening lobbies and restaurants and better technology in

rooms," according to The Wall Street Journal.

One new brand, Pendrys, "will have more amenities than the typical boutique—there's bell service, 24-hour room service,

and concierges—but with a funkier design and hipper than traditional luxury brands." San Diego will have a nightclub and a

beer hall; Baltimore will feature a whiskey bar, according to the Journal. Nordstrom's in Chicago has a fully stocked bar in

the men's department, and Westin is helping travelers maintain wellness. Auto dealers are also getting in on the act: A BMW

dealership has started a valet service to pick up a customer's car for service at the home or office or at the airport while the

customer travels, then return it when the repair is complete, according to Automotive News.

Why couldn't department stores offer a free valet service to their good customers who stock up on their merchandise? Or

have mimes wandering through their stores wearing the latest fashions. Or have magicians doing card tricks with savings on

the cards customers pick? Make department stores an exciting destination—unlike the depersonalized environment of online

selling and for that matter other interactions these days—where real people get enjoyment and satisfaction from other real

people.

Conversely, maybe online shopping should figure out how to become more personal. Amazon is opening a brick-and-mortar

store in Manhattan (it has two others) and I don't think it's doing it to become a physical presence but to enhance its web

experience. A joke in the New Yorker shows a woman opening an Amazon box and a guy pops out and says: "Hi, I'm Carl

from Amazon fulfillment. Would you mind telling us how you feel about your online shopping experience?"

Maybe both sides should meet in the middle.

http://adage.com/article/rance-crain/demise-department-store-

experience/307661/?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social

Insights from #NRF17: 74% of Retailers Expect Sales to Increase in 2017

NRF 2017 brought together thousands of retail executives into one (very big) room. With so many industry insiders under one roof, TD Bank polled a select group of industry executives and learned that a majority of them are optimistic about 2017. In fact, 74% believe sales will increase in the next 12 months, and 81% reported meeting or exceeding their revenue goals in 2016. Other key findings include: 43% of retailers said a credit promotional finance program is extremely or moderately important to their business; 46% said Gen X (consumers 35 to 54 years old) contains the majority of customers who seek financing options when purchasing products; and When it comes to mobile technology applications around the credit sales process, 43% of retailers expect that customers will browse, apply and buy online within the next two years. http://www.retailtouchpoints.com/features/news-briefs/insights-from-nrf17-74-of-retailers-expect-sales-to-increase-in-2017

NRF17 Sessions: The Benefits of Radical Retailing Social And The Art Of The Influencer

This session discussed why partnering with key influencers to engage audiences has become an essential component of

retail marketing. The panel featured Vicki Cantrell, Former SVP of Communities and Executive Director, Shop.org; Melissa

Davis, EVP and General Manager, Shopstyle; and Abigail Posner, Head of Strategic Planning — The Zoo, Google.

Key takeaways:

It’s not about how many followers a potential influencer has; it’s about whether or not your brand will resonate with their

audience;

Before working with an influencer, define your own goals to make sure that person is a fit for your brand;

Authenticity is crucial: Let influencers have some creative power because they know their audience best;

The most effective brands are the ones that create a human relationship with a consumer; and

Empower your employees to become brand ambassadors, or influencers, for your company

.

Winning Today’s Socially Aware Consumer

Christopher Gavigan, Founder, Chief Purpose Officer at The Honest Company, and Lars Petersson President of IKEA U.S.,

explained the importance of building and demonstrating trust for brands. “You can't self-describe yourself or your brand as

‘authentic.’ It's a view or observation someone has about you,” said Gavigan. This trust is also essential to bringing in

Millennials who “expect transparency, and are more likely to trust companies that are honest about their social responsibility

efforts,” Petersson said.

Key takeaways:

Don’t talk about your product; talk about its purpose;

Consistency and commitment are vital; be accountable for what you're doing;

Transparency is critical for consumers; your standard will help you stand apart; and

Try to create a better everyday life for everyone.

How Sleep Number Uses Social Media To Make Smarter Decisions

Kevin Brown, CEO of SleepNumber, and Sarah Panus, Senior Manager of Social, SEO for Select Comfort, discussed how

digital communication platforms like Twitter and Facebook are more than just cost-effective channels for driving revenue and

boosting brand awareness. Consumers wield more power and influence than ever, and retailers that listen and engage can

find opportunities for business growth. “We view social as the ‘reality department,'" said Panus. “It’s not information you can

make up. There’s complete transparency because the customer is telling us what they think in real time every day.”

Key takeaways:

Social listening, or tracking conversations about the brand, has been one of the company’s most valuable tactics; and

If you’re looking at social listening stats alone, you’re missing holistic opportunities to observe trends and inform cross-

functional strategies

This quick-hitting session dived into Kibo’s latest consumer research and how retailers can build omnichannel strategies for

success. Speakers included Mark Bishop, Senior Direction of Application Engineering, e-Commerce, Stein Mart, and

Jennifer Sherman, SVP of Product and Strategy, Kibo.

Key takeaways:

Pricing drives purchases over brand loyalty: 70% of consumers say price is the most important factor when considering

online purchases;

Consumers expect optionality and want multiple fulfillment options;

94% of consumers will research products before walking into the store, compared to last year’s figure of 86%;

Consumers demand intimate personalization, such as personalized promotions on the home page (85%), targeted

recommendations on product pages (44%) and product recommendations on shopping cart pages (92%); and

Stein Mart’s e-Commerce sales increased 31% in Q3 compared to the same time the year prior by enhancing its shopping

cart and product page functionality and usability.

Retail Opportunity For The Fast Changing World And The Human Mind

“Automation is coming and retailers must adapt and adopt,” said Kate Ancketill from GDR Creative Intelligence. “There is a

race on to lead in AI and there is a big upside if you’re the disruptor. The winner will rule the world.” Ancketill went on to

discuss AI as one of 2017's biggest trends and its impact on the future of retail — and the world.

Key takeaways:

Store associates of the future will need to be extremely well qualified;

Retailers must adopt AI. If you don't do it, make sure it’s only because you choose to do so, not because you missed it;

Automation will bring a reduced workforce and thinning of the middle class; and

Consumers expect ethical transparency, individualized products and services and 24/7 seamless availability.

