Top Company Information Sources
By John Latham
John Latham is a senior list manager at the UK office of blue pages one of the world's longest established mailing list companies, with over 100 offices all over the globe. In this article he explains how blue pages go about obtaining the information required to build their top company databases
Many sources of information are available. These are listed below starting with those sources which give the maximum amount of information from which it would be sensible to choose a company for a project. If brief details only are required, consult the directories and yearbooks listed in the final section.
It is a common misunderstanding that it is possible to find details of companies operations, personnel policies, marketing strategies, IT systems etc., either in some of the sources below, or on the Internet. This is far from the case. Much of the information is sensitive and therefore confidential, and companies do not want to make it public. A few brief details can be found for some companies if you look in the section below on books on companies. The best that can usually be done is to look at the whole range of news and analysis in the electronic sources below to try to piece together what the company is doing. Often, the information is far too sparse to help in some areas of operation. Occasionally it may be possible to find a case study in an academic journal which covers some aspects of company policies, but this is unusual.
Electronic sources
Thomson Gale (previously Infotrac) (Available via the Internet)
Subscriptions are available to two of the databases on the Thomson Gale host:
Contains over 3,400,000 million reports from analysts in investment banks, stockbroker firms etc. on companies, industries, markets and countries dating back to 1995. Analysts reports are based on all published information, and often on personal contacts with executives in companies. All aspects of company management may be reviewed, and the market and competitors. These are a vital source of information for anyone studying a company, and should always be used.
This database contains abstracts or the full text of news items on companies, industries and markets from over 1,000 world business and trade journals and newspapers, translated into English if necessary. The abstracts are intended to be a complete surrogate for the original, which would usually be unobtainable. It covers the whole world. There is a three year rolling file of information. Before that date, consult the quality newspapers, particularly the Financial Times (see below).
BUSINESS SOURCE COMPLETE (Available via the Internet)
Clicking on the "Company Profiles" button at the top of the search screen provides access to Datamonitor company profiles. These can give information on company activities, history, key employees, locations etc., and sometimes a SWOT analysis. Searching the whole database by company name also retrieves many news articles from specialist trade journals.
NEWSPAPERS ON PROQUEST DIRECT (Available via the internet)
The Financial Times in particular, but also all other UK quality newspapers, are excellent sources of company news. All are now available back to 1995/96 via Proquest Direct. The Financial Times and some others are available beyond those dates on CD-ROM.
FAME (CD-ROM on the network, available via the internet)
Provides details of over 100,000 UK companies with a turnover in excess of £700,000, or with profits over £50,000. Addresses, telephone numbers, activities, directors, parent and subsidiary relationships, and approximately 150 accounting items, including ratios for the past five years are given. A variety of graphs may be produced from the accounting information. Searches may be made using any of the data above to produce mailing lists, or, more importantly to run a variety of industry analyses.
Thomson ONE Banker Analytics (Available via the internet)
Provides accounts and share price data for 28,500 Public Limited Companies in 55 different countries. 98% of companies on world stock exchanges are covered. Data can be recalculated and charted in a wide variety of ways. Data comes from the Thomson Worldscope database.
MINTEL (Available via the internet)
Market research reports are a valuable source of company information. The internet version of Mintel provides reports published in the past few years. However, printed versions are available going back many more years. See the Mintel guide for details of coverage. UK consumer markets, the leisure, retail and industrial sectors are covered. Case studies of companies' product launches are also available.
EUROMONITOR MARKET RESEARCH MONITOR (Available via the Internet on and off campus)
Market Research Europe, Market Research International and Retail Monitor International, previously available in print only (see the section on Market Research reports below), are now available via the web. Market Research UK is also available. Many international and UK companies products are covered. See the Euromonitor guide for full details of coverage.
BUSINESS INSIGHT (Available via the Internet)
These market research and business reports are international, and cover five main sectors: consumer markets, energy, finance, pharmaceuticals and technology. The latter deal with e-commerce.
An increasing number of companies are making information available on the Internet. The majority of documents filed by US companies with the Securities and Exchange commission can be found on the Internet on Edgar. Many British, European and Asian company accounts are available in facsimile via CAROL. The site run by Northcote Internet Ltd is particularly efficient at providing UK annual reports and accounts.
Approximately 800 sets of the top UK companies annual reports and accounts are available. Some are held for ten years, some for five and some for the current year only. In addition, a collection of foreign reports has recently been made available. Over 400 European companies, and approximately 150 companies from the Pacific Rim are covered. A collection of reports produced by companies in the oil, hotel, food and catering industries, and a small collection of European reports is available.
For reports on the internet, see the section above which contains the addresses of CAROL, EDGAR, and Northcote internet Ltd.
