17. Information on Business Segments

The Company has three operating business segments each of which is comprised of different geographic regions. The Company's three segments are as follows:



Operating Segment		Geography
ACCO Brands North America		United States and Canada
ACCO Brands EMEA		Europe, Middle East and Africa
ACCO Brands International		Australia/N.Z., Latin America and Asia-Pacific

Each of the Company's three operating segments designs, markets, sources, manufactures and sells recognized consumer and other end-user demanded branded products used in businesses, schools and homes. Product designs are tailored based on end-user preferences in each geographic region.

Our product categories include storage and organization; stapling; punching; laminating, binding and shredding machines and related consumable supplies; whiteboards; notebooks; calendars; computer accessories; and do-it-yourself tools, among others. Our portfolio of consumer and other end-user demanded brands includes both globally and regionally recognized brands.

ACCO Brands North America

The ACCO Brands North America segment is comprised of the United States and Canada where the Company is a leading branded supplier of consumer and business products under brands such as AT-A-GLANCE^®, Five Star^®, GBC^®, Hilroy^®, Kensington^®, Mead^®, Quartet^®, and Swingline^®.The ACCO Brands North America segment designs, sources or manufactures and distributes school notebooks, calendars, whiteboards, storage and organization products (such as three-ring binders, sheet protectors and indexes), stapling, punching, laminating, binding and shredding products, and computer accessories, among others, which are primarily used in schools, homes and businesses. The majority of revenue in this segment is related to consumer and home products and is associated with the "back-to-school" season and year-end calendar purchases. We expect sales of consumer products to become an increasingly greater percentage of our revenue as demand for consumer products is faster growing than most business-related products.

ACCO Brands EMEA

The ACCO Brands EMEA segment is comprised largely of Europe, but also includes export sales to the Middle East and Africa. The Company is a leading branded supplier of consumer and business products under brands such as Derwent^®, Esselte^®, GBC^®, Kensington^®, Leitz^®, NOBO^®, Rapid^®, and Rexel^®.The ACCO Brands EMEA segment designs, manufactures or sources and distributes storage and organization products (such as lever-arch binders, sheet protectors and indexes), stapling, punching, laminating, binding and shredding products, do-it-yourself tools, and computer accessories, among others, which are primarily used in businesses, homes and schools.

ACCO Brands International

The ACCO Brands International segment is comprised of Australia/N.Z., Latin America and Asia-Pacific where the Company is a leading branded supplier of consumer and business products under brands such as Artline^®, Barrilito^®, GBC^®, Kensington^®, Marbig^®, Quartet^®, Rexel^®, Tilibra^®, and Wilson Jones^®, among others. The ACCO Brands International segment designs, sources or manufactures and distributes school notebooks, calendars, whiteboards, storage and organization products (such as three-ring binders, sheet protectors and indexes), stapling, punching, laminating, binding and shredding products, writing instruments, and janitorial supplies, among others, which are primarily used in schools, businesses and homes. The majority of revenue in this segment is related to consumer products and is associated with the "back-to-school" season and year-end calendar purchases. We expect sales of consumer products to become an increasingly greater percentage of our revenue as demand for consumer products is faster growing than most business-related products.

Customers

We distribute our products through a wide variety of retail and commercial channels to ensure that our products are readily and conveniently available for purchase by consumers and other end-users, wherever they prefer to shop. These channels include mass retailers; e-tailers; discount, drug/grocery and variety chains; warehouse clubs; hardware and specialty stores; independent office product dealers; office superstores; wholesalers; and contract stationers. We also sell directly to commercial and consumer end-users through our e-commerce platform and our direct sales organization.

Net sales by business segment for the three months ended March 31, 2019 and 2018 were as follows:



	Three Months Ended March 31,
(in millions)	2019		2018
ACCO Brands North America	$	160.4	$	165.6
ACCO Brands EMEA	146.5		154.5
ACCO Brands International	87.0		85.7
Net sales	$	393.9	$	405.8

Operating income by business segment for the three months ended March 31, 2019 and 2018 was as follows:



	Three Months Ended March 31,
(in millions)	2019			2018
ACCO Brands North America	$	6.8		$	2.9
ACCO Brands EMEA	15.9			14.1
ACCO Brands International	5.6			5.8
Segment operating income	28.3			22.8
Corporate	(10.4		)	(11.1		)
Operating income⁽¹⁾	17.9			11.7
Interest expense	10.4			9.4
Interest income	(0.9		)	(1.0		)
Non-operating pension income	(1.4		)	(2.2		)
Other income, net	(0.2		)	(0.6		)
Income before income tax	$	10.0		$	6.1


(1)	Operating income as presented in the segment table above is defined as i) net sales; ii) less cost of products sold; iii) less selling, general and administrative expenses; iv) less amortization of intangibles; and v) less restructuring charges.