Who Is Gen Z? With $44B In Buying Power, You Should Probably Find Out

Chris Wong, VP of Strategy and Ecosystem for IBM Global Consumer Industry, highlighted findings from an IBM and NRF

study titled: Uniquely Generation Z: What Brands Should Know About Today’s Youngest Consumers.

Key takeaways:

67% of Gen Z prefer shopping in stores all the time, while another 31% prefer to shop in brick-and-mortar stores sometimes;

Gen Z has a low tolerance for things that don’t work and are very quick to abandon them;

Gen Z has a significant influence on family spend (93%);

25% of Gen Zers spend more than five hours on their phone every day; and

75% of Gen Zers said they spend more than half of the money that is available to them each month.

A View From Walmart: How Retailers Are Creating Economic Opportunity

Kathleen McLaughlin, Chief Sustainability Officer, Walmart and President of the Walmart Foundation, discussed the

importance of serving the community and store associates. After Hurricane Katrina, Walmart contributed $20 million in cash

donations, 1,500 truckloads of free merchandise, food for 100,000 meals and the promise of a job for every one of its

displaced workers. The retailer thought about how it could make that kind of a difference every day, and is now looking to

create a more sustainable model of consumption and provide economic opportunity for its associates.

Key takeaways:

Walmart announced a $2 million grant to the NRF Foundation for its Retail Industry Fundamentals training/credentialing

program;

Walmart also announced a $2.9 million grant to the League for Innovation in the Community College for curriculum

development; and

Entry level jobs need to be improved and must lead to the next level of opportunity through training and advancement.

How Target’s Technology Team Is Leading The Way On Transformation

Mike McNamara, EVP and Chief Information and Financial Officer for Target, explained why the retailer has moved away

from an IT outsourcing model and is instead growing its own ranks of engineers and digital experts. He discussed how

reorganizing into product teams and focusing on fewer, bigger initiatives is driving results. This focus, coupled with an agi le

engineering culture, allows retailers to build technology that better serves existing customers and helps create new ones.

Key takeaways:

Ruthless prioritization is essential: Focus on fewer, bigger initiatives to drive results with the greatest impact for customers;

Create and cultivate an agile engineering culture; and

Bring everything together — people, process and technology — to better serve existing and future customers.

How Technology Fuels Kohl’s Omnichannel Innovation

Ratnakar Lavu, CTO and CIO of Kohl’s, shared his experience driving technology to evolve a tradit ional department store

into a leading omnichannel retailer. Lavu discussed the decision to implement Kohl’s Pay to make the payment experience

as frictionless as possible for its 40 million customers, and teased some tech-heavy future initiatives.

Key takeaways:

Empower teams by fostering a “one team” mentality to turn inspired ideas into market-ready solutions;

Leverage data-driven insights to identify opportunities to simplify the customer experience; and

Move with speed and agility to operate at the speed that retail requires today.

http://www.retailtouchpoints.com/features/news-briefs/nrf17-sessions-the-benefits-of-radical-retailing

How Wet Seal Washed up on the Rocks Pacific harbor seals spend half their time on land and half in the sea — which pretty much describes the California beach

and surfing ethos for humans, too. But Wet Seal, the SoCal-based teen apparel retailer named after these social, curious

flippered mammals, finds itself fully underwater these days. Private equity firm Versa, which bought the beleaguered Wet

Seal brand in April 2015 for $7.5 million in cash three months after it filed for Chapter 11, is reportedly seeking a buyer and

mulling yet another bankruptcy.

Wet Seal has been flopping around on jagged rocks for well over a decade, its fate made slippery by the fickle predilections

of its target demographic and the arrival of fast fashion. It wasn't always this way, however. Back in 2002, when Wet Seal

was still a public company, shares hit $25 as consumers embraced its laid-back, surf-and-sun aesthetic, but styles inevitably

changed, and two years later its stock plummeted to a little over a dollar.

Just ahead of its 2015 Chapter 11 filing — which came after the company lost more than $150 million in a span of two years

and defaulted on $27 million in senior convertible notes — Wet Seal abandoned its Arden B brand and closed 338 of its

mostly mall-based stores without warning, driving some employees to post angry signs in vacant store windows decrying

management’s handling of the situation. In addition to its e-commerce site, its remaining stores now number 171 in 42

states.

Blame Wet Seal's decline on the same problems haunting so many teen apparel brands.

“The history of this business is they have been the most unstable part of retail. If you look at any retail segment and judge

them by stability, teen apparel chains have been in the toughest, most volatile part of the retail business,” Howard

Davidowitz, chairman of New York City-based retail consulting and investment banking firm Davidowitz & Associates, told

Retail Dive. “Department stores don’t go away — they have a bad year, a bad five years, a bad 25, they don’t go, they’re still

here. The challenge is focus. Because teen apparel deals with the most fickle customer that’s out there, and right now the

most important thing to them is their iPhone and their sneakers."

Stand for nothing, and there's nothing to stand on

If you're looking for a prime example of the capriciousness of youth shoppers, look no further than the logo craze of a few

years ago, a trend driven by the likes of Aeropostale, American Eagle Outfitters and Abercrombie & Fitch. Then suddenly,

young people uniformly rejected clothing emblazoned with a brand’s name.

“Aeropostale is the king of logos,” Davidowitz said. “Now there’s no Aero because they’re tired of logos.” (In September,

Aeropostale was saved from liquidation when a consortium that includes its mall landlords acquired the company out of

bankruptcy.)

By contrast, fast fashion retailers like Zara, Forever 21 and H&M have largely escaped the effects of mercurial teen tastes

because they quickly produce small batches of trendy styles, rush them into stores, and speedily reproduce their best-

sellers. Their supply chain efficiencies and ability to adapt their merchandising mean they’re less likely to build up excess

inventory and more likely to have what people want. The resulting cost savings, in tandem with an emphasis on up-to-date

trends rather than on quality, protect their margins.