If the accounts of a UK Company required cannot be found, application forms are available for the Company Registration Office postal service, but check first of all that they are not available on FAME before paying for a search.
Books on specific companies are difficult to find in the Subject index. Readers should also consult:
INTERNATIONAL DIRECTORY OF COMPANY HISTORIES
This multi-volume work contains potted histories of leading world companies.
BRITAIN'S TOP EMPLOYERS: A JOB HUNTERS GUIDE
Information about leading companies culture and style, and some details of their personnel policies.
Market research reports are an excellent source of company information. Examining particular markets, they typically examine the sales of rival companies brands, give a profile of consumers, details of distribution and advertising and of course, a prediction of future trends. Some reports are available electronically, and have been listed in the section on electronic sources above; it is possible to search by company name in these. There are often much longer printed back runs of these series (Mintel back to the 1980's for example), and other series which are only available in print. Look for the reports which cover your company's products and services. Check the web page for full details of reports in print and on the web.
Newspapers and newspaper and journal indexes
MOST NEEDS WILL BE MET BY THE SOURCES LISTED ABOVE. This section is only for serious researchers who may want to find more information about foreign companies, or want to search much further into the past than the electronic sources allow.
Apart from the newspapers on CD-ROM listed in the previous section, blue pages has all UK quality papers, and a variety of foreign ones. Consult the web page
A variety of Indexes listing newspaper and journal articles are available. Each index covers slightly different material and this is explained below. Using indexes can be very time-consuming, and their use is recommended only to bring yourself up-to-date from the last issues of CD-ROMs. Predicasts PROMPT on Infotrac will provide the majority of useful news on companies, and is only a few days out-of-date.
CLOVER NEWSPAPER INDEX (H) J 016.3 C
This publication indexes all UK quality newspapers from 1987 to 1998 when it was cancelled. The pink section which is devoted to companies, is the most useful.
RESEARCH INDEX (W) J 016.33 R
This indexes UK newspapers and a selection of journals. It contains two sections,- on industries, and companies.
FINANCIAL TIMES INDEX (W) J 016.33 F
Only available up to 1991. After 1991 you can consult the Financial Times on CD-ROM, and after 1996 on Proquest Direct via the web.
TIMES INDEX (H) NEWSPAPERS
TIMES INDEX (W) J 016.909 T
Although not such an important source as the Financial Times useful articles may be found in the Times. The text of the Times is available on Microfilm, until superseded by CD-ROM in 1992, and on Proquest Direct on the web from 1995.
LE MONDE INDEX (H) NEWSPAPERS
This covers Le Monde only for 1989-1993. Le Monde is also available on CD-ROM from 1993 onwards.For French speakers only.
ZEITUNGS INDEX (H) J 016.3 Z
This covers 20 German newspapers and journals. For German speakers only.
The directories and the web site listed below provide company addresses and brief details.
Some offer specialized coverage and this is explained where necessary. A number of directories have now been replaced by Fame on CD-ROM and the internet which can be used to look up addresses, telephone numbers, Directors, and company relationships etc. of UK companies. The Thomson One Banker Analytics database gives details of 28,500 world companies.
WATERLOW STOCK EXCHANGE YEARBOOK (W) QR 332.642 WAT
Details of companies quoted on the Stock Exchange and "City" companies.
AN INVESTORS GUIDE TO ASIA'S TOP 1,OOO BLUE CHIP COMPANIES (W) QR 338.7095 INV
Financial details and investment judgement.
EUROPE'S 15,000 LARGEST COMPANIES (W) QR 338.74094 EUR
Companies ranked by size with brief financial details.
KELLY'S INDUSTRIAL DIRECTORY (W) QR 380.1025 KEL (superseded edition)
KELLY'S INDUSTRIAL DIRECTORY (H) SQR 380.1025 KEL
KELLY'S INDUSTRIAL PAGES(W) QR 380.1025 KEL
KOMPASS (W) QR 380.102541 KOM
KOMPASS (H) SQR 380.102541 KOM
The major guide to product suppliers in Britain. Includes a geographical listing, brief financial details for the past three years, a parent-subsidiary guide, and guides to trade names and quality assessed companies.
KOMPASS FRANCE(H) QR 380.102544 KOM
UNITED KINGDOM FRANCHISE DIRECTORY (W) QR 658.840941 UNI
UNITED KINGDOM FRANCHISE DIRECTORY (H) SQR 658.840941 UNI
Details of companies offering franchises.
WHO'S WHO IN FRANCE (H) SQR 920.044WHO
Company addresses and brief details
WHO'S WHO IN ITALY (H) SQR 920.045 WHO
Company addresses and brief details.
WHO'S WHO IN SPAIN (H) SQR 920.046 WHO
Company addresses and brief details.