ACNielsen Signs CVS to Category Business Planner Contract; First Upgrades to Industry-Leading Category Management Tool Also Announced.

Business Editors

SCHAUMBURG, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 9, 2002

ACNielsen U.S., an operating unit of ACNielsen, a VNU company, today announced an agreement with CVS/Pharmacy in which the retailer will utilize Category Business Planner (CBP), ACNielsen's new Web-based category management intelligence system. In addition, ACNielsen U.S. announced the release of Category Business Planner version 1.1, which incorporates numerous enhancements to the system.

Category Business Planner is the only tool in the consumer packaged goods industry to provide sales information based on each retailer's unique category definitions, which fosters greatly enhanced collaboration between retailers and manufacturers when they meet to develop category plans. Clients access the system through the Internet, receiving instant analysis in the form of "news headlines" pertaining to key category management metrics. Users simply click on a headline for more details.

CVS, which operates more than 4,100 stores in 32 states and the District of Columbia, joins a fast-growing list of retailers that have announced plans to use Category Business Planner, including SUPERVALU, Meijer, Bruno's, Walgreens, and Hannaford Bros.

"We are very pleased that CVS has decided to utilize Category Business Planner," said Dan Sacco, senior vice president of Retail Services and Business Development for ACNielsen. "More and more of our clients--both retailers and manufacturers--are seeing that this tool facilitates much faster, more effective category management decision-making."

Also today, ACNielsen U.S. announced that Category Business Planner has been upgraded to version 1.1. Among the new version's productivity improvements, all of which were made based on user feedback, the product now displays not only sales by brand and brand owner, but also by parent company.

Lori Tanking, vice president, marketing, ACNielsen Retail Business Solutions, said, "Our clients are telling us that Category Business Planner is the most powerful, yet easy to use, category management tool they've ever worked with. And that's no surprise, since it was designed based on their direct input. We will continue to roll out enhancements to CBP as we get feedback about what would make our users' work even easier."

Because CPB is a Web-based product, upgrades occur seamlessly, with no downtime for users and no software to install.

ACNielsen, a VNU company, is the world's leading marketing information company. Offering services in more than 100 countries, the company provides measurement and analysis of marketplace dynamics and consumer attitudes and behavior. Clients rely on ACNielsen's market research, proprietary products, analytical tools and professional service to understand competitive performance, to uncover new opportunities and to raise the profitability of their marketing and sales campaigns.

Note to Editors: Look for this press release and other ACNielsen news on the Internet at http://acnielsen.com/news. More information about Category Business Planner can be found at www.acnielsen.com/cbp.