LIVONIA, Mich., Aug. 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Valassis
(NYSE: VCI), one of the nation's leading media and marketing
services companies, announced today that it will begin moving
forward with plans to introduce a mail product that provides
national retail advertisers an affordable avenue to reach a broad
base of consumers following the Postal Regulatory Commission's
(PRC) approval of a three-year negotiated service agreement
(NSA).
"We applaud the PRC's decision and their validation of this
innovative proposal," said Steve
Mitzel, Valassis Senior Vice President/General Manager,
Shared Mail. "They have endorsed the dynamic elements
embodied in the Valassis NSA that should incentivize new mail
volume growth and marketplace expansion."
Under the terms of the agreement, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS)
will provide discounted mailing rates allowing Valassis to attract
durable goods advertisers with physical retail outlets in 30 or
more states in distinct markets where the company has existing
Standard Mail Saturation programs.
"As partners with the USPS and newspapers, we will continue to
work hard to sustain the relevancy of hard copy, consumer-valued
advertising and promotion delivered to American mailboxes," said
Rob Mason, Valassis President and
Chief Executive Officer. "It's time to begin the real work of
executing our plan and we are excited about testing this program in
select markets over the next few months."
About Valassis
Valassis is one of the nation's leading media and marketing
services companies, offering unparalleled reach and scale to more
than 15,000 advertisers. Its RedPlum® media portfolio delivers
value on a weekly basis to over 100 million shoppers across a
multi-media platform – in-home, in-store and in-motion. Through its
digital offerings, including redplum.com and save.com, consumers
can find compelling national and local deals. Headquartered in
Livonia, Michigan with
approximately 7,000 associates in 28 states and eight countries,
Valassis is widely recognized for its associate and corporate
citizenship programs, including its America's Looking for Its
Missing Children® program. Valassis companies include Valassis
Direct Mail, Inc., Valassis Canada, Promotion Watch, Valassis
Relationship Marketing Systems, LLC, NCH Marketing Services, Inc.
and Brand.net. For more information, visit http://www.valassis.com,
http://www.redplum.com and http://www.save.com. To learn about
advertising opportunities with RedPlum, please call
1-800-437-0479.
Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-looking
Statements
This document contains "forward-looking statements"
within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown
risks and uncertainties and other factors which may cause our
actual results, performance or achievements to be materially
different from any future results, performance or achievements
expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such
factors include, among others, the following: price competition
from our existing competitors; new competitors in any of our
businesses; a shift in client preferences for different promotional
materials, strategies or coupon delivery methods, including,
without limitation, as a result of declines in newspaper
circulation and/or increased competition from new media formats
including digital; an unforeseen increase in paper or postal costs;
changes which affect the businesses of our clients and lead to
reduced sales promotion spending, including, without limitation, a
decrease of marketing budgets which are generally discretionary in
nature and easier to reduce in the short-term than other expenses;
our substantial indebtedness, and ability to refinance such
indebtedness, if necessary, and our ability to incur additional
indebtedness, may affect our financial health; the financial
condition, including bankruptcies, of our clients, suppliers,
senior secured credit facility lenders or other counterparties;
certain covenants in our debt documents could adversely restrict
our financial and operating flexibility; fluctuations in the
amount, timing, pages, weight and kinds of advertising pieces from
period to period, due to a change in our clients' promotional
needs, inventories and other factors, including, without
limitation, high levels of coupon redemption rates; our failure to
attract and retain qualified personnel may affect our business and
results of operations; a rise in interest rates could increase our
borrowing costs; possible governmental regulation or litigation
affecting aspects of our business; clients experiencing financial
difficulties, or otherwise being unable to meet their obligations
as they become due, could affect our results of operations and
financial condition; uncertainty in the application and
interpretation of applicable state sales tax laws may expose us to
additional sales tax liability; and general economic conditions,
whether nationally, internationally, or in the market areas in
which we conduct our business, including the adverse impact of the
ongoing economic downturn on the marketing expenditures and
activities of our clients and prospective clients as well as our
vendors, with whom we rely on to provide us with quality materials
at the right prices and in a timely manner. These and other risks
and uncertainties related to our business are described in greater
detail in our filings with the United States Securities and
Exchange Commission, including our reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q
and the foregoing information should be read in conjunction with
these filings. We disclaim any intention or obligation to
update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise.
SOURCE Valassis