NY Times : The Quiet Allure of Coupon Clippers

In addition, the nature of the coupon business means that Valassis is likely to prosper whether the United States economy is strong or weak. ''In recessionary times, coupons are used to move product,'' Mr. Mastin said. ''In good times, there tend to be more new product rollouts.''

Then there is the Internet, which is both an opportunity and a threat to Valassis. So-called reverse auction companies like Priceline WebHouse Club, which theoretically enable consumers to ''name their own price'' for groceries, have the potential to take business from Valassis. On the other hand, Valassis is testing Internet coupons at its majority-owned Web site, save.com, and the results so far have been promising, Mr. Mastin said. Because Internet coupons have no printing or distribution costs, gross margins on them could top 90 percent for Valassis, he said.

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