NPD Brings In Sports Retail Research Veteran

Consumer specialist The NPD Group has appointed Matt Powell as Vice President, Industry Analysis for Sports and Leisure Trends.

A year ago, NPD acquired the retail sales tracking and consumer research business of sports and recreation specialist Leisure Trends. The resulting business, NPD Sports and Leisure Trends, now provides a comprehensive view of the sports, outdoor and recreation marketplace, tracking retail sales and consumer trends across apparel, footwear and equipment for running, outdoor, fitness, cycling and snow sports categories.

Powell (pictured) joins with more than 40 years' experience in the retail and research industries, having held both client and vendor side roles. On the client side, he has worked for sporting goods retailers such as Modell's Sporting Goods, Sneaker Stadium, and MVP.com, while agency side he was an analyst at SportsOneSource.

Dennis Brown, Group President, Americas Practices, comments: 'Having Matt join our team is a game changer. His analytical, strategic, and marketplace expertise is invaluable to NPD as we continue to expand our reach within the sports and recreation industries.'

Web site: www.npd.com .