SUPPLIERS GET DAILY DATA ON PATHMARK STORE SALES

LISA A. TIBBITTS

NORTHFIELD, Ill. -- Brand marketers supplying Pathmark Stores, Woodbridge, N.J., can now access the retailer's daily sales data for their categories.

Nielsen North America here and Efficient Market Services, Deerfield, Ill., have signed a multi-year agreement with Pathmark to provide the retailer with software and information services to support its category management and Efficient Consumer Response initiatives. The supermarket chain will also be supplied with daily store-specific scanner data.

Using the data supplied by Nielsen and EMS, manufacturers will be able to evaluate sales and promotions on a daily, store-specific basis.

By subscribing to EMS' Quick Response Mailbox, an on-line computer service, Pathmark can call up daily sales figures for each item carried. A Nielsen/EMS representative will be on site at Pathmark to provide merchandising analysis and technical consulting.

This year, Nielsen and EMS announced a partnership to develop category management applications using EMS' daily store information.

In addition to Pathmark's 145 units, EMS gathers information from some 2,000 stores. Other participating retailers are Kroger Co., Homeland Stores, Abco Foods, H-E-B Grocery Co., Save Mart Supermarkets, Eagle Food Centers, King Soopers and Dillons Food Stores.