Maritz Marketing Research Inc. Acquires Basis-Kontakt in Hamburg, Germany
26 June 2000
Maritz Marketing Research Inc. Acquires Basis-Kontakt in Hamburg, Germany
ST. LOUIS, June 26 Maritz Marketing Research Inc.
announced today the acquisition of Basis-Kontakt, headquartered in Hamburg,
Germany. Basis-Kontakt is a full-service marketing research firm providing
high-level consulting, research design, data collection and other services
throughout Germany, Austria and German-speaking Switzerland.
The terms of the acquisition were not made public; Basis-Kontakt's 1999
revenues were $3 million.
"Maritz is excited about the addition of Basis-Kontakt to its family of
outstanding research professionals," said Tim Rogers, president of Maritz
Marketing Research Inc. "Germany is a key market for many of our customers,
and they need high-quality research there and around the globe. Basis-
Kontakt's tradition of leading-edge research design and their commitment to
service quality fit perfectly with our performance improvement focus."
Laurence Curtis, head of Maritz Marketing Research's European operations
added, "Apart from strengthening our European offering, the alliance of our
companies in the UK with Basis-Kontakt is an almost perfect strategic fit. We
have, for the past few years, worked as partners on a large number of market
research projects in the fields of automotive, health care and mystery
shopping," he said. "Due to the strong operational, cultural and ethical fit
between our organizations, working together has always been fruitful."
The strong management team led by Joachim Stienemeier and Stephan Thun
will remain with the organization and direct its operations. "We are pleased
to become a part of the Maritz organization," said Stienemeier. "One of the
most significant benefits will be access to innovative Maritz products and
services for Basis-Kontakt clients. Also, we will have access to extended
staff resources and specialized capabilities in international markets."
Thun added, "In addition, one of the most important elements in our
consideration was the extensive resources of Maritz Marketing Research Inc.
The company ranks as one of the largest research firms in the world and is a
global leader in automotive research, which is also a key field of activity at
Basis-Kontakt. Additionally, as a world leader in customer
satisfaction/customer loyalty research, Maritz offers a wide range of products
that perfectly fit the core strengths of Basis-Kontakt and the needs of our
clients," he said. "We are pleased and proud to introduce these products to,
and customize them for, our clients, both on a local and global basis."
Headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, Basis-Kontakt offers a full range of
qualitative and quantitative research, including large-scale surveys, focus
groups, in-depth interviews, mystery shopping studies, and customer
satisfaction services. It also offers both CATI and CAPI interviewing. The
firm maintains a field force of 1,100 interviewers and has specially trained
staffs for automotive, pharmaceutical and business-to-business research.
Maritz Marketing Research Inc. had global sales of $175 million in 1999
and employs nearly 900 professionals worldwide. It is a full-service agency
conducting marketing research in North America, Central and Latin America,
Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific region.