Valassis Named Among 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers

LIVONIA, Mich., Sept. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Valassis (NYSE: VCI), one of the nation's leading media and marketing services companies, announced today that it has been named by Working Mother magazine to its 2011 100 Best Companies list.

"At Valassis, our associates are our greatest asset," said Alan F. Schultz, Valassis Chairman, President and CEO. "We are committed to making Valassis a great place to work, and we continually look for ways to strengthen our culture. We strive to help associates achieve the right balance between work and home, and as a result, we have an energized, passionate and productive team."

The Working Mother 100 Best Companies are judged on answers to 650 questions, including data on the access and usage of flexible work arrangements, parental leave, health and wellness support and the advancement of women to all levels of management. For this year's 100 Best, particular weight was given to benefits, flexibility and parental leave.  For 26 years Working Mother has set the standard for programs and policies that support, attract and retain working moms.

"I am pleased to welcome Valassis back to Working Mother's 100 Best Companies list for the third year," said Carol Evans, President of Working Mother Media.  "With up to seven partially paid weeks off to give birth, onsite lactation rooms, post-offices, and an auto service that details employee cars and changes their oil, Valassis is providing working moms with the tools they need to be successful in their home and professional lives."  Valassis was named to Working Mother's list in 1999 and 2000. Earlier this year, the company was named to Working Mother magazine's list of the Best Companies for Hourly Workers.

In addition, Valassis offers time off for adoption, flexible work hours, child care reimbursement and a complimentary car seat for newborns. There is also a resource and referral network that addresses a range of needs including financial and legal support, and advice on child care and youth academic services. Valassis also offers various on-site convenience services across the country.  Some of these include on-site fitness centers, family rooms, dry-cleaning and a hair and nail salon.

"I have benefited firsthand from Valassis' support of working mothers, so it's not a surprise that I have spent the last 27 years at a company that has provided me the flexibility and support to be the best mom that I can be to my two children and advance my career at the same time," said Eva Kohn, Valassis Senior Vice President, Strategic Sales. "As a working mother myself, I am very proud of this distinction."

Valassis will be celebrated at this year's Working Mother 100 Best Companies WorkLife Congress held from October 18-20, 2011 in New York City. The 100 Best Companies, as well as national comparisons, are profiled in the October issue of Working Mother and at workingmother.com/bestcompanies.

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 and NCH Marketing Services, Inc.  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.

About Working Mother Media

Working Mother magazine reaches 2.2 million readers and is the only national magazine for career-committed mothers; WorkingMother.com (www.workingmother.com) gives working mothers @home and @work advice, solutions, and ideas. This year marks the 26th anniversary of Working Mother's signature research initiative, Working Mother 100 Best Companies, and the ninth year of the Best Companies for Multicultural Women. Working Mother Media, a division of Bonnier Corporation (www.bonnier.com), includes the National Association for Female Executives (NAFE, www.nafe.com), Diversity Best Practices (www.diversitybestpractices.com), and the Working Mother Research Institute. Working Mother Media's mission is to serve as a champion of culture change.

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 preference for different promotional materials, strategies or coupon delivery methods, including, without limitation, as a result of declines in newspaper circulation; 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; 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