Sunday, January 23, 2011

Importance of managing value

On my return flight from a recent business trip I approached my gate in a hungry state of mind.  Unfortunately my only immediate option consisted of the place that offers the pre-wrapped cold lunch meat sandwiches.  As I thought about that being my first food consumption in ten hours, my stomach rebelled.

My mind traced back to a McDonald's (MCD) that I saw a few minutes prior.  It required a walk past a stretch where the walkway was unusable and then getting on another walkway, ordering, coming back to my gate and eating in 20 minutes, but this seemed preferable to the cold sandwich I was being offered.

Like McDonald's, Private Label brands are consistently among the cheapest offerings in it's industry.  During the recession, Private Label gained considerable strength.  BrandSpark's 2010 Best New Products Awards American Grocery Shopper Survey found that the majority (66%) of shoppers agree or completely agree that that "private labels are usually extremely good value for the money".

With nearly 2/3 of consumers willing to consider Private Label, this means that retailers have the opportunity to both save shoppers' money and increase their bottom line.  Proper brand management of the Private Label brand can drive down consumers' bill if the product is competitive.  Driving down the consumer's bill can create the perception that your store represents a good financial proposition - and thus bring the consumer back.

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