GfK Brand Disappearing as NIQ Integration Continues

Consumer intelligence giants NIQ and GfK appear to be approaching a closer integration, sixteen months on from announcing the 'completion' of their merger, with the separate GfK web site gone in the last few days.

Having cleared a last regulatory hurdle by selling GfK's European Consumer Panel business to YouGov last summer, the global firms announced their merger was complete, with the combined business to be led by NIQ CEO Jim Peck and branded as providing clients with 'the Full View of consumer intelligence'.

According to NIQ, the combination of the two firms joins 'world-class FMCG and consumer tech & durables measurement' for 'a powerful view of the total store and the total consumer', with 'more data from more categories, countries, and consumers than anyone else'. The combined firm has operations in more than 95 countries measuring 97% of the world's GDP, and nearly 25,000 clients.

Announcements during October said the two firms were still 'on a journey to fully integrate our organizations', but suggested the two web sites were 'now one': and although at the time they weren't, the only sign we can find of the once-mighty German brand as of tonight is the strapline 'Powered by GfK Intelligence' in various places on the combined, niq.com site.

Clients are promised 'enhanced offerings and new ways of working', centralized access to the firms' new combined portfolio of solutions and can 'look forward to unified platforms and technology in the future'. The firms note that 'Clients should not expect significant business disruption' - GfK contracts will run their current course, and 'legacy GfK contacts' can be reached at first.last[at]nielseniq.com.

GfK was founded as GfK-Nürnberg Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung e. V. in 1934 by university lecturers from Nuremberg, among them the future German Minister of Economic Affairs and Federal Chancellor Ludwig Erhard. A tour of DRNO articles about the company, charting the main events in its life from 2001 onwards for those of a nostalgic bent, will appear in the next few days.