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October 2005 Issue 36 |
NPD in the News
Following is a selection of recent news articles that referenced information from The NPD Group or NPD expert commentary.
Comcast Crashes the PartyVariety Magazine*(October 9, 2005)
If the "Virgin" DVD gets to the stores in mid-December, Comcast's pay-per-view would most likely begin in late-January/early February. Russ Crupnick, media analyst with the NPD Group, a marketing/research company, dubs this strategy "instant rental with ownership."
The Year of the Bag
The New York Times* (October 6, 2005)
"It seems that each year what we're seeing in the women's fashion luxury market there has been a migration from one category to the next," said Marshal Cohen, the chief retail analyst for NPD Group, a market research firm in Port Washington, N.Y. "A few years ago it was shoes. Last year it was jeans. This is the year of the handbag."
Apple Readying iPod for Video?
Bloomberg/Newsday (October 6, 2005)
“The portable video market is somewhat similar to what the portable digital music market was like before Apple entered - a couple of different players, relatively low volumes, a plethora of different formats," said Ross Rubin, an analyst with NPD Group in Port Washington. "There's an opportunity for someone to tie it all together - the software, the hardware, the services."
Tech Dominates List of Predicted Hot-Selling Toys
USA Today * (Oct. 5, 2005)
Toy watcher Anita Frazier, analyst with NPD Funworld, says, however, "anything can still happen" since the holiday season accounts for nearly 50% of industry sales. It won't be easy. "It's going to take continued, concerted effort on the part of toy manufacturers to innovate and stay ahead of kids' tastes and trends," Frazier says.
Percentage of Overweight Americans Stable
USA Today (October 3, 2005)
A new survey by the NPD Group, a leading market research firm based in Rosemont, Ill., shows that about 62% of adults and 34% of children are overweight or obese, a percentage that has been virtually the same since 2001, says NPD vice president Harry Balzer. "I'm not saying we're getting skinnier, but no more of us are becoming overweight."
