MORI Expands Into Ireland 15/11/00 MORI is buying MRC, the only major Irish agency operating in both Northern Ireland and in the Republic of Ireland. Based in Dublin and Belfast, MORI MRC is also the only all-Ireland agency to be accredited with quality standards ISO9001 and IQCS, as of course is MORI in Britain. MRC's current client base includes leading financial institutions and organisations in the telecoms, media, automotive, utilities and public sectors. MRC Field Ireland will operate as a separate division within the Group, and will continue to provide a quality, reliable fieldwork service to a wide range of organisations. Stewart Lewis, a Director of MORI UK, becomes Chairman of MORI MRC. Lesley McClure continues as Managing Director. Peter McDowell is promoted to Financial Director, Brenda Boyd continues as Field Director and Orla Deasy remains Research Director. According to Stewart Lewis, Chairman of MORI MRC, "This is the first of MORI's post-MBO international expansions. MORI is looking for strong agencies with outstanding people and exciting growth prospects. MRC certainly fits that description in Ireland and we are delighted to be working with them." Lesley McClure, Managing Director of MORI MRC added "The creation of MORI MRC places us in a stronger position to meet the huge demand for market research across Ireland at a time when the economy is extremely buoyant. This partnership will be good for our management, good for the staff, and good for our clients by providing access to a larger team of MORI experts, including specialists in customer satisfaction, employee, telecoms and Internet research. It also means that we can access the most innovative and up-to-date technology - where appropriate - to provide clients with the best solutions to meet their research needs." The total expenditure of market research in Ireland has doubled in absolute terms from £12m in 1993 to over £24m in 1998, according to the Association of Irish Market Research Organisations (AIMRO). In the last two years, industry earnings in Ireland have grown by approximately 16% and projections for 1999 indicate that expenditure might be over £30m. This compares with a 12% increase in turnover for opinion and market research across the fifteen member states of the EU in 1997.and 1998. Over 80% of research expenditure in Ireland is of a domestic nature with around 15% attributed to international research. The bulk of research expenditure (43%) in Ireland is by clients in the fmcg and durables category. Other sizeable spenders on the domestic front are the financial services, the telecoms/postal industries, media operators, wholesale and retail companies and those involved in travel and tourism. Face-to-face interviewing remains the dominant method. One of the main changes in research in Ireland more recently has been the rise of telephone interviewing. Another growth area is customer service measurement research. In 1998, 14% of total research expenditure was classed as CSM. This type of research has been fuelled by organisations within the financial services, telecoms and retail industries.