improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . learn how and when to remove these template messages this article relies too much on references to primary sources . please improve this by adding secondary or tertiary sources . november 2013 learn how and when to remove this template message this article contains wording that promotes the subject in a subjective manner without imparting real information . please remove or replace such wording and instead of making proclamations about a subject s importance use facts and attribution to demonstrate that importance . november 2013 learn how and when to remove this template message this article contains content that is written like an advertisement . please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view . may 2013 learn how and when to remove this template message this article needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . may 2013 learn how and when to remove this template message learn how and when to remove this template message gfk se gfk group type societas europaea traded as fwb gfk industry market research founded 1934 1934 headquarters nuremberg germany operations in 100 countries key people matthias hartmann ceo david krajicek coo ce dr. gerhard hausruckinger coo cc and christian diedrich cfo revenue 3.5 billion 2014 net income 52.4 million 2014 website www.gfk.com the gfk se established in 1934 as gesellschaft f r konsumforschung society for consumer research is germany s largest market research institute and the fourth largest market research organisation in the world after nielsen company kantar group and ipsos . it was founded by an association of university teachers among them ludwig erhard later minister for economics and chancellor of germany . in april 2005 it acquired nop world based mostly in the united kingdom the united states and italy which was rated the ninth largest market research business in the world a move described by the company as the most important decision made by gfk since going public in 1999 . 1 in may 2008 it acquired an equity stake in deep packet inspection company qosmos in order to track and monitor internet usage for marketing research . 2 in december 2011 gfk acquired knowledge networks based in palo alto california the united states which does online research for consumer products and services pharmaceuticals retail media and public policy . kn s dimestore platform offers unique platform for measuring the effectiveness of digital ad campaign with simple surveys of streaming video ads that allows real time reporting also . contents 1 services 2 history by geographic region 2.1 germany 2.2 western and southern europe 2.3 central and eastern europe 2.4 asia and pacific 2.5 united states and north america 2.5.1 custom research in north america 2.5.2 retail and technology in north america 2.5.3 media in north america 2.5.4 health care in north america 3 financial performance 4 notes 5 external links services edit this section does not cite any sources . please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . march 2013 learn how and when to remove this template message the gfk group is an international market research organization providing services in the three sectors custom research retail and technology and media . the company s headquarters are in nuremberg germany . gfk is a joint stock company and traded on the frankfurt stock exchange . it is included in the sdax index . the group has a staff complement of 10 000 employees and their market research services cover more than 100 countries across the world . gfk offers information and consulting services in three sectors to companies in the consumer goods and pharmaceuticals industry retail media and the service sector product policy logistics and sales and marketing and advertising . gfk custom research the custom research sector specializes in operational and strategic marketing issues . the sources of information for the custom research sector are specific target groups of consumers and the medical profession . gfk retail and technology retailer pos data is the source for the retail and technology sector . the sector supplies clients with information and consulting services based on retail data from continuous surveys and analyses of sales of technical consumer goods and services in the retail sector in more than 80 countries worldwide . with the global production and reporting system startrack processing and delivery follows universal standards ; clients can access the resulting market information online . gfk retail and technology has also developed an index to track technical consumer goods markets in more than 30 countries worldwide called gfk temax technical market index . gfk etilize gfk etilize supplies product data to more resellers distributors manufacturers and website portals . media the media sector delivers information services on range intensity and nature of media usage and acceptance in more than 20 countries in europe and the usa . the data source for the media sector stems from the media point of media . the services are directed at clients from media companies agencies and the branded goods industry . the range of available services includes continuous as well as special one off studies and analyses . the data sources for the media sector come from tv radio print outdoor advertising and online . history by geographic region edit germany edit this section does not cite any sources . please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . may 2013 learn how and when to remove this template message the castle in the center of the university of erlangen nuremberg known to many simply as the schloss where gfk se was established in 1934 gfk is germany s oldest market research company established in 1934 