The king of print and inventor of the Yellow Pages has seen its fortunes suffer as readers have shifted to digital content. The venerable Chicago-based company has closed plants, laid off workers and scooped up a handful of digital-content providers in recent years in an attempt to keep pace with a rapidly evolving paperless market, but to date, none of its efforts have been enough to convince investors it isn’t a dinosaur. Investors fear that many of R.R. Donnelley’s businesses face a slow death going the way of former technology leader Kodak.
Seeking to maintain relevance in this rapidly evolving paperless market, Donnelley kicked off 2012 with two big deals: First, a multi-million dollar digital and print management agreement with Chrysler Group LLC, followed by a renewal and expansion of a similar contract with Canada-based grocery and pharmacy chain Metro Inc. Nevertheless in an age of digital content it will be difficult to maintain momentum in print or outsourced print services in the long run. R.R. Donnelley needs to go where most of its former clients have gone: Digital content.
Source: MEDILL Reports Chicago
