Mumbai, July 9: AC Nielsen Research Pvt Ltd will invest over US $1 million in India to achieve market leadership in the next five years. "Indian market research is growing at a healthy pace of 18-20 per cent annually," said company managing director south-east Asia region Bienvenido C Niles Jr.Niles was in Mumbai to announce the acquisition of full ownership by AC Nielsen Corporation in AC Nielsen Research Services Pvt Ltd, its operating company in India. In December, the $1.4-billion research major picked up 70 per cent stake in an Indian research agency, Market Research Advisory services (MRAS). AC Nielsen has now picked up the remaining 30 per cent stake held by former MRAS executives.
Having acquired the customised research business of MRAS, AC Nielsen has announced its decision to extend retail measurement and media measurement services to India. These services, which form its core businesses in 90 countries worldwide, will compete with ORG-MARG for business in the Rs 150-crore commercial marketresearch in India.
The company's media services joint venture firm with Kantar India Ltd is setting up a television audience measurement (TAM) panel. The TAM service is proposed to be the largest sampling -- 5,500 metered homes across 95 towns and 200 villages. In retail measurement services the company plans to cover only the FMCG categories initially.
AC Nielsen on Thursday strongly denied reports that the company was closing down offices in China and Japan. "On the contrary we are expanding our services to China," said managing director Partha Rakshit. In terms of TV people meter services, the research agency is at present operating in Shanghai and is expanding to 9 more towns. "We continue to be the largest research agency in China," Rakshit said.
In Japan, it has recently consolidated its three companies ASI Market Research, ASI Meditech and AC Nielsen Japan which has resulted in closing of the physical premises of these two companies, Rakshit clarified. The research company has exposure in 11Asian markets from Australia to Japan.
Last week, AC Nielsen launched Eyewitness Asia, a product specially developed for the Asian markets in Mumbai. Eyewitness will monitor the impact of the economic crisis in the region in each market on 20 product categories in terms of value sales, average price and advertising expenditure.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
