GfK adds 2,200 Bridgestone shops to POS panel

NEW YORK (Nov. 9, 2016) — German market research firm GfK Group has recruited Bridgestone Americas — along with its network of 2,200-plus U.S. tire and automotive service centers — as a charter data provider for GfK's U.S. point-of-sale tire panel, which it expects to launch early next year.

GfK, which introduced its first retail panel in Germany 16 years ago, last year hired John Gamauf, former president of consumer aftermarket sales for Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire, in a consulting role on its U.S. tire panel project.

Like previous panels GfK has established, the U.S. version will collect point-of-sale sell-out data from retailers and deliver back aggregated reports to participating dealers, detailing key sales metrics like trends in national and regional pricing and the performance of various brands in the market.

GfK emphasized that individual dealership data are not presented in these reports. Rather, their data serve as raw material to extrapolate the tire market as a whole and give participants a way to benchmark and optimize their performance.

In joining the program as a data provider, Bridgestone Retail Operations also will be among the first subscribers to GfK's nationwide tire data. GfK also has recruited more than 1,000 independent U.S. tire stores to the panel and is continuing to expand its membership.

There is no fee required to join the program or receive market reports, Neil Portnoy, managing director of GfK's POS tracking businesses in North America, told Tire Business.

According to GfK, manufacturers will be able to buy custom and syndicated reports from the tire panel database. The revenue from this will both cover the cost of running the panel and allow tire makers to make more informed decisions about product development, promotional support, inventory management and marketing based on sell-through trends.

“Throughout my career in consumer packaged goods, point-of-sale data and national trends information were essential drivers of our decision-making for product development, marketing and promotion,” said TJ Higgins, president, integrated consumer tire group, Bridgestone Americas.

“We see the GfK point-of-sale panel and database as game changers for the tire industry. We are excited to work with GfK on this project as they have a track record of building the highest quality panels and making marketplaces more efficient.”

GfK is one of the world's leading research companies, with approximately 13,000 experts “working to discover new insights into the way people live, think and shop” in more than 100 markets. The firm, which was founded in 1934 in Nuremberg, Germany, operates POS tire retail panels in 29 countries globally.

GfK also maintains U.S. POS panels representing more than 11,000 pet specialty retail outlets and upwards of 33,000 contact lens merchants, it said.