Synovate Targets Indian Acquisition

Synovate is examining possible acquisitions in India. Asia CEO Tim Balbirnie said the company was looking for firms with strengths in specialist areas such as automobiles, healthcare and loyalty, as well as advanced analytics, according to online publication the Business Standard.

The firm's syndicated research is currently dominated (60% of revenue) by consumer goods, with the balance being telecom, financial services and other areas. Synovate's acquisition priorities were set out by Global CEO Adrian Chedore in an interview with DRNO last year, with both vertical sector interest and advanced analytics buys highlighted (www.mrweb.com/cgi-bin/drnofrmr.cgi?ppNum=5519 ).

Balbirnie said Synovate's Indian revenues had doubled over the last two years and that it would look to recruit more staff. He also suggested that the firm will look to extend its retail audits to India, although country MD Alok Shanker says this will take a few years while modern retailing practices become more widespread. The audits are already established in markets including Australia, NZ and Hong Kong, operated by Australian subsidiary Aztec.

Balbirnie told the MRWho publication in an interview in November 2005 that in the justifiable stampede to invest in China, he felt India was sometimes overlooked: 'China's economy continues to grow at breakneck speed... and the country will always play a leading role in Asia Pacific research. However, in pure GDP terms, China is still a long way behind Japan and only slightly ahead of India. This is a telling comparison, as I believe India will soon be of equal importance to the MR industry, fuelled by its population growth and a strong technology sector served by a well educated middle class population.'

Indian-based news publication The Business Standard is online at www.business-standard.com and Synovate at www.synovate.com . Tim Balbirnie's full interview with MRWho is online at

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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