Mr. Patrick Brayley reports

RADDARTM, THE REINVENTED FLYER, EXPANDS IN QUÉBEC, ONTARIO AND BRITISH COLUMBIA

In the wake of its successful launch in Montreal this spring, Transcontinental Inc. will expand raddar, the reinvented flyer, across Quebec as well as in areas of Ontario and British Columbia.

raddar is a thin leaflet folded in four that combines flyers from various retailers into a single printed product. Distributed via Canada Post, raddar greatly reduces the volume of paper used. With raddar and its digital platform, consumers can benefit from the best of both worlds.

Quebec

Between February and May, 2024, raddar will be rolled out gradually across the province of Quebec, replacing Publisac. This will add 2.8 million households to the one million copies of raddar already distributed in the Greater Montreal area.

"We are proud of raddar, a landmark innovation in the history of flyers, and the significant environmental gain it represents," said Patrick Brayley, senior vice-president, TC Transcontinental Printing. "At the same time, we regret the impact of the end of Publisac on several weekly newspapers as well as on our distribution partners. Given recent and expected regulatory changes for distribution and their operational and financial impacts, the Publisac model had to evolve."

As a long-standing partner of local newspapers, Transcontinental will help promote their presence in their communities and on their digital sites by offering its clients a free page in raddar and visibility on the raddar website. According to a recent CROP survey, 88 per cent of Montreal consumers who receive raddar consult it; 83 per cent plan their meals based on promotions found in it; and 70 per cent of users say it influences their choice of merchant for their purchases. Users like raddar for its ease of consultation, its compact format, its usefulness in planning store visits and its ecofriendly nature.

Ontario and British Columbia

In Ontario, starting next week, raddar will be distributed to one million households in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton areas formerly served by Ontario's largest community newspaper publisher, Metroland. On Sept. 15, Metroland announced the immediate cessation of the distribution of the print editions of its regional newspapers and associated flyers.

Similarly, since last August, raddar is distributed to over 300,000 households in Vancouver areas where Glacier Media, Westen Canada's largest community newspaper publisher, ceased its distribution activities.

"With inflation hitting hard, flyers are critical to help households save up to $1,500 a year and maintain healthy price competition, to everyone's benefit. We are happy to share this innovation with more Canadians," added Mr. Brayley. "Flyers also help retailers drive traffic to their stores in the face of competition from e-commerce giants." With this expansion, by May, 2024, a total of 5.1 million copies of raddar will be distributed every week in Canada. Details on locations can be found on the raddar website.

raddar is a meaningful and simple name. The primary role of a radar is to detect, and raddar allows consumers to detect the most attractive offers. raddar's logo recalls the traditional icon associated with radar, but also the fingerprint, which highlights the personalization of the offers while nodding to raddar's digital platform. Vibrant and timeless colours ensure that the product is eye-catching and easily recognizable in consumers' mailboxes.

About Transcontinental Inc.

Transcontinental is a leader in flexible packaging in North America, and Canada's largest printer in Canada. The corporation is also the leading Canadian French-language educational publishing group. For over 45 years, Transcontinental's mission has been to create quality products and services that allow businesses to attract, reach and retain their target customers.

Respect, teamwork, performance and innovation are the strong values held by the corporation and its employees. Transcontinental's commitment to its stakeholders is to pursue its business activities in a responsible manner.

We seek Safe Harbor.