Nielsen Expands Strategic Relationship with Wawa as a Preferred Analytics Provider

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Apr 03, 2017, 12:05 ET

NEW YORK and WAWA, Pa., April 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Nielsen (NYSE: NLSN) and Wawa Inc., announced today an expansion and extension of their long standing relationship, with the renewal of contracted services for data insights and analytics. Nielsen will now cover metrics for all Wawa stores, which includes more than 730 convenience retail stores in Delaware, Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia. With this agreement, Nielsen expands its retainer of services and deepens its depth of regional coverage for Wawa stores within the Tampa, FL, Richmond/Fairfax, VA and Baltimore/Washington D.C., markets.

For more than a decade, Nielsen has been a core, strategic resource to Wawa. Nielsen's vast suite of products and services has supported Wawa's growth to become a leader in the convenience store channel. With the belief that convenience stores can offer more than chips and snack cakes, Wawa was a pioneer in bringing freshly made food to the c-store marketplace. Recognized as one of America's most beloved convenience stores, Wawa has built strong consumer equity around their fresh food philosophy. Today it holds a competitive, leading edge on the fresh food trend with their iconic, built-to-order hoagies, freshly brewed coffee and large fresh food service selection.

"Wawa has long been a great community convenience store and our work with Nielsen will allow us to continue to delight our customers, become more local and better understand the communities we serve," said Jason Homola, Wawa Director of Category Management. "In today's dynamic retail environment, our journey of continuous improvement in conjunction with our suppliers will become more effective with the help of Nielsen's rich analytics and insights."

As a preferred provider of analytics, Nielsen will help Wawa continue to grow its business and strong base of loyal consumers. Increased engagement with Nielsen's analytic pricing, assortment tools and services around retail execution, will enable Wawa to gain a deeper understanding of their customer and strengthen engagement with CPG manufacturers, consumers and their community. Expanded coverage will be opened up to the supplier community for better collaboration and real return on investment.

"We are excited to expand our longstanding relationship with Wawa," says Rob Hill, EVP, Retail Services. "The tides of convenience are changing to accommodate the increasingly time-strapped consumer and the omnichannel shopper. Nielsen's advanced analytics, expanded technology and insights will offer Wawa a comprehensive view of their markets allowing them to stay on top of changing trends in the industry."

About Wawa
Wawa, Inc., a privately held company, began in 1803 as an iron foundry in New Jersey and evolved into dairy farming in Wawa, Pa, in 1902, followed by the first Wawa Food Market in 1964 in Folsom, PA, Today, Wawa is famous for fresh, built-to-order foods, beverages, coffee, fuel services, and surcharge-free ATM's. A chain of more than 730 convenience retail stores (over 500 offering gasoline), Wawa stores are located in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and Florida. All stores offer a selection of fresh foods, including Wawa brands such as built-to-order hoagies, freshly brewed coffee, hot breakfast sandwiches, built-to-order Specialty Beverages, and an assortment of soups, sides and snacks.

About Nielsen
Nielsen Holdings plc (NYSE: NLSN) is a global performance management company that provides a comprehensive understanding of what consumers watch and buy. Nielsen's Watch segment provides media and advertising clients with Total Audience measurement services for all devices on which content — video, audio and text — is consumed. The Buy segment offers consumer packaged goods manufacturers and retailers the industry's only global view of retail performance measurement. By integrating information from its Watch and Buy segments and other data sources, Nielsen also provides its clients with analytics that help improve performance. Nielsen, an S&P 500 company, has operations in over 100 countries, covering more than 90% of the world's population. For more information, visit www.nielsen.com.

SOURCE Nielsen