GfK Buys French Agricultural Specialist

GfK has acquired French agricultural tracking specialist TerrEtude, and will integrate it into its GfK Kynetec France subsidiary from this July.

TerrEtude was founded in 1988 as Philippe de Vregille Consultants, and is based in Mouchamps, near Nantes in western France. Its services, including syndicated tracking studies for agrochemicals, fertilizers, seeds and seed treatment products, will now be aligned with GfK's portfolio of 'similar' syndicated and custom research solutions, which spans seventeen countries.

Dr. Gerhard Hausruckinger, COO Consumer Choices at GfK, says TerrEtude is 'the perfect addition' to reinforce his company's position, adding: 'France is one of the key crop protection and seed markets in the world.'

MD de Vregille says his team will bring 'a strong understanding of the key issues our customers are facing in their businesses', and comments: 'We are very confident that this knowledge will positively contribute to the future activities of GfK in this market. In addition, our panel can now be leveraged by the entire GfK customer base that is active in the relevant businesses.'

The global group's home page is at www.gfk.com ; TerrEtude is at www.terretude.com .