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Further International Expansion at GfK
The GfK Group has announced three further expansionary moves in recent weeks. This includes the takeover of Informark in Australian, increasing the participation in the Indian joint venture, ORG-GfK Marketing Services, to 40% and the acquisition of a 35% stake in M2A in France.
In Australia, Informark Pty Ltd now becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary of GfK Marketing Services Australia. The core business of Informark comprises surveys on goods deliveries from manufacturers to retailers in the consumer electronics, large and small household appliances and photographic markets. The institute also gathers market information on software and on storage media such as CD-ROMs, video and audio cassettes as well as information on semi-conductors.
Founded in 1989, the wholly-owned subsidiary is the number three in the Australian non-food tracking sector while GfK Marketing Services Australia is the market leader. With a staff complement of 14, Informark achieved total revenue of roughly EUR 0.7 million in financial year 2001.
The acquisition of Informark strengthens the GfK Group's position in Australia and New Zealand, enabling it to monitor the full supply chain covering goods-in, inventories and retail sales to end users. In future, the newly acquired company will trade under the name Informark-GfK.
Meanwhile in India, GfK has increased its stake in joint venture, ORG-GfK Marketing Services, from 26% to 40%. Part of the Non-Food Tracking division, the company monitors monthly retail sales in roughly 2,000 outlets for the consumer technology markets. The Bangalore based joint venture was set up in 1998 and employs a staff of 13. For financial year 2001, ORG-GfK Marketing Services achieved total revenue of around EUR 0.6 million.
Dr. Gérard Hermet, the Management Board member responsible for GfK`s global Non-Food Tracking business, commented 'We are delighted to have been able to acquire Informark in Australia and that we have increased our participation in ORG-GfK. These measures will further enhance our leading position in retail research for consumer technology markets in Asia and the Pacific.'
Closer to home, GfK, at the end of last month, took a 35% holding in French company M2A with retrospective effect to 1 January with a contractual agreement in place to increase this to 100%. Founded in Saint Aubin in 1984, the company carries out market research in the field of veterinary medicine. It is one of the leading companies in this sector in France and with its 14 employees the company achieved sales of around EUR 1.6 million in 2001.
According to Wilhelm Wessels, the GfK Management Board member responsible for the healthcare segment, 'the participation in M2A gives the GfK Group an excellent foothold in the veterinary sector in France. GfK is thereby expanding its offering in this market research segment by another major European market in addition to Germany, the UK and Ireland.'
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