Store brands: from back to the future

Abstract

Store brands or private labels are owned and controlled by retailers. In this chapter, we place the research on store brands into perspective and highlight some issues that need further investigation. Researchers' interest regarding store brands can be clustered around five major issues. (1) The role of store brands; why do retailers introduce store brands? The explanations include gaining higher margins from store brands, reaching the price-sensitive segment, increasing store loyalty, and attaining better terms of trade from national brand manufacturers. (2) Store brand buyers: characteristics and profitability to the retailer. (3) The relationship among store brand and national brand prices and demands; strategic interaction among the manufacturer and the retailer, the nature of competition between store brands and national brands. (4) The retailer's decision regarding store brand characteristics, quality, and positioning; how do consumers perceive store brands? (5) Drivers of store brand success, in terms of product category, retailer, and industry variables.