Business News
Quebecor Media and Jean Coutu Group Sign One of the Biggest Commercial Deals in Quebec
Thursday 28. April 2011 - Quebecor Media is pleased to announce the conclusion of a 50 million dollar five-year deal with The Jean Coutu Group (PJC) Inc., a leader in the retail pharmacy industry in Canada, for the production of its printed promotional material, including its weekly flyer. Since April 21, the printing of Jean Coutu Group's weekly flyer program is handled by Quebecor Media Printing. This is one of the most important commercial printing contracts in Quebec, representing roughly 150 million impressions every year.
The partnership will extend beyond printing operations as other Quebecor Media companies will be put to task, notably, TVA Studio, a subsidiary of TVA Group specializing in custom publishing. Printing operations will be conducted at Quebecor Media’s state-of-the-art facilities in Mirabel. This is a crucial step in the deployment of Quebecor Media’s global advertising and marketing solutions; these now enable the company to offer its business partners fully integrated strategies to promote their brand and inform their customers.
« This partnership with The Jean Coutu Group was made possible by our highly innovative approach in terms of integrated solutions; it is the perfect example of the huge potential of the new business model we implemented; it clearly demonstrates that advertisers value the complementary synergies that we built between various Quebecor Media components, thanks to, among other things, a $125-million investment in Quebec to modernize our commercial printing facilities and equip them with the latest technology », said Pierre Karl Péladeau, President and Chief Executive Officer of Quebecor. « To meet the ever more sophisticated needs of our business partners, we must offer unique and complete solutions that provide maximum impact to their campaigns. »
On top of massive investments in its printing capacity in Quebec, in 2009 the company also created a vast distribution network that encompasses the whole province. Also in 2009, its national sales teams in the rest of Canada were merged into one group and, in 2010, its national sales teams in Quebec were also consolidated into a new group. The new one-stop shops redefine customer relationship by bringing under one roof the expertise of all of Quebecor Media’s advertising and marketing advisers. Together, they develop innovative solutions that effectively help the company’s clients overcome present and future challenges.
Quebecor Media also launched eight new community newspapers in Quebec en 2010, thus increasing media diversity. In 2011, the company acquired Les Hebdos Montérégiens, a transaction which added 15 titles at once to its community newspaper network, making it an unparalleled distribution channel for Canadian retailers.