The 'King Of Coupons,' Valassis Founder, Dies At 89
June 25, 2019 05:34 PM
George Valassis, the "King of Coupons" and founder of the Livonia-based Valassis Communications Inc., died Saturday in Florida, according to a Florida funeral home. He was 89.
Valassis, a Toledo native born in 1929, built one of the largest newspaper coupon and insert- and direct-mail companies in the world.
He started the company in 1970 in Oak Park. He then sold it in 1986 for nearly $400 million to Sydney, Australia-based Consolidated Press Holdings Ltd., which took it public in 1992. Its primary business was producing coupon inserts for newspapers.
By the 1990s, Valassis came to own half of the nation's coupon market, but saw its core business erode as the daily newspaper industry rapidly began to decline. It struggled with its coupon business in the mid-2000s, and sought to diversify, branching into in-store marketing and investing in digital coupon services.
In 2013-14, the company — then profitable with $2 billion in annual revenue — was sold to San Antonio-based Harland Clarke Holdings Corp.
At that time, an 85-year-old Valassis was maintaining homes in Clarkston and Manalapan, Fla., and investing in innovative products and ideas. He then settled in Jupiter, Fla.
Valassis graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in business and engineering. He and his wife, Sandra, endowed four professorships in urology at the University of Michigan.
A message was left Tuesday requesting comment from Valassis' family.
Visitation and a memorial service are planned for 1 p.m. Thursday at the Aycock-Riverside Funeral and Cremation Center in Jupiter, Fla.
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