NPD to Buy Yorkshire-Based Travel Retail MR Firm CiR

The NPD Group has signed an agreement to buy British travel retail research and analysis firm Counter Intelligence Retail (CiR) for an undisclosed sum. Closing is anticipated in early January.

Founded in 2005 by Garry Stasiulevicuis (pictured) and based in Yorkshire, CiR offers services such as passenger and shopper intercept interviews, an online panel covering more than 200 nationalities, in-airport and in-store passenger behaviour tracking, and international focus groups. It also offers the Business Lounge service providing industry data to support travel retail brand owners.

Following the buy, CiR's travel retail industry expertise will be combined with NPD's retail point-of-sale tracking experience and infrastructure. Michel Maury, Group President, Europe and Asia for NPD, says the firm is looking forward to adding travel retail to its portfolio, as well as giving additional information and insight to clients in related industries such as food and beverage, foodservice, luxury, beauty and accessories.

Stasiulevicuis says joining the NPD family of companies will give his business access to a new level of point-of-sale-data tracking expertise and a new platform for improved advisory services, 'something we're excited about bringing to travel retail to enhance our existing offer'. He continues: 'Like CiR, NPD has a heritage of industry expertise, and we are looking forward to working together to help guide our clients, existing and new, through a period of unprecedented change in our industry'.

Web sites: www.npdgroup.com and www.counterintelligenceretail.com .