The NPD Group Hires Ross Rubin as Director of Industry Analysis for NPD Techworld

PORT WASHINGTON, NEW YORK, March 1, 2004 - The NPD Group today announced the appointment of Ross Rubin to director of industry analysis for NPD Techworld, the company's technology tracking division. Rubin will focus his efforts on the consumer electronics sector and will work closely with Stephen Baker, NPD's current director of industry analysis for information technology.

Rubin comes to NPD from eMarketer, where he wrote research reports on topics such as home networking and digital music. Prior to eMarketer, Rubin was a vice president and chief research fellow at Jupiter Media Metrix, where he founded and managed the consumer access and technology group and developed Jupiter’s research report format. Before Jupiter, he held IT analyst positions at Salomon Brothers and McKinsey & Company.

"We're pleased to bring in someone with Ross's experience and background," said Sima Vasa, president, NPD Techworld.  "NPD's reputation as a leader in marketing information has enabled us to attract the industry's best for the benefit of our clients and Ross is no exception.  He's a well-known and well-respected thought leader, and his appointment represents NPD's commitment to our clients and the industries we serve."

In addition to being a featured speaker at many industry conferences, including CES, Comdex, and E3, Rubin has been extensively quoted in the media and has written or contributed to 11 books and over 150 articles on consumer technology for publications such as eWEEK, Internet World, PC/Computing, Information Week, and MacUser. Rubin served as founding editor of Ziff Davis's Wireless Supersite, where he wrote a twice-weekly column.

"Integrating behavioral and attitudinal consumer perspectives enables NPD to offer holistic insight into dynamic markets," said Rubin. "I am delighted to be joining NPD Techworld as the convergence between PCs and consumer electronics presents exciting new business opportunities. I look forward to helping our clients -- the world's foremost technology companies -- improve consumers' lives by offering products and services that have been enhanced by using Techworld's rich market intelligence."

About The NPD Group, Inc.
Since 1967 The NPD Group has provided reliable and comprehensive sales and marketing information for a wide range of industries. NPD provides critical knowledge on what is selling, where, to whom and why to help our clients make more successful, fact-based business decisions. Today more than 1,300 manufacturers and retailers rely on NPD to help them better understand their customers, product categories, distribution channels and competition in order to help guide their business and positively impact sales and revenues. Information from The NPD Group is available for the following major vertical sectors: apparel, appliances, automotive, beauty, cellular, consumer electronics, food and beverage, foodservice, footwear, home improvement, housewares, imaging, information technology, music, software, travel, toys and video games. For more information visit www.npd.com.

About NPD Techworld^®
NPD Techworld^®, a division of The NPD Group, provides sales and marketing information for manufacturers, retailers and distributors in the consumer electronics, information technology hardware, software and cellular industries. NPD Techworld provides the most accurate market intelligence available, including what is selling, where, to whom and why. NPD Techworld combines an unparalleled view of consumer purchasing with critical insight on commercial purchasing for a complete picture of the technology market. Information is delivered online in a secure, Web-based environment by easy-to-use tools that make information accessible and actionable to a wide range of users from executives to sales and marketing to research. Today, more than 95 percent of market-leading companies in the tech industry rely on NPD Techworld for the knowledge they need to drive better, more fact-based decision making.

For more information:
Jarad J. Smith
jarad_smith@npd.com
703-376-6226

David M. Riley
david_riley@npd.com
516-625-2277