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                                                                    EXHIBIT 99.4

                           FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

         You should consider the following factors in evaluating us and our
business. If any of the following or other risks actually occurs, our business,
financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected. In
such case, the trading price of our common stock could decline.

         Dependence on Growth of Student Population and School Expenditures. Our
growth strategy and profitability depend in part on growth in the student
population and expenditures per student in preK-12 schools. The level of student
enrollment is largely a function of demographics, while expenditures per student
are also affected by government budgets and the prevailing political and social
attitudes towards education. The industry has been recently affected by the
generally weakened economic environment, which has placed pressure on some state
and local budgets, the primary sources of school funding. Any significant and
sustained decline in student enrollment and/or expenditures per student could
have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results
of operations.

         Seasonality of Our Business. Our businesses are highly seasonal.
Because most of our customers want their school supplies delivered before or
shortly after the commencement of the school year, we record most of our
revenues from June to October. As a result, we usually earn more than 100% of
our annual net income in the first two quarters of our fiscal year and operate
at a net loss in our third and fourth fiscal quarters. This seasonality causes
our operating results to vary considerably from quarter to quarter.

         Material Amount of Goodwill and Intangible Assets. Approximately $474.3
million, or 64%, of our total assets as of April 26, 2003 represented intangible
assets, the significant majority of which is goodwill. Goodwill is the amount by
which the costs of an acquisition accounted for using the purchase method
exceeds the fair value of the net assets we acquire. We are required to record
goodwill as an intangible asset on our balance sheet. In addition, we are
required to evaluate whether our goodwill and other intangible assets have been
impaired. Reductions in our net income caused by the write-down of goodwill or
intangible assets could materially adversely affect our results of operations.

         Ability to Identify and Integrate Acquisitions. Our business has grown
significantly through acquisitions in recent years. Future growth in our
revenues and earnings are enhanced by our ability to continue to acquire and
successfully integrate and operate school supply companies. We cannot guarantee
that we will be able to identify and acquire businesses on reasonable terms or
at all. In addition, we cannot be sure that we will be able to operate the
businesses that we acquire profitably or that our management and financial
controls, personnel, computer systems and other corporate support systems will
be adequate to manage the increased size and scope of our operations as a result
of acquisitions. Managing and integrating acquired businesses may result in
substantial costs, delays, or other operating or financial problems that could
materially and adversely affect our financial condition and results of
operations.

         Dependence on Key Suppliers and Service Providers. We depend upon a
limited number of suppliers for some of our products, especially furniture and
proprietary products. We also depend upon a limited number of service providers
for the delivery of our products. If these suppliers or service providers are
unable to provide the products or services that we require or materially
increase their costs (especially during our peak season of June through
October), this could impair our ability to deliver our

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products on a timely and profitable basis and could have a material adverse
effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. As we
seek to reduce the number of our suppliers and to minimize duplicative lines as
part of our business strategy, we are likely to increase our dependence on
remaining suppliers.

         Competitive Environment. The market for school supplies is highly
competitive and fragmented. We estimate that over 3,400 companies market
educational materials to schools with preK-12 as a primary focus of their
business. We also face increasing competition from alternate channel marketers,
including office supply superstores and office product contract stationers, that
have not traditionally focused on marketing school supplies. These competitors
are likely to continue to expand their product lines and interest in school
supplies. Some of these competitors have greater financial resources and buying
power than we do. We believe that the supplemental educational supply market
will consolidate over the next several years, which is likely to increase
competition in our markets and in our search for attractive acquisition
candidates.

         Reliance on Key Personnel. Our business depends to a large extent on
the abilities and continued efforts of current executive officers and senior
management. We are also likely to depend heavily on the executive officers and
senior management of businesses that we acquire in the future. If any of these
people become unable or unwilling to continue in his or her role, or if we are
unable to attract and retain other qualified employees, our business could be
adversely affected. Although we have employment contracts with our executive
officers, we generally do not have employment agreements with other members of
our management. Other than the life insurance we have in place for our President
and Chief Executive Officer, we do not have and do not intend to obtain key man
life insurance covering any of our executive officers or other members of our
management.

         Dependence on Our Information Systems. We have integrated the
operations of most of our divisions and subsidiaries, which operate on a host
system located at our Greenville, Wisconsin headquarters. In addition, there are
three divisions running legacy systems hosted at their locations. All systems
rely on continuous telecommunication connections to the main computers. If any
of these connections becomes disrupted, or unavailable, for an extended period
of time the disruption could materially and adversely affect our business,
operations and financial performance. We also continue to introduce new
information systems to achieve a common processing infrastructure for all of our
businesses, which will displace existing legacy systems. As we implement the new
systems to the businesses, there is the possibility that it can be disruptive
should the new systems not perform as expected.

         Even though we have taken precautions to protect ourselves from
unexpected events that could interrupt new, existing and acquired business
operations and systems, we cannot be sure that fire, flood or other natural
disaster would not disable our systems and/or prevent them from communicating
between business segments. The occurrence of any such event could have a
material adverse affect on our business, results of operations and financial
condition.

         Leverage. As of April 26, 2003, we had $293.4 million of debt
outstanding. Our leverage could increase over time. Our credit facility permits
us to incur additional debt under certain circumstances, and we expect to borrow
under our credit facility for general corporate purposes, including working
capital, capital expenditures and for acquisitions. Our ability to meet our debt
service obligations depends on our future performance. Our future performance is
influenced by general economic conditions and by financial, business, and other
factors affecting our operations, many of which are beyond our control. If we
are unable to service our debt, we may have to delay our acquisition program,
sell our equity securities, sell our assets, or restructure and refinance our
debt, and our business may suffer as a result.

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         Absence of Common Stock Dividends. We do not expect to pay cash
dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. In addition, our
ability to pay dividends may be restricted from time to time by the financial
covenants contained in our credit agreements and debt instruments. Our current
credit facility contains restrictions on, and in some circumstances may prevent,
our payment of dividends.