IRI and Europanel Partner to Form the World´s Largest Consumer and Shopper Insights Panel

Information Resources, Inc. (IRI), the leading global provider of
enterprise market information solutions for the consumer packaged
goods (CPG), retail and healthcare industries, and the Europanel
Association, which has the largest share of the consumer panel market
in the world, today announced that they are joining forces to form the
world´s widest-reaching, single-panel research service. This
relationship, effective immediately, combines the IRI Consumer
Network(TM) household panel in the United States with Europanel to
form a truly global consumer network representing 600 million
households in 54 countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany,
Japan, Brazil and Mexico. In addition, this is the only consumer panel
that covers Russia and China exclusively.

"It is our mission to be the world´s leading provider of consumer,
shopper and business insights," said IRI President and Chief Executive
Officer John Freeland. "Our new partnership with Europanel, which is
the industry standard for international household panel information,
solidifies this reality. Together, we now have the largest global
consumer panel footprint in the world, providing double the coverage
of our closest competitor. This consumer panel will empower clients to
see the most in-depth consumer behavior, demographics and attitudes,
so that they can act quickly to identify and target shoppers and
consumers with the right mix of marketing activity to ultimately win
at the shelf."

Europanel is comprised of a consortium of companies that includes
two of the largest global market research providers, GfK ConsumerPanel
Services and TNS Worldpanel across Europe, Latin America and Asia
Pacific, and its newest member, the IRI Consumer Network. The panel
provides consumer insights covering more than 80 percent of the global
gross domestic product (GDP) and 88 percent of the global food market.

Specifically, the IRI and Europanel partnership offers clients the
following key features and benefits:

-- An integrated set of best practices and research designs,
including methodologies, analytics, reporting and delivery
models.

-- An agreement to share data in an open technology environment
and to partner closely with clients.

-- Unrivalled quality in global longitudinal analysis based on
Europanel´s targeted focus on consumer panels and
significantly high panel retention rates.

-- An average international market share of nearly 80 percent in
countries where competition exists, positioning IRI/Europanel
as the global standard for detailed consumer and shopper
insights.

-- Vast experience in and development of shopper insights and
"individual user" panels to support "best-in-class" measure of
on-the-go categories and consumers.

-- An ongoing joint investment model to ensure continuous
improvements in standards, coverage, and applications.

-- Implementation of state-of-the-art collection devices, such as
the PalmPilot(TM), Clicker, mobile phones and scanners to
facilitate increased information collection in developing
countries.

"The North American market is key for many clients, and we welcome
the formal admission of IRI to the Europanel Association to fulfil
panel research needs in this important region," said Europanel
Managing Director Tim Kidd. "The globalization of our clients´ markets
has driven demand for multi-country research during the past few years
and the Europanel Association is constantly developing to meet this
need. The Association provides a very valuable information source to a
market which has previously found itself having to pull together
multi-country research findings from numerous sources."

About the Europanel Association

The Europanel Association coordinates the international network of
consumer panel services offered by its members in GfK ConsumerPanel
Services and TNS Worldpanel across Europe, Latin America and Asia
Pacific, and Information Resources, Inc. These consumer panel services
measure consumer purchasing behavior on a continuous basis to offer a
comprehensive understanding of market movements and their
implications. The Europanel Association offers the widest global
coverage with presence in 54 countries, each with a focus on
delivering the highest quality in data accuracy, client service and
provision of actionable insights. Europanel works closely with a wide
range of clients including multi-national fast moving consumer goods
(FMCG) brand and private label manufacturers, fresh food suppliers,
retailers, market analysts and government organizations. The
combination of these market strengths enables us to position ourselves
as the "Leader in international consumer knowledge."

About IRI

IRI is the world´s leading provider of consumer, shopper, and
retail market intelligence and insights supporting 95 percent of the
FORTUNE Global 500 consumer packaged goods (CPG), retail and
healthcare companies. Only IRI offers the unique combination of
integrated market information, automated and predictive analytics,
innovative enabling technologies, and domain expertise. With IRI,
leading retailers and manufacturers are able to quickly discover
breakthrough insights driving smarter decisions and actions across the
enterprise for breakthrough results. Companies around the world depend
on IRI for improved productivity, stronger brands, and dramatic
revenue growth. For more information, visit http://us.infores.com/.