“The whole apparel market is very challenged. It’s overstored and oversaturated,” Shelley E. Kohan, VP of retail consulting

at store analytics firm RetailNext, told Retail Dive. “Meanwhile, fast-fashion is trend-right and price-right — they hit it right

80% of the time — while [in the cases of] Wet Seal, Gap and some of these other markets, I don’t know what the call to

action is for the consumer. And that’s what you have to have today — something that pulls the shopper into the store.”

There are a few retailers in this space that seem to be emerging with just such a “call to action,” says Jane Hali, CEO of

investment research firm Jane Hali & Associates.

“All retailers have to be known for a specialty — age is not enough. Look at Chico’s,” Hali said in an email to Retail Dive.

“What is Wet Seal known for? Nothing in particular. What is Abercrombie known for? Hollister is known for a California vibe

of shorts, ‘boho,’ etc. American Eagle Outfitters is known for their stretch denim and [lingerie line] Aerie. TJX and Ross have

mentioned the increase in their teen selling, especially at back-to-school time, and I believe it — they like the prices and

limited assortment. They believe in the value. The off-pricers have taken share in the teen space.”

Who's the villain now?

But the slew of recent casualties in the teen apparel category (a dead pool that also includes American Apparel) are victims

of a variety of pressures that extend far beyond fast fashion, Davidowitz says. Nor are the fundamental principles underlying

the fast fashion model a guaranteed recipe for success, for that matter: Consider The Limited, which was once a retail

powerhouse that itself ran a nimble supply chain teeming with cutting-edge styles, but eventually succumbed to the

pressures of the market and filed for bankruptcy earlier this month, felled by e-commerce competition, declining mall traffic

and an inability to keep pace with dramatic shifts in shopping habits and fashion sensibilities.

Indeed, The Limited's demise exemplifies just how difficult the apparel space has become, Davidowitz says.

“[The Limited founder and L Brands CEO] Les Wexner — the greatest apparel genius — he quit, he got out of the apparel

business,” Davidowitz noted. “He owned Lane Bryant, he owned Limited Express, he owned The Limited, and he quit. The

guy is a genius, he invented how to do well in this business and he quit. This is not a quitter, this is a killer. Believe me — I

worked for him. The teen apparel space is a business not of the fainthearted. You have to consistently be right. And, yes,

there are other problems — e-commerce and fast fashion — but they were going broke before all of that, at the same pace

they’re growing broke now.”

Even Mickey Drexler (whom Davidowitz places second after Wexner in the pantheon of retail geniuses) has faced similar

trouble turning around J.Crew after “brilliantly” resuscitating Ann Taylor and Gap when he headed those brands (and

innovated Gap's lower-price off-brand concept in the form of Old Navy).

Another thing unlikely to help Wet Seal, Davidowitz says, is the burden placed on it by its private equity owners. “Now

private equity is there with billions in debt — and goodbye,” he warned. “The first thing they do is borrow billions, and

retailers can’t function that way because the business is too volatile and it’s too unpredictable. These poor apparel chains

end up one way or another in the hands of private equity — and in the end, there’s no company, no stores, no employees,

and the private equity made money. Congratulations. That’s how it works.”

The Limited’s current owner, private equity firm Sun Capital, told investors that despite the retailer's downfall, it nearly

doubled its original investment, according to an email to shareholders obtained by Reuters. And if and when Wet Seal again

seeks Chapter 11 protection, a turnaround isn't likely to be part of the plan, according to Jasmin Yang, an associate attorney

at law firm Snell & Wilmer who has helped several clients in various aspects of bankruptcy and restructuring.

Yang explains that in a typical bankruptcy, a judge considers any debtor protections to be in the service of saving a

company as a going concern and protecting jobs, enabling a retailers to wriggle out of leases for underperforming stores a

batch at a time rather than renegotiating each lease, with creditors paid pennies on the dollar. But a private equity firm that

brings a retailer to a bankruptcy judge so soon after emerging from such protections (informally tagged a “Chapter 22,” for

the doubling of “11,” Yang explained) is more likely looking to leverage whatever value remains in the pieces that are left. (A

spokesperson for Versa declined to comment for this story, and requests for comment from Retail Dive to Wet Seal weren't

immediately returned.)

The hardcore scenario described by Davidowitz often comes about because of the less-than-favorable terms of the debt

retailers take on from their private equity benefactors — debt that Yang compares to payday loans.

“It’s similar in that, sure, you can have this money, but it’s going to cost a lot,” Yang told Retail Dive. “For [private equity], it’s

about monetizing, and they don’t really care about the continued operation of the business — they don’t have much

attachment to it. Wet Seal, The Limited — these are all stores that I shopped at as a teenager at the mall, but they were

definitely overstored. They don’t have other options. If they could have gotten a loan under less onerous terms, they would

have.”

It’s not that private equity goes in aiming to overburden a retail company: In fact, some retailers do benefit from the time and

opportunity that accrue to them when they’re taken private by such firms, Yang says. Still, should Wet Seal find itself in front

of a bankruptcy judge in the next few weeks, that will likely signal its end — though Yang believes there’s probably brand

equity that could appeal to a larger company as a sub-brand.

“I think there is some goodwill, and I think one of Wet Seal’s most valuable assets would be their trademark, just as with

American Apparel — their intellectual property,” she said. “If someone were to buy it and enter into a licensing agreement

with a Target or a Wal-Mart, that might be a strategic and creative use. It’s probably not valuable enough to sell to fix all their

problems, but licensing is definitely one creative solution. The way teenagers shop is just different now.”

http://www.retaildive.com/news/how-wet-seal-washed-up-on-the-rocks/434476/

Eugene Jackson Named Daily Journal Publisher

Lee Enterprises has been named Eugene Jackson publisher of the Daily Journal. He succeeds Gary Berblinger, who retired

earlier this year.

“Jackson is a rising leader in our industry, and we’re delighted to welcome him to Lee Enterprises and the Daily Journal,”

said Lee group publisher Ron Peterson. “Eugene has a passion for local news and local communities, and I look forward to

what he brings to his new role.”

