Palmer Market Research with its influential Palmer Reports is to make a return after five years’ absence following the acquisition of the brand and other assets by the Glass & Glazing Federation.
The reports ceased in 2017 with the retirement of founder Robert Palmer, some 35 years after it they first appeared. The GGF says they left “a profound vacuum felt by felt by marketeers, business owners and executives throughout the window, door and glass sectors that Palmer covered so comprehensively for almost four decades.”
The Federation, announcing the deal this week adds that the package includes the Palmer Market Research brand, its back catalogue and such devices as the research methodology.
GGF Group chief development officer Anda Gregory said: “Palmer Market Research has long been a key source of market data for the industry, with the later reports still widely used to form opinion and strategy by many businesses and professional organisations.
“The excellent reputation still held by Palmer, coupled with the methodology used to put the research together and an extensive library and back catalogue, led us to bring the company into the GGF fold. It brings a further key asset into the GGF Group’s commitment to becoming a highly dependable source of factual data and research for the glass and glazing industries.”
Established in 1982 by Robert Palmer, ‘Palmer Reports’ provided the glass and glazing industry with a series of research documents on which thousands of new products have been prepared for market.
The acquisition by the GGF adds to the recent publication of its Group Market Knowledge Report, pictured, compiled from Fensa installation data recorded since January 2018, data input from British Fenestration Ratings Council (BFRC) and with insights provided by GGF experts.
Robert Palmer said: “In our discussions the GGF has shared its plans to become a major source of research and data for all sectors of the glass and glazing industry and will build upon the ethos by which Palmer Reports were produced for almost 40 years. I have been most impressed. To produce such material in the current era requires significant resources and commitment and I believe the GGF has those in abundance.”
Group MD John Agnew advised that prior to the data being transferred with the acquisition, it was requested that all company data showing business performance was anonymised to provide reassurance to businesses over the use and security of their data. GDPR regulations are strictly followed for all data processed and published by the GGF: “We always follow the strictest guidelines to ensure GDPR compliance,” insisted John. “Within these rules, we believe it is our duty and responsibility as the primary group of representative organisations for the UK glass and glazing industries, to provide our members with the tools to be competitive in increasingly tough markets.”
Anda Gregory summed up “Our intention is to take the very best of the Palmer Report and the insight and valuable data it gave to our industry, and combine it with our existing Group’s knowledge and expert insight, to produce a way for companies in our industry to understand what’s happening in the market in a modern, relevant and easy-to-digest way.”
