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Information on Business Segments
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2020
Segment Reporting [Abstract]  
Information on Business Segments
18. Information on Business Segments

The Company has three operating business segments, each of which is comprised of different geographic regions. The Company's three operating segments are as follows:
Operating SegmentGeographyPrimary BrandsPrimary Products
ACCO Brands North AmericaUnited States and Canada
Five Star®, Quartet®, AT-A-GLANCE®, GBC®, Swingline®, Kensington®, Mead®, Hilroy® and PowerA®
Computer and gaming accessories, school products, planners, storage and organization (3-ring binders), dry erase boards, laminating, binding, stapling and punching products.
ACCO Brands EMEAEurope, Middle East and Africa
Leitz®, Rapid®, Esselte®, Kensington®, Rexel® GBC®, NOBO®, Derwent® and PowerA®
Storage and organization products (lever-arch binders, sheet protectors, indexes), computer and gaming accessories, stapling, punching, laminating, shredding, do-it-yourself tools, dry erase boards and writing instruments
ACCO Brands InternationalAustralia/N.Z., Latin America and Asia-Pacific
Tilibra®, GBC®, Barrilito®, Foroni®, Marbig®, Kensington®, Artline®*, Wilson Jones®, PowerA®, Quartet®, Spirax® and Rexel®
*Australia/N.Z. only
School notebooks, storage and organization products (binders, sheet protectors and indexes), laminating, shredding, writing and arts products, janitorial supplies, dry erase boards and stapling and punching products

Each business segment designs, markets, sources, manufactures, and sells recognized consumer, technology and other end-user demanded branded products used in businesses, schools, and homes. Product designs are tailored to end-user preferences in each geographic region, and where possible, leverage common engineering, design, and sourcing.

Our product categories include computer and gaming accessories; storage and organization; notebooks; laminating, shredding, and binding machines; calendars; stapling; punching; dry erase boards; and do-it-yourself tools, among others. Our portfolio includes both globally and regionally recognized brands.

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, contract stationers, and specialist technology businesses. We also sell directly to commercial and consumer end-users through e-commerce sites and our direct sales organization.

Net sales by reportable business segment for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018 were as follows:
(in millions)202020192018
ACCO Brands North America$822.1 $966.8 $940.7 
ACCO Brands EMEA523.9 569.3 605.2 
ACCO Brands International309.2 419.6 395.3 
Net sales$1,655.2 $1,955.7 $1,941.2 
Operating income by reportable business segment for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018 was as follows:
(in millions)202020192018
ACCO Brands North America$83.0 $131.0 $116.6 
ACCO Brands EMEA51.6 58.6 59.4 
ACCO Brands International15.6 48.5 49.2 
Segment operating income150.2 238.1 225.2 
Corporate(1)
(37.8)(41.9)(38.2)
Operating income(2)
112.4 196.2 187.0 
Interest expense38.8 43.2 41.2 
Interest income(1.0)(3.2)(4.4)
Non-operating pension income(5.6)(5.5)(9.3)
Other expense (income), net1.6 (1.8)1.6 
Income before income tax$78.6 $163.5 $157.9 

(1)Corporate operating loss in 2020, 2019 and 2018 includes transaction costs of $3.7 million, $1.6 million and $0.5 million respectively, primarily for legal and due diligence expenditures associated with the PowerA, Foroni and GOBA acquisitions.
(2)Operating income as presented in the segment table above is defined as i) net sales; ii) less cost of products sold; iii) less SG&A expenses; iv) less amortization of intangibles; and v) less restructuring charges.

The following table presents the measure of reportable business segment assets used by the Company’s chief operating decision maker as of December 31, 2020 and 2019:
(in millions)20202019
ACCO Brands North America(3)
$401.4 $403.4 
ACCO Brands EMEA(3)
265.8 257.9 
ACCO Brands International(3)
272.1 384.1 
  Total segment assets939.3 1,045.4 
Unallocated assets2,108.1 1,742.3 
Corporate(3)
1.3 0.9 
  Total assets$3,048.7 $2,788.6 

(3)    Represents total assets, excluding goodwill and identifiable intangibles resulting from business acquisitions, intercompany balances, cash, deferred taxes, derivatives, prepaid pension assets, prepaid debt issuance costs and right of use asset, leases.
As a supplement to the presentation of reportable business segment assets presented above, the table below presents reportable business segment assets, including the allocation of identifiable intangible assets and goodwill resulting from business combinations as of December 31, 2020 and 2019:
(in millions)20202019
ACCO Brands North America(4)
$1,476.3 $1,165.1 
ACCO Brands EMEA(4)
710.4 670.9 
ACCO Brands International(4)
556.9 686.7 
  Total segment assets2,743.6 2,522.7 
Unallocated assets303.8 265.0 
Corporate(4)
1.3 0.9 
  Total assets$3,048.7 $2,788.6 

(4)    Represents total assets, excluding intercompany balances, cash, deferred taxes, derivatives, prepaid pension assets, prepaid debt issuance costs and right of use asset, leases.

Capital spend by reportable business segment for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018 was as follows:
(in millions)202020192018
ACCO Brands North America$9.3 $21.7 $24.3 
ACCO Brands EMEA4.0 7.0 6.1 
ACCO Brands International2.0 4.1 3.7 
  Total capital spend$15.3 $32.8 $34.1 

Depreciation expense by reportable business segment for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018 was as follows:
(in millions)202020192018
ACCO Brands North America$19.6 $17.3 $15.9 
ACCO Brands EMEA12.7 12.2 12.6 
ACCO Brands International5.6 5.4 5.5 
  Total depreciation$37.9 $34.9 $34.0 

Property, plant and equipment, net by reportable business segment as of December 31, 2020 and 2019 was as follows:
(in millions)20202019
U.S.$107.1 $116.6 
Canada1.2 1.7 
ACCO Brands North America108.3 118.3 
ACCO Brands EMEA88.8 92.8 
Australia/N.Z.12.3 12.1 
Latin America30.4 42.2 
Asia-Pacific1.6 1.7 
ACCO Brands International44.3 56.0 
  Property, plant and equipment, net$241.4 $267.1 
Top Customers

Net sales to our five largest customers totaled $554.7 million, $641.5 million and $577.3 million for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively. No customer exceeded 10 percent of net sales for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2018, respectively. Net sales to Staples/Essendant, our largest customer, were $200.2 million (10 percent) for the year ended December 31, 2019. Except as disclosed, no other customer represented more than 10 percent of net sales in any of the last three years.

As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, our top five trade account receivables totaled $118.2 million and $112.9 million, respectively.