Jackson, 36, most recently served as director of advertising for the Hearst Connecticut Media Group. His career also

includes 10 years with The Roanoke Times, where he held a number of positions including advertising sales development

manager.

“I look forward to building, leading and taking community news to a whole new level in Park Hills,” Jackson said. “I am

excited to work with an outstanding organization like Lee and look to exceed the needs of the readers and advertisers in

Park Hills and the surrounding communities.”

Jackson will also serve as publisher of the Farmington Press and Democrat News, Peterson said.

The new publisher was recognized by The Roanoke Times as Ambassador of the Year in 2012 and 2013 for top advertising

sales performance, as well as named a member of the 2015 Hearst President’s Club in recognition of outstanding digital

sales performance.

Jackson has coached youth basketball and baseball in Virginia and Connecticut and said he is looking forward to meeting

and engaging in his new community.

He is a Virginia native and holds a Bachelor of Science in Marketing Education from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State

University. He and his wife, Holly, have three children.

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/people/eugene-jackson-named-daily-journal-

publisher/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+editorandpublisher%2FoXit+%28Editor

+%26+Publisher%29

Mall Owners Rush to Get Out of the Mall Business

Surge in store closures prompts some shopping-center owners to walk away from troubled locations

More mall landlords are choosing to walk away from struggling properties, leaving creditors in the lurch and posing a threat

to the values of nearby real estate. As competition from online shopping batters retailers, some of the largest U.S. landlords

are calculating it is more advantageous to hand over ownership to lenders than to attempt to restructure debts on properties

with darkening outlooks. That, in turn, leaves lenders with little choice but to unload the distressed properties at fire-sale

prices.

In the period from January to November 2016, 314 loans secured by retail property were liquidated, up 11% from the same

period a year earlier, according to data from Morningstar Credit Ratings. “We’re seeing a boatload of these kinds of

properties coming to market,” said James Hull, managing principal of Augusta, Ga.-based Hull Property Group, which

purchased five malls from foreclosure sales in 2016. “There have been some draconian losses for the enclosed mall

business.”

The moves are an echo of the housing crash, when mortgage borrowers stopped making payments and walked away from

homes that had lost value. In some cases they sent back the keys in envelopes, a practice derided by critics as “jingle mail.”

As mall property values sink below their loan balances, “some mall owners are more aggressively taking the step to walk

away,” said Morningstar Credit Ratings Vice President Edward Dittmer.

Mall giant Simon Property Group early last year defaulted on a $45 million loan that was secured by Greendale Mall in

Worcester, Mass., which was then foreclosed on. Simon declined to comment. Washington Prime Group in November said it

was considering turning two malls in Grand Junction, Colo., and Lancaster, Ohio, back to its lenders, mostly bondholders

who hold the mortgages that have been bundled into securities. The Columbus, Ohiobased landlord also noted in an

earnings call that malls in Chesapeake, Va., and Merritt Island, Fla., had been foreclosed on. The value of the mortgages for

the four malls was $247.5 million. Washington Prime didn’t respond to requests for comment.

CBL & Associates Properties in 2014 announced plans to prune its portfolio and so far it has unloaded 14 malls, eight of

which it sold and six it handed back to lenders. The six malls that CBL returned to lenders had a debt balance totaling $381

million.

The Wausau Center mall in Wausau, Wis., was a bustling regional shopping center when it opened in 1983 with three

anchor stores. Today, J.C. Penney and Sears are gone, leaving department store Younkers as the only anchor tenant.

CBL last July returned to creditors the $18 million mortgage on the roughly 424,000-square-foot property. The mortgage,

which had been bundled into securities and sold to bondholders, was initially underwritten by Wells Fargo & Co. A

spokeswoman for Wells Fargo said the bank couldn’t comment on specific loans but that it would continue to provide

financing for malls on a case-by-case basis. A CBL spokesman said the firm spent time and resources over a two-year

period working with the city on revitalizing the mall, but was stymied by red tape.

“Delays, including the city approval process, held up the project past the point of what would have allowed for us to

successfully complete it,” he said. “As a result, we decided that the best course of action for all parties would be to return the

property to the lender and allow the city to execute their plans with new owners at their own pace.”

Wausau Mayor Robert Mielke said CBL didn’t do enough marketing or maintenance, with the mall plagued by lapses in

plumbing, holes in the roof and lightbulbs not getting changed. “CBL wasn’t a very good business partner,” Mr. Mielke said.

“If a mall closes or goes into decline, you’re going to see declining property values in the area,” said Arthur C. Nelson,

professor of Urban Planning and Real Estate Development at the University of Arizona.

“The mall is a marker.”

Despite a strengthening economy in 2016, the delinquency rate for loans backing retail property rose by 0.6 percentage

point last year to 5.76%, according to Trepp LLC, a real-estate data service. Special servicers, which deal with troubled

commercial mortgage securities, managed $3.1 billion worth of mall-backed loans last year, up from $2.9 billion in 2015,

according to Trepp. This year is off to a shaky start. Earlier this month, Sears said it would close 150 stores, and Macy’s

gave more details of a plan to close 100 stores. Limited Stores Co. said it plans to close all 250 stores and filed for chapter

11 bankruptcy protection last week. “We don’t have a favorable outlook for secondary and tertiary malls with weaker sales.

We look at them with a high degree of skepticism,” said Eric Thompson, senior managing director at Kroll Bond Rating

Agency.

One reason mall owners struggle to restructure loans is many were packaged into commercial mortgage-backed securities,

and these bonds in turn are owned by numerous investors, making it difficult to negotiate new deals.

Landlords can negotiate with lenders a “deed-in-lieu” of foreclosure, in which they sign over ownership of the mall to the

lender. If this can’t be arranged, a foreclosure process typically follows. Borrowers typically take hits to their creditworthiness

when forfeitures occur. But so far Washington Prime, CBL and Simon haven’t had downgrades to their credit ratings.