at the university of erlangen nuremberg . in 1936 gfk se conducted the country s first brand study on the cross logo of pharmaceutical company bayer and a year later it published the first german purchasing power figures which are now also produced for the rest of europe and overseas . in the mid 1950s gfk joined the european frontrunners when it adopted consumer panel research after the research methodology first developed in the united states . it also began expanding its international network at an early stage and in 1960 gfk se co founded the europanel which together with british partner taylor nelson sofres tns conducts continuous studies of consumer purchasing patterns in 26 european countries . the gfk consumer climate study launched in germany during 1983 now covers britain denmark austria sweden and a series of central and eastern european countries . in 1985 gfk began producing german television ratings first for state owned broadcasters and later for the television research partnership agf . during september 2005 gfk se was a sponsor for the du bist deutschland you are germany advertising campaign the country s largest multimedia initiative to date aimed at enhancing germany s image . today gfk se has a market share of over 25 percent . germany continues to account for the largest share of gfk s annual sales . gfk geomarketing provides geo marketing services including business mapping software regiograph digital maps market data and consultancy services . the company s products and services include from the analysis and visualization of company and market data and identification of areas of untapped potential for the creation of more efficient sales territories and catchment areas . western and southern europe edit this section does not cite any sources . please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . may 2013 learn how and when to remove this template message gfk se began its international expansion into western and southern europe during 1960 by establishing a subsidiary in austria . in the late 1970s gfk set up further companies in the netherlands france and switzerland . gfk s retail and technology and media divisions are the regional market leaders with continuous television and radio audience research contracts in belgium france the netherlands and switzerland . the electronic measuring technology used in this type of media research was developed by gfk subsidiary telecontrol while gfk eurisko has also created a similar audience measurement tool for measuring radio audiences electronically . central and eastern europe edit gfk was among the first market research companies to move into central and eastern europe . the group opened its first office in the region before the fall of the iron curtain in 1989 in the form of gfk hung ria . this was only the second foreign owned company of any kind to be established in hungary and was followed in rapid succession by gfk polonia in warsaw gfk praha in the czech republic and gfk rus in russia . the region now comprises twenty companies in sixteen countries . as of 2006 gfk is the largest market research company in romania slovakia slovenia and ukraine ; the second largest in bulgaria croatia russia the czech republic and turkey ; and ranks third or fourth in bosnia herzegovina poland serbia and hungary . in 2005 the newly established gfk kazakhistan launched its custom research and consumer tracking operations . that same year russia s consumer protection association granted an award to gfk rus for its outstanding contribution to the creation of a modern consumer market . during january 2005 gfk belgrade received the coca cola company s strategic consumer insights award for excellence in marketing consultancy . of gfk s total sales for 2005 roughly 5.6 percent came from this region . 3 in 2007 gfk group acquired a 51 % majority shareholding in macedonia s biggest market research agency stratum research now trading as gfk skopje in macedonia . asia and pacific edit this section does not cite any sources . please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . may 2013 learn how and when to remove this template message the gfk group has been active in asia pacific for more than 25 years starting in japan where it acquired its first minority interest in 1985 . it now has subsidiaries in nearly all of the region s key economies including australia and new zealand . in 2005 gfk had subsidiaries in 15 countries and although gfk was only active in the retail and technology division until 2005 it was already the region s fifth largest market research company . in 2005 gfk launched its healthcare business in asia in the form of subsidiaries in singapore hong kong acquired sohealthasia in august 2005 and thailand as well as the former nop world company gfk healthcare in china . gfk marketing services china held its first client conference in shanghai on the theme of convergence and digitalization . this was attended by some 250 representatives of over fifty chinese and international retailers and manufacturers . in november 2007 gfk group acquired the optics panel from the nielsen company in japan . in 2008 gfk asia tracked the broader asian optics industry which includes contact lens ophthalmic lens spectacles frames and sunglasses . gfk also operates in india in partnership with the nielsen company indonesia malaysia philippines south korea taiwan vietnam australia and new zealand . united states and north america edit this section does not cite any sources . please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . may 2013 learn how and when to remove this template message the gfk group in the united states made its flotation in september 1999 . in the same year gfk custom research became the group s first u.s. research company