“The move by JB Hi-Fi and Retravision WA is set to affect the accuracy of the data that GFK is currently selling in Australia,” the marketing director of a major consumer electronics brand has said. Gary Lamb, the Managing Director of GFK in Australia, has refused to comment on the decision. A senior executive of Retravision WA said, “We will allow GFK to collect data in the future from our stores.” The decision by mass consumer electronics retailers to ban the German company comes as retailers fight to deliver a competitive edge. Mark Whittard, the Managing Director of Toshiba, said, “The decision by the retailers to stop GFK from collecting data will over time have an impact on the accuracy of the data sold to vendors. JB Hi-Fi is a major retailer and its sales data is important.” JB Hi-Fi Marketing Director Scott Browning claims that doing business with GFK is a “high risk”. Mr Browning said, “The information we have is confidential and while we do not mind sharing it with suppliers, we do not want to share it with GFK. You could say that we are moving to the dark side and that suits us because the Australian market is small and we are growing. “Last year we grew 30 per cent and we do not want tier two or three competitors getting access to what we see as valuable information. It’s high risk dealing with GFK. We are very competitive and it is hard to justify doing business with them,” he said. Data from GFK Retail and Technology is expensive, with the company in 2009 moving to issue weekly data in an effort to increase their revenues. Several vendors who have contacted ChannelNews claim that they are well aware that another major retail chain on top of the two we have exposed is set to “pull the plug” on GFK. “What they should now be doing is slashing the prices that they charge for their research,” said a media centre manufacturer. GFK collects point-of-sale data from the likes of JB Hi-Fi and Retravision in more than 80 countries, including Australia. This forms the basis of its core research. Its StarTrack reporting platform compiles this data and provides retailers, manufacturers and industry executives with comparable market reporting information at both country and international level. |