Big mall landlords such as publicly traded real-estate investment trusts say walking away is a justifiable response to

shareholder pressures to shore up balance sheets and unload troubled assets. In the case of a default, creditors make

claims only on the collateral that backs the loan, not on the borrower itself.c“It doesn’t negatively impact their corporate

credit quality,” said Steven Marks, who heads Fitch Ratings’ U.S. REIT group. “If anything, we oftentimes view these

transactions positively, as it indicates financial discipline to not commit corporate capital towards failing or uneconomic

investments.”

http://www.wsj.com/articles/mall-owners-rush-to-get-out-of-the-mall-business-1485262801

Crate and Barrel COO on Bucking the Troubling Brick-and-Mortar

With the post-holiday drumbeat of major brick-and-mortar retailers reporting declining comparable store sales and Amazon

opening more physical stores, among other pressures, the brick-and-mortar sector’s very success and survival will depend

in large part on how they hone their omnichannel strategy. eMarketer’s Andria Cheng spoke with Michael Relich, COO of

home furnishings and furniture retailer Crate and Barrel, about the challenges facing the industry and why his company has

bucked the trend.

eMarketer: Department stores and apparel retailers have been among the hardest hit in the brick-and-mortar sector this

holiday season as consumers buy more online and shift their spending to gadgets and experiences like travel. You spent 12

years at fashion retailer Guess before joining Crate and Barrel in 2016. Why is fashion the laggard?

Michael Relich: Fashion has become commoditized. The likes of Forever 21, Zara and H&M are winning. It’s all buy now

and wear now. Almost every style is available to every retailer. It’s a matter of being faster. Many apparel retailers are still on

an old-fashioned design process that’s extending the calendar.

What guys like Zara do is they’ll work with factories. A lot of retailers are still doing [design to product delivery] in 40 weeks.

Zara does it in 13 weeks or as quick as six weeks.

The retail landscape is horrible. Macy’s is having constant one-day sales. Mall traffic is declining. You are gonna see a big

shakeout. Customers are changing their purchasing behavior.

“When people buy for their homes, they are a little less price conscious. The home sector also isn’t as volatile as apparel

retailers.”

eMarketer: How are the industry shakeout and changing consumer behavior affecting your sector?

Relich: We have posted positive monthly [same-store sales] for months. Consumers are buying full-priced items and using

fewer markdowns. A lot of people are spending more on entertainment, home and travel. When people buy for their homes,

they are a little less price conscious. The home sector also isn’t as volatile as apparel retailers [where a big part of the

inventory is fashion items].

eMarketer: On the other hand, if I only need a couch every five to seven years, how do you drive traffic and frequency of

purchases?

Relich: We have a sizable housewares business. Customers buy for entertaining. The sweet spot is to get the housewares

buyer to become the furniture buyer.

eMarketer: How much has the improving housing market contributed to your sales gain?

Relich: The home sector does well when the housing sector is doing well. On top of that, we probably have done well

because we got a much cleaner assortment and a clear merchandising strategy and focus on key and best-selling items.

Crate and Barrel also has a decent omnichannel strategy. We have a relatively large ecommerce penetration.

eMarketer: Elaborate on that. What kind of consumer behavioral change are you seeing when it comes to their shopping for

bulky furniture online? How do you respond to that change?

“Too often, stores are given credit for stores sales and ecom is incentivized on ecom sales, which lead to less of a seamless

experience.”

Relich: We see people buy furniture online. We introduced buy online and pick up in store and buy online and ship to store

[without any shipping fee]. We are trying to use that to drive store traffic. When they come in, we give them bounce-back

coupons.

They use our stores as a showroom first and can see an extended assortment online. We actually see a lot of transactions

start in one channel and finish in another. Brick and mortar is good for us.

eMarketer: The home furnishings and furniture sector isn’t immune to online competition. Amazon aside, Wayfair is a

notable example.

Relich: There’s definitely competition from others. Wayfair has no physical presence. Customers still like to showroom. We

work really hard on omnichannel strategies like buy online and pick up in store. We can drive customers to come in to the

store and buy more.

eMarketer: Where do you think the industry has missed the mark on the omnichannel strategy?

Relich: Retailers need to align incentives around omnichannel. Too often, stores are given credit for stores sales and ecom

is incentivized on ecom sales, which lead to less of a seamless experience. Consumers don’t care about how you are

organized. You got to make it seamless.

“If you can master the data, you can really target customers with what they want and optimize your marketing.”

eMarketer: Big data analytics is a big buzzword in the industry. How relevant is that to Crate and Barrel?

Relich: We know we have a lot of web traffic. What we are working on is linking browsing data to actual customers and

taking online activity to physical store activity through machine learning. Now we do very simple [customer] segmentation. If

I can start to take browsing history, social media history and tie that to your transaction history, I can start to do very specific

segmentation. We want to make sure we are top of mind.

If you can master the data, you can really target customers with what they want and optimize your marketing.

eMarketer: You started your career as a programmer before moving on to becoming a CIO [chief information officer] and

now COO. How essential is having a tech background in today’s retail world? What are you looking for when you hire

someone?

Relich: When I was CIO, I hated to be branded just as a tech guy. I tried very hard to be a business guy. Now having a

technology background is a huge benefit because technology is ubiquitous. But all managers I hire have communications

skills. You need a CIO who can tune in to the business and speak in business terms.

https://www.emarketer.com/Article/Crate-Barrel-COO-on-Bucking-Troubling-Brick-and-Mortar-

Trends/1015075?ecid=NL1001

Publishers Made Only 14 Percent of Revenue from Distributed Content

Publishers are only making 14 percent of their revenue from distributing their content on third party platforms, according to a

new report from Digital Content Next, the premium publishers’ trade group. The Distributed Content Revenue Benchmark

Report, which reflects revenue in the first half of 2016, is based on a limited sample — 17 members — but offers a rare look

at how much publishers are making from social distribution. The majority of publishers’ distributed revenue came from

YouTube, as newer platforms and features have failed to turn into meaningful revenue streams (see first chart).

Each platform has its own set of monetization challenges. Here’s a breakdown of the major ones:

Facebook

Facebook offers publishers many ways of making money, from Instant Articles to audience extension, and so is also the

most widely used for monetization by the publishers surveyed, especially text-based ones. Of the 19 surveyed that use it for

distribution, 16 are monetizing there on their own, seven through the platform’s sales arm. Yet many “express deep

ambivalence about the platform’s commitment to their success monetizing on the platform,” the report read.

