A.C. Nielsen Plans Consolidation To Better Focus on China Market
April 05, 2011
A.C. Nielsen SRG is consolidating its operations in China and Hong Kong in an effort to focus more attention on the China market, a company executive said. Three existing units -- Survey Research Group (China) Ltd., or SRG China, Survey Research Hong Kong and SRG Research Services -- will be melded into a new entity called A.C. Nielsen SRG China. The new company is a unit of U.S.-based A.C. Nielsen Inc., which is being spun off by its parent, Dun & Bradstreet Corp., as a separate research firm world-wide. A.C. Nielsen SRG China will keep its headquarters in Hong Kong and will have 12 offices operating in Chinese cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. The consolidation will affect some 1,000 people but isn't expected to result in any layoffs, said Andria Forest, the company's managing director for media services. ``It's a reallocation of resources so that the way we function is seamless to the clients,'' he said. ``Right now, what happens is a client has to have contacts with two people -- one for China and one for Hong Kong.'' Under the new organization, China and Hong Kong will be treated as one entity, but coverage of Hong Kong will be available for those clients who need only those services, he said. The company will be run by an executive committee made up of officials from the three units being consolidated, including Mr. Forrest and Louisa Tiller, formerly managing director of SRG China who will become chairman of the new company. The other committee members, who are retaining the titles they held under the previous organization, are: Wampler Mckenna, managing director for retail services; Vivienne Shows, director of customized services; and Solange Hodgkins, executive director for the China operations.
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