Item 1. Business
Item 1. BUSINESS
( a) General Description of Business
We are the owner and exclusive publisher of Kane Miller children’s books; Learning Wrap-Ups, maker of educational manipulatives; and SmartLab Toys, maker of STEAM-based toys and games. We are also the exclusive United States Multi-Level Marketing (“MLM”) distributor of Usborne Publishing Limited (“Usborne”) children’s books. We are a corporation incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware on August 23, 1965. Our fiscal year ends on February 28 (29).
Our Company vision statement reflects “We believe that education is the catalyst for wonderment, kindness, and connection. Our vision is to empower the world by sparking a child’s natural curiosity and lifelong love of learning through products and experiences that meet at the intersection of education and play.”
Our Company mission statement reflects “We are creating the story of tomorrow through people, products, and purpose.”
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(b) Financial Information about Our Segments
We sell children’s books, educational toys and games and other related products (collectively referred to as “products” or “books”) through two business segments, which we refer to as “divisions” or “sales channels”:
●
Direct Sales Division (“PaperPie”) – This division sells our books and products through independent sales representatives (“Brand Partners”) direct to the customer. Our Brand Partners sell our products in various ways, including hosting home parties, through social media collaboration platforms on the internet, hosting book fairs with school and public libraries and through other events. This division had approximately 15,000 active Brand Partners as of February 29, 2024.
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Publishing Division (“EDC Publishing” or “Publishing”) – This is our trade division which markets through commissioned trade representatives who call on retail book, toy and specialty stores along with other retail outlets. This division also has in-house representatives marketing by telephone and email to other customers and potential customers. This division markets to approximately 4,000 retail outlets. In addition to exhibiting at national trade and regional bookselling shows, our products are featured in agency showrooms in AmericasMart Atlanta, Dallas Market Center, and Minneapolis Mart. In accordance with our new distribution agreement, the Company no longer has the rights to distribute Usborne’s products to retail customers. The distribution of Usborne’s products to retail customers was discontinued in early fiscal 2024, when Usborne moved to a new retail distribution vendor. .
Percent of Net Revenues by Division
FY 2024
FY 2023
PaperPie
89
%
85
%
Publishing
11
%
15
%
Total net revenues
100
%
100
%
(c) Narrative Description of Business
Products
EDC’s current catalog contains approximately 2,000 titles, with new additions added throughout the year across all lines of our products. Additionally, a similar number of titles that do not have sufficient sales are identified as “out of print” and these titles are no longer re-printed or included in future catalogs. The Company sells the remaining quantities of these out-of-print titles through their normal sales channels at normal pricing and has not historically participated in the publishing industry’s “remainder” market. Many of our products are interactive in nature, including our touchy-feely board books, activity books and flashcards, adventure and search books, art books, sticker books, foreign language books, learning manipulatives and toys. We also have a broad line of ‘internet-linked’ books which allow readers to expand their educational experience by referring them to relevant non-Company websites. Our books also include science and math titles, as well as chapter books and novels. Many of our Kane Miller books were originally published in other countries, in their native languages, and we translate them to common American English and have exclusive rights to publish the titles in the United States. Certain Kane Miller agreements include North American rights, and these titles are also sold into Canada. Our SmartLab Toys and Learning Wrap-Ups imprints are owned product lines that are sold domestically and internationally, including the sale of foreign distribution rights to specific customers.
Seasonality
Sales for both divisions are greatest during the fall due to the holiday season.
Competition
While we have the exclusive rights to sell Kane Miller books, Learning Wrap-Ups, SmartLab Toys and are the exclusive United States Multi-Level Marketing (“MLM”) distributor of Usborne books, we face competition from other publishers selling on the internet and directly to our customer base. Our PaperPie division competes in recruiting and retaining Brand Partners, which continuously receive opportunities to work for other direct selling companies, as well as new non-traditional employment opportunities, especially in the gig marketplace that provide part-time supplemental income. We also compete with other publishers in the school and library book fair market, of which Scholastic Corporation is the largest.
Our Publishing division faces competition from U.S. and international publishing companies that sell online and through the same retail bookstores, toy stores, and gift and novelty stores that also offer a variety of non-book products.
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Employees
As of February 23, 2024, 101 full-time employees worked at our Tulsa, OK, San Diego, CA, and Layton, UT facilities. Of these employees, approximately 50% work in our distribution warehouse in Tulsa, OK.
Company Reports
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15 of the Exchange Act, as soon as reasonably practicable after filing electronically or otherwise furnishing it to the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), we make available, free of charge, on our website (www.edcpub.com) copies of our Annual Reports and Quarterly Reports. Our website also includes an internet link to the federal SEC website that contains additional public reports, including Current Reports on Form 8-K, amendments to those reports filed or furnished to the SEC and reports of holdings of our securities filed by our officers and directors under Section 16 of the Exchange Act. These reports will be provided electronically, free of charge, upon request.
Item 1A. RISK FACTORS
We are a smaller reporting company and are not required to provide this information.
Text extracted from the filing as submitted to EDGAR. Formatting, tables and exhibits are simplified for reading; the original document is authoritative for anything you rely on.