Each feature has its upsides and downsides. Instant Articles offers publishers faster load times, ability to integrate ad

serving and measurement services and ability to keep all the revenue. But publishers say Instant Articles doesn’t monetize

as well as their own site, few are seeing their own results match up with Facebook’s claim that IA is leading to a 25 percent

increase in content consumption, and the data is limited.

As a result, some publishers are backing off their use of Instant. Publishers were having more success with Facebook

Branded Content, for its greater publisher control over ad placement, higher CPMs and better reporting. But publishers still

had complaints about its targeting and reporting abilities and Facebook’s labeling requirements.

YouTube is the biggest revenue driver, followed by Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat. Source: DCN

Facebook Audience Extension also has been a popular tool with publishers, who get to keep all the revenue they get from

advertisers. Data wasn’t reported separately for Facebook-owned Instagram, but it was seen as having big opportunity for

branded content and sponsorships in the areas of fashion and beauty.

But Facebook Live and Suggested Video have been unimpressive. Of 17 publishers using live video, only two Facebook

Live launch partners were paid by Facebook for meeting its requirement to produce a certain number of minutes of live

video. Only six others reported being able to sell advertising into live video on their own.

Snapchat

The messaging app’s fast growth and popularity with young audiences has made it attractive to publishers, but it’s also the

hardest to work with, with its invitation-only Discover section, high publisher requirements, limits on ad tracking, switch to a

licensing model that could have limited upside for publishers, and overall lack of responsiveness to publisher requests.

“Snapchat exemplifies many of the characteristics that make third-party platforms difficult partners for publishers,” the report

reads.

Twitter

Like Facebook, most publishers (18 of 19) are active on Twitter, but only few 10 reported making money there, despite

Twitter’s offering favorable terms — publishers get to keep all the revenue from sponsorship and branded content sales, for

example. But Twitter hasn’t been able to scale live-streaming and its video ad product, Amplify, so there’s limited upside to

publishers.

Google AMP

Google’s fast-loading mobile article feature is seen as more publisher-friendly than Facebook Instant Articles. The search

giant is more responsive to publisher requests for accommodation (AMP also is open-source code, which makes it

fundamentally different from Instant Articles.) Publishers reported that monetizing on AMP is on a par with their own sites,

and a number also are getting increased search traffic there. Some haven’t monetized their AMP pages, though, seeing

more revenue opportunity by focusing on their own sites.

YouTube

The video platform is still by far the most established as a revenue source for publishers. Sixteen publishers reported

distributing there and 14 were monetizing. The benefits aren’t evenly spread, though: TV/cable companies are monetizing

the most on the platform, which is well suited to their video content. As a partner, YouTube gives publishers a variety of

ways to make money there, but it also controls the ad sales environment and its terms aren’t as good as other platforms’.

YouTube Red, YouTube’s paid subscription service, was another story, with nine publishers using it but none getting any

significant revenue from it.

http://digiday.com/publishers/publishers-made-14-percent-revenue-distributed-content/

U.S. Media Spend Up 7% In 2016, Digital Best Performer

U.S. ad spending slowed toward the end of 2016 -- especially in the last month.

December was virtually flat, with a 0.7% increase over December 2015, according to Standard Media Index estimates. For

the year as a whole, 2016 was up 6.8% over the 2015. The last three months of the year witnessed a 4.3% rise over the

same period in 2015.

While digital media was again the star performer among all media categories, it was only up 13.3% for the year. In 2015, it

was 50% higher over 2014. When taking out the two biggest digital media platforms -- Facebook and Google -- from the

digital media category, the sector’s growth dropped to a gain of 8.7%.

In particular, digital media suffered in the fourth quarter, rising only 7.1%. Retail and telecommunications marketers cut back

digital media, as retail digital spending dropped 3.5% and telco digital spending was cut down by 2.4%.

Where did those media dollars go? Back to TV.

James Fennessy, CEO of SMI, stated: “Retail, telcos, and consumer electronics [marketers] have not seen the outcomes

they expected from digital and have moved back to the medium they have trusted for decades.”

TV spending had a 4.4% increase in 2016 -- 4.6% higher for broadcast TV and 4% for cable TV. Ad spending on TV

entertainment programming slipped 1.8%, with sports 16% higher, in large part due to the Olympics. Ad spending on news

programming -- due to the presidential election -- improved 14.1%

Among the broadcast networks, NBC was up 20% for the year (a large part being the Olympics); CBS added 3.2%; ABC

sinking 2.2%; Fox falling 4.6%; and Univision declining 3.4%.

For the entire year in 2016, magazines were down 9.1%, with newspapers giving back 13.9% and radio virtually unchanged

-- down 0.5%. Out-of-home advertising grew 6.9%.

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/293586/us-media-spend-up-7-in-2016-digital-best-

perfo.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headline&utm_campaign=99896&hashid=6a

Weak Ad Gains for Basic Cable, Higher Growth Forecast

While U.S. ad-supported cable networks' affiliates revenue growth has shrunk to meager gains in the last few years, they are

forecast to rise by mid-single-digit percentage gains in the next five years -- largely because of better cross-platform

measurement.

A new study estimates that ad revenue at basic cable networks grew 4.5% to $29.6 billion in 2016, according to S&P Global

Market Intelligence’s SNL Kagan.

Those gains are forecast to almost double this year to 9.3%, with a 7.1% hike in 2018, followed by a return “to a more

normalized rate of less than 5% in 2019 and 2020.”

Advertising revenue had a 1.6% ad gain in 2014 and an increase of 1.9% in 2015.

SNL Kagan believes gains in advertising can be partly attributed to new metrics: “We are assuming the industry gets a new

widely adopted cross-platform measurement system in place in late 2017” from Nielsen.

For more than a decade, basic cable networks' affiliate revenues have sharply outpaced advertising revenue gains.

