Nielsen Buys US Pet Specialty Business from GfK

Nielsen has announced the acquisition of GfK's US Pet Specialty Point-of-Sale (POS) business. Combined with its existing non-specialty measurement, Nielsen says this gives its clients the most complete view of the channel in the US.

To its existing tracking of grocery and mass merchandisers, Nielsen's new investment adds neighborhood pet specialty and veterinary clinics - giving pet retailers and manufacturers 'a more robust picture of performance and competition across the retail landscape... from a single source'. As a result, Nielsen says companies will get 'a deeper understanding of pet owners' consumer behavior and the ability to keep pace with the nationwide trends that ignite in neighborhood pet stores'.

John Tavolieri (pictured), President, US FMCG and Retail comments: 'The combined strength of Nielsen and GfK's data assets will allow us to deliver best-in-class solutions and services to this growing vertical, and we look forward to continuing to grow our capabilities to provide a more localized and omnichannel pet measurement view'.

Financial details of the deal were not divulged. Web sites are at www.gfk.com and www.nielsen.com .