2 Market Research Firms Opening O.C. Branch Offices
IRVINE — A pair of market research companies have chosen Orange County as the site for their new branch offices.
OmniTrack Group Inc. of Honolulu and InfoPlan International Inc. of Tucson, Ariz., are each scheduled to open offices in Irvine and hire local market researchers and account executives in the next few weeks.
OmniTrack, an international firm that specializes in market research on Japanese tourist habits and studies of the food industry, said it will begin operations at its first mainland office in January.
Patricia M. Loui, president of the 10-year-old company, said she picked Orange County because several of OmniTrack’s major clients are based here, including Taco Bell and Robert Spencer & Associates Inc., an Irvine political consulting firm.
She said the office, in addition to serving existing customers, will target large corporations and government agencies interested in luring Japanese tourists, contracts or investments.
“We initially looked for offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco, but we decided on Orange County because our studies show that a growing number of Japanese companies are locating their operations here,†she said. “We see a lot of business potential for us here.â€
OmniTrack, which has more than 100 employees in Thailand, Guam and Honolulu, publishes a monthly, Japanese Tourist Report, which tracks the number of Japanese citizens visiting the United States and their buying habits.
OmniTrack has also done market research for the Sheraton Hotels; DFS Group Ltd., formerly Duty Free Shoppers; the Disneyland Hotel; Avis Inc.; and Citibank’s Asian division. Its Japanese clients have included the Mitsukoshi department store chain and Nippon Car Rental Inc.
InfoPlan, which conducts customer satisfaction surveys by mail for small- and mid-size companies, has recently leased office space and plans to hire 12 account executives within the next 10 months.
Mark Waks, president of the Irvine office, said his firm will be affiliated with eight other InfoPlan offices nationwide.
“We charge between $2,500 to $7,500 per survey, which makes it affordable for small business owners,†he said.
InfoPlan’s clients have included Kwik-Copy Corp., a franchiser of instant print shops based in Cypress, Tex., and Century Products Co., a manufacturer of children’s car seats, strollers and high chairs in Macedonia, Ohio.
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