For example, cable networks' affiliate revenue in 2015 gained 7.5% over 2014 to $37.58 billion. This compares to a 1.9%

hike in 2015 in gross advertising revenue to $28.28 billion. Overall ad-supported cable network 2015 revenue grew 5.3% to

$63.63 billion.

Research results indicate that the advertising growth rates of basic cable networks have been on a general downward trend

since 2010 -- when cable networks posted a 9.9% hike over 2009 -- the start of the recession. In 2011, the rate was 9.5%;

and it was 4.4% in 2012; 6.5% in 2013; 1.6% in 2014; and 1.9% in 2015.

Since 2005, basic cable networks have seen a drop in the share of dollars coming from advertising revenue -- 37.8% in

2015 versus 46.9% in 2005. At the same time, subscriber-fee revenue for those networks has climbed to 59.1% from 49.3%.

Research shows that the "other revenue" category was at 3.2% in 2015; 3.8% in 2005.

SNL Kagan estimates that gross basic cable ad revenue will climb to $32.0 billion in 2020, with affiliate revenue rising to

$49.2 million in three years.

In the first two quarters of 2016, AMC Networks, 21st Century Fox, and Scripps Network Interactive showed some of the

strongest U.S. advertising revenue gains.

AMC was up 29% in the second quarter and 1% in the first quarter, while Fox improved 13% in the second quarter and 17%

in the first; and Scripps gained 9% in the second and 14% in the first.

Time Warner cable networks grew 6% in the second quarter and 5% in the first quarter, while Walt Disney was up 5% in the

second quarter and down 9% in the first. Discovery posted gains of 5% and 7% for the second and first quarters,

respectively.

Two weaker cable TV groups in the first half of the year were NBCUniversal and Viacom. NBC cable networks were flat in

the first two quarters, while Viacom was down 4% in the second quarter and 5% in the first.

SNL Kagan estimates established fully distributed cable networks are losing around 2% of their traditional linear TV

subscribers per year.

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/293528/weak-ad-gains-for-basic-cable-higher-growth-

forec.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headline&utm_campaign=99896&hashid=6a

America’s 100 Largest Newspapers

One only has to look at the attrition of the print advertising revenue of America's publicly traded newspaper companies to

see the extent to which the newspaper industry has shrunk. Another, more specific measure, just as startling, is the paid

print circulation of America's 100 largest newspapers based on the same measure. This number has dropped by over a

quarter at many papers in as little as three years.

The circulation drops are often due to strategic decisions by newspaper companies. Managements do not want to maintain

the expense to print and ship papers well outside their home cities, which is an expensive distribution model. In other cases,

media companies drop people who pay very little for the paper. Only subscribers who pay enough to be profitable customers

remain. Papers in some cities, like Detroit, are no longer printed seven days a week. In each of these models, the plan is to

cut the cost of their print circulation operations to either lower losses or make very modest profits.

The fallout of the slow destruction of the industry has been born to a substantial extent by four companies, which own the

largest number of America's top 100 papers based on combined paid print and paid digital circulation. These include Tronc

Inc. (TRNC), formerly known as Tribune Publishing, which owns papers in some of the largest cities in America. The Los

Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune are the dailies in America's second and third largest cities.

Tronc was recently a takeover target of Gannett Co. Inc. (GCI), the largest newspaper chain by the total paid circulation of

its papers. Gannett does not own a large number of newspapers in America's largest cities, but, by total newspaper count, it

makes up for that. The biggest paper Gannett owns, the Record in New Jersey, it bought recently.

Another of the largest four largest publishers is debt-crippled McClatchy Co. (MNI). With a debt load of nearly $1 billion, it

can barely pay the service on the debt compared to the amount of its operating income. McClatchy's largest papers are in

Fort Worth and Miami.

Finally, privately held Digital First Media has a profit and loss statement that is hard to obtain because the company does not

have to disclose it.

The only paper that currently has a paid circulation model that works extremely well is The New York Times, which had a

recent surge in its total. At the end of the third quarter, New York Times Co. (NYT) had 1,557,000 digital-only subscribers.

According to the company, it added 132,000 paid subscribers between the election and the end of November. Presumably a

large portion of these were digital.

Newspaper ownership among the largest properties falls primarily into four categories. The first is those owned by the large

public corporations. The second are those controlled by private companies, the largest of which is the aforementioned

Digital First Media, owned by private equity firm Alden Capital, Hearst. Advance Publications is another. It is controlled by

the Newhouse family. The third model is papers owned by extremely rich individuals. The most well-known of these is the

Washington Post, controlled by Jeff Bezos, the billionaire founder of Amazon.com. Another is the struggling New York Daily

News, owned by real estate tycoon Mort Zuckerman. Hedge fund manager executive John Henry is the principal owner of

the Boston Globe. The final model is papers owned by nonprofit enterprises. These include the Tampa Bay Times and

Philadelphia Inquirer.

Below are the 100 largest newspapers in the United States based on combined print and digital paid subscriptions.

Circulation data was provided by the Alliance for Audited Media and is for the third quarter of 2015. Circulation is the five-

day average for publications that are published Monday through Friday. The list only compares newspapers that report this

five-day average. To be included in total circulation figures, digital subscriptions must be restricted access and comply with

AAM standards. Circulation figures also include affiliate publications as grouped by the AAM.

Rank Newspaper Owner Circulation 1 New York Times New York Times Company 2,237,601 2 Long Island Newsday

Patrick Dolan and Charles Dolan 512,118 3 Los Angeles Times tronc, Inc. 507,395 4 New York Post News Corp. 424,721 5

Dallas Morning News A. H. Belo Corp. 410,587 6 Chicago Tribune tronc, Inc. 384,962 7 Washington Post Nash Holdings,

LLC 356,768 8 Daily News (New York) Mortimer Zuckerman 299,538 9 Amnewyork Patrick Dolan and Charles Dolan

291,991 10 Star Tribune (Minneapolis) Glen Taylor 285,129 11 Houston Chronicle Hearst Corp. 276,445 12 Austin

American Cox Enterprises 246,963 13 Tampa Bay Times Poynter Institute 245,042 14 Honolulu Star-Advertiser Black Press

Group Ltd. 243,376 15 The Record (Woodland Park, NJ) Gannett Co. 242,567 16 Boston Globe John W. Henry 232,546 17

Las Vegas Review-Journal News + Media Capital Group LLC (Sheldon Adelson) 232,372 18 Philadelphia Inquirer Interstate

General Media 227,245 19 Fort Worth Star-Telegram McClatchy Co. 215,476 20 The Denver Post / The Sunday Denver

Post Daily First Media 196,286 21 Arizona Republic Gannett Co. 188,467 22 Metro New York Seabay Media Holdings LLC

180,866 23 El Vocero De Puerto Rico Publi-Inversiones 179,761 24 The Star-Ledger (Newark) Advance Publications, Inc.

