Transcon restructuring creates new marketing communications sector

Transcontinental Inc. has announced a restructuring of its operations that further emphasizes the importance to the company of business other than its core printing and publishing (including being Canada's largest consumer magazine publisher). The result has been various appointments and departures.

Custom publishing and other custom communications, printing of marketing products (flyers etc.), database analytics, premedia, email marketing and one-to-one marketing are being consolidated under the control of Francois Olivier, president and chief executive officer of Transcontinental Inc.. He will act as president of the new marketing communications sector until a new president is appointed. Guy Manuel, President of the former marketing products and services sector will be leaving Transcontinental at the end of 2008.

Olivier said in a release:

"Transcontinental is an outstanding printer and a highly creative publisher, and by delivering marketing solutions to our clients on a range of platforms, we further fulfill our primary mission: to help our customers continue to reach their target consumers."

In addition to creating the new marketing division, Transcon has named Brian Reid President, Transcontinental printing sector; he had been senior vice president of the catalog and magazine group since 2003. The printing sector now groups together services to publishers of newspapers, books and magazines, Transcontinental's U.S. direct mail and Mexican operations and its service offering for retailers.

Hans Nielsen has been appointed President of Transcontinental Direct U.S.A. replacing Rob Young, who has headed Transcontinental's U.S. direct mail operations since 2005.

Transcontinental Media remains under the direction of president Natalie Larivière as Canada's fourth-largest print media group and Canada's leading publisher of consumer magazines with 40-odd titles and a monthly readership of over 11 million. It is also the country's second-largest publisher of community newspapers and distributor of flyers, with a presence in the Atlantic provinces, Quebec, eastern Ontario and Saskatchewan. It has 120 websites and portals receive over 4 million unique visitors per month.

The printing sector represents annual revenues for Transcon of about $1.5 billion, the media division about $650 million and the new marketing communications cluster about $400 million.