Publix, one of the first supermarket chains in the Southeast, is changing the way people feel about private label goods. In fact, it's been said that some Floridians have even been spotted shopping at Walmart with their reusable Publix shopping bags because they want to be known as Publix shoppers -- it's considered a status symbol of sorts.
Publix first launched its redesigned Publix brand private label packaging in 2003, offering a clean, simple and predominately white design system across all the products within the Publix brand category. The previous design was very similar to other retailers' private brands; the products looked very similar to the national brand equivalent and blended in with other items on the shelf.
"The primary goal of the redesign was to improve our private label sales," said Maria Brous, director of media and community relations for Publix. "The new design made our products easier to see on the shelf and, in many cases, customers noticed our store brand products for the first time. The natural response was that we were adding more private label items and discontinuing other items. We were expanding our lineup from about 1,200 items to over 3,000 items over a six-year period, but it was surprising to see how many calls we had related to private label items that we had on the shelf for years before the conversion."
The program also employs a two-tier private label approach that include its basic Publix brand and its Publix Premium label. Plus, it has launched a specialty private label brand, GreenWise, which appeals to shoppers seeking natural and organic options, and also is targeting Hispanic shoppers with offerings within its Publix brand. The result has been private label sales that account for 20 percent of all Publix sales.
"Publix has a good, better, best approach which allows customers to trade up while also realizing improved value," says Kevin Sterneckert, research director for Gartner Inc. "So a customer, who used to buy a leading brand can of beans, can now buy the Publix brand can of beans and receive the same or better quality at a better price. I think that consumers who were forced to seek out lower-priced alternatives have been pleasantly surprised at the quality that Publix has been delivering for a long time."
Publix also has been much quicker and bolder than its competitors in terms of promoting its private label products, says Natalie Berg, global research director of London-based research firm Planet Retail. "A great example of this is its Publix store brand challenge which gave away a private label product for free when shoppers bought a national brand product. This was the ultimate testament to quality and shoppers had nothing to lose since the private label products were free."
The program was launched four years ago and is still in place today.