Bill Bittner

Kroger Looks for Beautiful Results from Store Brand

August 19, 2010

FROM RETAILWIRE:
It's no secret to anyone who knows the food, drug and mass trades that when it comes to health and beauty care, private label brands have done pretty well in the H area, but not so great on the BC end. Are consumers more willing to try private label health and beauty care items today than they have been in the past?      [more...]

I believe many consumers are simply becoming smarter in their shopping. With all the news about the economy, they understand how they can get the benefits while avoiding the hype. The challenge for private label is to maintain the quality while continuing to offer a lower price point. It means there has to be good quality assurance, with product testers and consumer panels conducting evaluations on a continuous basis.

I am a little surprised at the quickness Kroger was able to achieve in the assortment expansion. It makes me assume that they have gone to a large brand name and are taking advantage of their excess capacity. Which is actually another angle to this whole thing, with an otherwise slow economy and manufacturers staring at excess capacity, there is a bigger incentive for them to put that capacity to work producing private label.

Beauty Care runs the same risk of cheap bags. One bad hair day caused by a poor coloring experience is like dumping your groceries in the parking lot because the bag broke. You won't forget it and you may not be back for a while.