{"url_path":"/sec/educ/10-k/2026/item-1","section_key":"item-1","section_title":"Item 1 BUSINESS","topic":"sec","document":{"doc_type":"10-K","doc_date":"2026-05-19","source_url":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/31667/0001185185-26-001927-index.html","accession_number":"0001185185-26-001927","cik":"0000031667","ticker":"EDUC","issuer_name":"EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT CORP","edgar_url":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/31667/0001185185-26-001927-index.html","primary_entity_key":"0000031667","primary_entity_name":"EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT CORP"},"word_count":988,"has_tables":true,"body_markdown":"Item 1.  BUSINESS\n\n \n\n(*a) General Description of Business*\n\n \n\nWe are the owner and exclusive\npublisher of Kane Miller children’s books; Learning Wrap-Ups, maker of educational manipulatives; and SmartLab Toys, maker of STEAM-based\ntoys and games. We are also the exclusive United States Multi-Level Marketing (“MLM”) distributor of Usborne Publishing Limited\n(“Usborne”) children’s books. We are a corporation incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware on August 23,\n1965. Our fiscal year ends on February 28 (29).\n\n \n\nOur Company vision statement\nreflects “We believe that education is the catalyst for wonderment, kindness, and connection. Our vision is to empower the world\nby sparking a child’s natural curiosity and lifelong love of learning through products and experiences that meet at the intersection\nof education and play.”\n\n \n\nOur Company mission statement\nreflects “We are creating the story of tomorrow through people, products, and purpose.”\n\n \n\n*(b) Financial Information about Our Segments*\n\n \n\nWe sell children’s books,\neducational toys and games and other related products (collectively referred to as “products” or “books”) through\ntwo business segments described below, which we refer to as “divisions” or “sales channels:”\n\n \n\n \n●\nDirect 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 schools and public libraries and through other events. This division had approximately 4,300 active Brand Partners as of February 28, 2026.\n\n \n\n \n●\nPublishing Division (“EDC Publishing” or “Publishing”) – This is our trade division which markets our Kane Miller, SmartLab Toys, and Learning Wrap-Ups products 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 distribution agreement with Usborne Publishing, the Company does not have the rights to distribute Usborne’s products to retail customers.\n\n \n\nPercent of Net Revenues by Division\n\n \n\n  \nFY 2026  \nFY 2025 \n\nPaperPie \n 84% \n 87%\n\nPublishing \n 16% \n 13%\n\nTotal net revenues \n 100% \n 100%\n\n \n\nAdditional financial information relating to the\nCompany’s reportable segments is included in Note 16, “Business Segments”, of the Notes to Financial Statements in Item\n15, “Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules,” which is included herein.\n\n \n\n*(c) Narrative Description of Business*\n\n \n\n*Products*\n\n \n\nEDC’s current\ncatalog contains approximately 2,000 titles, with new additions added periodically across all lines of our products. Additionally, a\nsimilar number of titles that do not have sufficient sales are identified as “out of print” and these titles are no\nlonger re-printed or included in future catalogs. The Company sells the remaining quantities of these out-of-print titles through\ntheir normal sales channels at normal pricing and has not historically participated in the publishing industry’s\n“remainder” market. Many of our products are interactive in nature, including our touchy-feely board books, activity\nbooks and flashcards, adventure and search books, art books, sticker books, foreign language books, learning manipulatives and toys.\nWe also have a broad line of ‘internet-linked’ books which allow readers to expand their educational experience by\nreferring them to relevant non-Company websites. Our books also include science and math titles, as well as chapter books and\nnovels. Many of our Kane Miller books were originally published in other countries, in their native languages, and we translate them\nto common American English and have exclusive rights to publish the titles in the United States. Certain Kane Miller agreements\ninclude North American rights, and these titles are also sold into Canada. Our SmartLab Toys and Learning Wrap-Ups imprints are\nproduct lines that are sold domestically and internationally, including the sale of foreign distribution rights to specific\ncustomers.\n\n \n\n4\n\n[Table of Contents](#TableOfContents)\n\n \n\n*Seasonality*\n\n \n\nSales for both divisions are\ngreatest during the fall due to the holiday season. Additionally, there is a seasonal increase in spring associated with our annual PaperPie\nday as well as the Easter holiday season.\n\n* *\n\n*Competition*\n\n \n\nWhile we have the exclusive\nrights to sell Kane Miller books, Learning Wrap-Ups, and SmartLab Toys and are the exclusive United States Multi-Level Marketing (“MLM”)\ndistributor of Usborne books, we face competition from other publishers selling on the internet and directly to our customer base. Our\nPaperPie division competes in recruiting and retaining Brand Partners, who continuously receive opportunities to work for other direct\nselling companies, as well as other non-traditional employment opportunities, especially in the gig marketplace that provides multiple\nopportunities for part-time supplemental income. We also compete with other publishers in the school and library book-fair market, of\nwhich Scholastic Corporation is the largest.\n\n \n\nOur Publishing division faces\ncompetition from U.S. and international publishing companies that sell online and through the same retail bookstores, toy stores, and\ngift and novelty stores that offer a variety of non-book products.\n\n \n\n*Employees*\n\n \n\nAs of February 28, 2026, 64\nfull-time employees worked at our Tulsa, OK, San Diego, CA, and Ogden, UT facilities. Of these employees, approximately 41% work in our\ndistribution warehouse in Tulsa, OK.\n\n \n\n*Company Reports*\n\n \n\nPursuant to Section 13 or\n15 of the Exchange Act, as soon as reasonably practicable after filing electronically or otherwise furnishing it to the Securities and\nExchange Commission (“SEC”), we make available, free of charge, on our website (www.edcpub.com) copies of our Annual Reports,\nQuarterly Reports and Definitive Proxy Statements. Our website also includes an internet link to the federal SEC website that contains\nadditional public reports, including Current Reports on Form 8-K, amendments to those reports filed or furnished to the SEC and reports\nof holdings of our securities filed by our officers and directors under Section 16 of the Exchange Act. These reports can also be provided\nelectronically, free of charge, upon request."}