ACNielsen Signs Family Dollar to Information-Sharing Agreement; Sales Information and Analysis for Leading Dollar Store Retailer Now Available from ACNielsen.

Business Editors

SCHAUMBURG, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 20, 2004

ACNielsen U.S., an operating unit of ACNielsen, a VNU business, today announced a new information sharing alliance with Family Dollar Stores, Inc. (NYSE:FDO), one of the largest dollar store retailers in the country with over 5,200 locations in 43 states. Under the agreement, ACNielsen will be able to provide Family Dollar vendors with new insights into their sales performance at Family Dollar and the competitive dynamics within the retailer's custom geographies. Family Dollar will also utilize ACNielsen products and services for sales analysis, consumer insights, and merchandising management.

John Scanlon, Family Dollar senior vice president, Hardlines Merchandising & Marketing, said, "Our success is based on a very aggressive focus on understanding our shoppers and delivering great value to them. This agreement with ACNielsen supports that approach by providing us with new shopper insights and new levels of efficiency with our supplier relationships."

With ACNielsen's new account-level release of Family Dollar sales information, manufacturers that work with the retailer can better understand their products' performance in Family Dollar and in comparison to sales of competing products in the custom-defined markets where Family Dollar competes.

Also under the agreement, Family Dollar will utilize numerous ACNielsen information services. The ACNielsen Homescan(R) consumer panel suite of syndicated tools will provide new insights into Family Dollar's shoppers; ACNielsen Spaceman(R) software will help Family Dollar merchandise its products most effectively; and Family Dollar will use ACNielsen NITRO software to access its point-of-sale data housed in a customized ACNielsen Retail Warehouse Solution and to easily import the data into Microsoft Office documents. Additionally, two ACNielsen analysts will provide full-time on-site support to Family Dollar.

Dan Sacco, senior vice president, ACNielsen Retail Client Service, said, "We are thrilled to have formed this agreement with Family Dollar. We look forward to helping this successful retailer add additional momentum to its plan for continued rapid growth. And we are pleased to be the conduit between Family Dollar and its many suppliers, providing a common understanding of category and brand performance within Family Dollar's custom markets."

ACNielsen, a VNU business, is the world's leading marketing information provider. Offering services in more than 100 countries, the unit 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.