Online coupon company Save.com is lost

Los Angeles-based Save.com, a print-at-home Internet coupon company, ceased operations today. Save.com launched one of the first consumer package goods print-at-home Internet coupon programs in September 1999. The company said its inability to attract enough advertisers, coupled with a tight capital market, resulted in Save.com`s closure.

Suzie Brown, CEO, said, "We have accomplished a lot over the past 23 months, but were unable to raise the capital required to sustain us for a long enough period to gain the content we needed to reach profitability. Although clients who participated in Save.com experienced very strong redemption rates, and found the print-at-home system to be desirable, we couldn`t get to critical mass quickly enough."

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A major investor in Save.com was marketing company Valassis. "The current advertising industry recession, combined with the decline of so many Internet investments, has caused a general skepticism about Internet advertising. This made it difficult for us to see a clear path to profitability for Save.com, and we concluded that the only current certainty in this space is that Save.com would continue to lose money,” says Alan F. Schultz, Valassis chairman, president and CEO. “We believe that shareholder resources can be better invested in areas where the model is more proven, and where marketing dollars are currently being allocated."

Valassis continues its long-term interest in Internet couponing with a small passive investment in Coupons.com.

Established in 1970, Livonia, MI-based Valassis does business in newspaper-delivered co-op and specialty inserts, advertising, product sampling, direct mail, direct-to-door, on-line promotions, customer relationship marketing programs, and consulting services.