Various forces are converging to push the continued growth of store brands, according to The Nielsen Company’s vice president for global insights James Russo, who appeared on the February edition of PLMA Live.
Russo argues that as a result of the recession, “everyone is giving their attention to store brands” and the sharp increase in private label penetration is not a momentary shift. The forces at work include retailers’ increased support for promoting their own brands and the fact that consumers now view store brands as on par with national brands.
Overall store brands grew by 5 percent in dollar volume, outpacing national brands’ growth two to one. Last year, store brands moved from 19.1 percent dollar share to 19.5 percent, while units remained steady at 23.6 percent.
The program is entitled “Retail Trends, Consumer Moods” and can be seen on www.plmalive.com.