Subject Guide
Choosing a Company
Tip: Choosing a public company, one that is traded on the stock market, will make finding this information much easier. The company profile in Nexis Uni will tell you whether or not it is public or private.
- Nexis Uni This link opens in a new windowTo find the Company Dossier in Nexis Uni, click on the down arrow near the top of the screen (above the main search box) and select Company Dossier. Once you have searched for your company you will see something like Private - Parent or Public to right of your company's address on the results list. To see a report on the company, click on the company name. If it is a public company, make note of the ticker symbol.
To determine if a company is part of an ownership group, see the company hierarchy under Company Information. It will show a company's parent company if it is a subsidiary or its subsidiaries if it is a parent company.
Gathering Stockholder Reports, Retail Statistics, etc.
Stockholder Reports
See the company's website. If your company is a public company, look for a link that says something like "for investors," or "investment information." Also, if the company is a U.S. publicly traded company, look the company up using EDGAR. Select your company name from the search box's auto suggestions as you enter your company's ticker symbol. The most recent 10-K reports can be found under Selected Fillings. These reports contain quite a bit of information.
Finding Retail Statistics, Business References, Trade Publications, etc.
Articles from journals, magazines, and trade publications such as Women's Wear Daily, can be found in Business Source Complete. Type your company name in and click on Trade Publications in the left column under Source Types. These sources often contain industry research and statistics.
Company Background
To find Company Profiles in Business Source Complete, put your pointer over the More button above the search box and select Company Profiles. Type your company name in the box, if your company is on the results list click on MarketLine Report link. These reports are for both public and private companies.
General Business Information
These sources will help you determine if your company is part of an ownership group and find your company's sales volume, number of employees, headquarters location, and names of executives.
- Data Axle Reference Solutions This link opens in a new windowData Axle Reference Solutions is an online directory of businesses in the U.S. Here is how you can look up a company.
1) Click on U.S. Business.
2) Enter your company name (Note: If you know where the headquarters is, you might select that state from the dropdown box).
3) Click on View Results.
4) Find your company on the results list. To see the company hierarchy, click on the up arrow to the right of the company name. (Note: You may have to click more than one arrow to get to the top).
5) Click on a location and then Business Demographics in the left column. - Nexis Uni This link opens in a new windowThe Company Dossier will help you determine if a company is part of an ownership group. See the company hierarchy under Company Information in the left column. It will show you if the company is owned by another company or if your company owns other companies. To find the Company Dossier click on the down arrow near the top of the screen (above the main search box) and select Company Dossier.
Target Market, Advertising, and Publicity
- Business Source Complete This link opens in a new windowMarketLine Company Profiles in Business Source Complete tell what products and brands are associated with a company. Articles will also be helpful in locating information about how a company markets their products. Do a search using your company's name and keywords such as "advertising" or "marketing." To find Company Profiles, click More and select Company Profiles. Enter your company name to see if a report is available.
Articles from Business Source Complete may also help you identify the target market. Substitute your company name in the following search and paste it into the search box. Your company AND (target marketing OR fashion merchandising OR marketing strategy OR advertising OR marketing research) - Nexis Uni This link opens in a new windowThe Nexis Uni Company Dossier may list the company's brands. To do a Company Dossier search, click on the down arrow near the top of the screen, above the word Search then select Company Dossier from the list. Enter your company's name in the search box and search. Once you have found your dossier, look for Brands in the left column. Not all reports have this link.
- Mintel Reports This link opens in a new windowLearn more about consumers. Searches like "downscale older", "green consumer", "Gen Y", should bring up results. Search for reports about your product type or your market segment and see the Consumer tab of the report. If you click on a report and do not see the Consumer tab look for the "Go to report summary" link below the title within the report. Additionally, you might use your company as a search term to see which reports mention your company.
Private Labels
- Business Source Complete This link opens in a new windowUse the phrase "house brands" combined with your company name to find articles about your retailer's private labels.
Corporate Responsibility
Articles from the databases linked below may be helpful in discovering how well your company reflects the values expressed in the Family and Consumer Sciences professional code of ethics.
Tips:
- Combine your company name with keywords and related terms found in the professions code of ethics or corporate responsibility, or social responsibility.
- Brainstorm for terms. For example, one of the core values relates to family. You might research your company's employment policies related to families such as insurance, family and medical leave act, et al.
Useful sources can include articles from trade publications, as well as newspaper and magazine articles. You can also use these databases to research the issues you identify, child labor, for example.
- Business Source Complete This link opens in a new windowArticles from trade publications and magazines found in Business Source Complete may give some insight into the corporate responsibility of your company.
- Nexis Uni This link opens in a new windowDo a search for your company using the main search box. Click on the Negative News facet in lower left hand column of the results list (you may have to scroll down to see it). This may provide interesting news related to ethical problems and issues.