Nielsen Buys The Perishables Group

Nielsen has acquired Chicago-based fresh food industry research specialist The Perishables Group. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The Perishables Group was founded by in 2000 by Bruce Axtman, who spun off a consulting practice he created while he was a Partner at Willard Bishop Consulting. The company's offerings include consumer and trade research, syndicated data and category development software, along with marcoms services.

As part of the deal, the sixty employees of the firm will join Nielsen's North America Consumer Analytics team, which will integrate perishables information into its retail measurement operation.

Axtman will continue to lead the unit, now known as Nielsen Perishables Group, while overseeing the integration of his firm's analytic capabilities into Nielsen's offerings. He will report to Dennis Moore, Nielsen EVP of Global Analytics.

The deal has been made to bolster Nielsen's move to offer 'total store reporting', and adds to its recent acquisition of market response modeling specialist Marketing Analytics.

John Lewis, who is President and CEO of Consumer North America-Nielsen, comments: 'This complete view across all fresh departments - produce, deli, meat, seafood and bakery - provides a distinct advantage for all our clients, including retailers, packaged goods manufacturers and fresh food suppliers.'

Web sites: www.nielsen.com and www.perishablesgroup.com .