Commercial printer TC Transcontinental is extending the distribution of its “Raddar” advertising flyer sheet to replace Publisac throughout Quebec, as well as the Toronto and Hamilton regions in Ontario, and the suburbs of Vancouver in British Columbia.
According to the printer’s management, between February and May 2024, “2.8 million households will be added to the million copies of Raddar which is already distributed (since last May) in the greater Montreal region.” . »
As for the impact on local newspapers of this disappearance of Publisac distributed door-to-door, while Raddar is distributed by Canada Post, Transcontinental management says it “regrets the repercussions of the end of Publisac on several weekly newspapers . »
In the Montreal region, the replacement of the door-to-door Publisac by the Raddar leaflet distributed by Canada Post is considered one of the main causes of the atrophy and closure of many local and neighborhood newspapers for a year.
According to Patrick Brayley, senior vice-president at TC Imprimeries Transcontinental, “the Publisac model had to evolve given recent and planned regulatory changes in distribution and their repercussions on the operational and financial levels. »
Furthermore, claiming to be a “long-time partner of local newspapers,” TC Transcontinental management claims that it “will help promote their presence in their communities as well as their digital sites, by offering them a free page in Raddar and visibility. on (its web portal) raddar.ca. »
In the opinion of analyst Adam Shine, at National Bank Financial, Transcontinental’s decision to put an end to door-to-door Publisac and to increase the distribution of Raddar by Canada Post is part of the desire to the printer to strengthen the profitability of its advertising flyer activities, while circumventing the regulatory restrictions on the distribution of advertising prints that are spreading in several cities and towns.
“By expanding Raddar’s distribution, Transcontinental should avoid further regulatory issues related to its flyer distribution activities,” Adam Shine said in a note to his client-investors.
“Additionally, because the Raddar leaflet is distributed by Canada Post, it actually reaches more (consumer) households than Transcontinental previously did with its Publisac, while being little or not affected by municipal efforts to reduce distribution of printed materials. »