170,077 25 San Francisco Chronicle Hearst Corp. 167,602 26 Columbus Dispatch New Media Investment Group 164,995

27 Tribune Review (Pittsburgh) Trib Total Media 161,665 28 The Palm Beach Post Cox Enterprises 160,299 29 San Antonio

Express-News Hearst Corp. 158,986 30 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Gannett Co. 154,763 31 El Nuevo Dia GFR Media

153,957 32 The Salt Lake Tribune / Deseret News Huntsman Family Investments / Deseret Management Corporation

152,210 33 Express (Washington DC) Nash Holdings, LLC 148,928 34 Kansas City Star McClatchy Co. 146,730 35 Chicago

Sun-Times Wrapports, LLC 146,539 36 The Virginian-Pilot Landmark Media Enterprises 143,682 37 Pittsburgh Post-

Gazette Block Communications 140,987 38 The Miami Herald / El Nuevo Herald McClatchy Co. 139,735 39 South Florida

Sun Sentinel tronc, Inc. 135,404 40 Arkansas Democrat Gazette WEHCO Media 130,552 41 Indianapolis Star Gannett Co.

127,180 42 Advocate (Baton Rouge) John Georges 126,976 43 St. Louis Post-Dispatch Lee Enterprises, Inc. 124,712 44

The Baltimore Sun tronc, Inc. 121,840 45 Buffalo News Berkshire Hathaway 121,413 46 Hartford Courant tronc, Inc.

114,227 47 Investor's Business Daily (Los Angeles) . 113,038 48 Metro Puerto Rico Llc Metro International 107,690 49

Charlotte Observer McClatchy Co. 107,321 50 Omaha World-Herald / Sunday World-Herald Berkshire Hathaway 104,958

51 Cincinnati Enquirer Gannett Co. 104,354 52 Telegram & Gazette / Sunday Telegram New Media Investment Group

104,350 53 State (Columbia, SC) McClatchy Co. 102,974 54 Courier-Journal (Louisville) Gannett Co. 102,895 55 News &

Observer (Raleigh) McClatchy Co. 98,158 56 Oklahoman The Anschutz Corporation 96,885 57 La Opinion (Los Angeles)

Impremedia 92,365 58 Richmond Times-Dispatch Berkshire Hathaway 90,946 59 Albuquerque Journal Journal Publishing

Co. 89,635 60 Fresno Bee McClatchy Co. 87,007 61 Tennessean Gannett Co. 83,645 62 Democrat And Chronicle

(Rochester, NY) Gannett Co. 82,510 63 Des Moines Register Gannett Co. 82,371 64 Boston Herald, Boston Sunday Herald

Herald Media Inc. 81,933 65 Metro Philadelphia Seabay Media Holdings LLC 79,044 66 Daily Herald, The Sunday Herald

(Arlington Heights, IL) Paddock Publications 78,878 67 Indice (San Juan) GFR Media 76,962 68 Blade (Toledo) Block

Communications 76,642 69 Republican (Springfield, MA) Advance Publications, Inc. 76,353 70 Primera Hora (San Juan)

GFR Media 74,215 71 Asbury Park Press (Neptune, NJ) Gannett Co. 73,194 72 Post And Courier (Charleston) Evening

Post Publishing Co. 69,433 73 Metro Boston Seabay Media Holdings LLC 68,966 74 Wisconsin State Journal Lee

Enterprises, Inc. 67,965 75 Akron Beacon Journal, Sunday Akron Journal Black Press Group Ltd. 65,783 76 Tulsa World

Berkshire Hathaway 61,817 77 Morning Call (Allentown) tronc, Inc. 60,962 78 The News Journal Media Group (New Castle,

DE) Gannett Co. 60,620 79 Florida Times-Union Morris Publishing Co. 60,399 80 Arizona Daily Star Lee Enterprises 57,735

81 Roanoke Times Berkshire Hathaway 54,293 82 Chattanooga Times Free Press WEHCO Media, Inc. 53,552 83 News

Tribune (Tacoma, WA) McClatchy Co. 53,510 84 Standard-Examiner (Ogden, UT) Sandusky Newspapers, Inc. 53,298 85

LNP / Sunday LNP (Lancaster, PA) LNP Media Group 52,976 86 Daytona Beach News-Journal New Media Investment

Group 52,414 87 Press Democrat (Santa Rosa) Sonoma Media Investments LLC 51,710 88 Daily Gazette (Schenectady,

NY) The Hume Family 50,974 89 Journal News (White Plains, NY) Gannett Co. 50,699 90 New Haven Register Digital First

Media 50,658 91 Modesto Bee McClatchy Co. 49,406 92 Journal Gazette, News Sentinel (Fort Wayne, IN) The Journal

Gazette Co. / Ogden Newspapers, Inc. 48,199 93 Times Union (Albany) Hearst Corp. 48,144 94 Lincoln Journal Star Lee

Enterprises, Inc. 47,831 95 Sarasota Herald-Tribune New Media Investment Group 47,400 96 Journal Star (Peoria, IL) New

Media Investment Group 46,947 97 Wichita Eagle McClatchy Co. 46,709 98 South Bend Tribune Shurz Communications

44,951 99 Register-Guard (Eugene, OR) Guard Publishing Co. 44,697 100 Gazette (Colorado Springs) Clarity Media Group

44,072 Circulation Data Source: Alliance for Audited Media - Q3 2015

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/america-100-largest-newspapers-180528599.html