Private Brands Summit Delivers Value
The Food Marketing Institute held its Private Brands Summit on June 14-16 at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago, IL. The theme of this year’s Summit, “Delivering Consumer Value Together,” expressed a goal shared by all who attended. Many thought provoking presentations by industry leaders provided inspiration and education to their audiences.
Highlights:
Paul Flinton, vice president of marketing, Sobeys, Inc., presented the opening keynote address: The Future of Private Brands-A Retailer’s Perspective. Sobeys is Private Label’s 2010 Store Brand Leadership Award winner for the Canadian Supermarket Segment. For more information on this exceptional company see the cover story in this issue on page 36. Sobeys recently reset its entire store brands portfolio to more clearly communicate the value proposition of each tier to shoppers.
“Our consumer scorecard revealed that the customer was not getting the three tiers,” Flinton said. “They thought it was all the same. They thought all of the tiers were national brand equivalents, when our economy line was acceptable quality for less, not national brand equivalent.”
The economy tier was subsequently rebranded to Signal, Compliments remains as the national brand equivalent, and Sensations by Compliments is featured as its “affordable indulgence line,” which now also includes some health and wellness, organic and eco-friendly lines. “We take it category by category, and market by market,” Flinton said.
Pam Fisher, project manager, Wegmans Food Markets, Inc., presented New Ways of Working Together: Enabling Growth, Eliminating Disruptions, which examined how a retailer and manufacturer applied the New Ways framework to eliminate costly disruptions to their business. The framework is intended to help identify common interests and find ways for all parties to work together.
Natalie Berg, research director, Planet Retail, presented a global perspective during her presentation, The New Normal: The Role of Private Brands Post-Recession. Berg explored how post-recession discount format innovation will continue to drive private brand sales. Planet Retail finds that market concentration, and international retailer and hard discounters presence are driving growth. Berg stressed the importance of looking to Europe for inspiration and as case studies. She spoke of key trends for 2010, which included niche sub-brands, licensing, transparency, technology, and brand building. We particularly appreciated Natalie’s presentation, as it reflects Private Label magaizine’s view of a global store brand market. Our international edition and European contributing editors, not to mention our attendance and involvement at Trade Fairs worldwide, allow us to share the best practices, wherever they may be.
Donna MacDonald, senior VP, director of account services, Schupp Company, Inc., presented Leveraging Social Media: Marketing Panel Discussion. This important topic should not be overlooked, as social media is not just a passing fad, but rather something that has made word of mouth is worldwide now. As shoppers enthusiastically share deals and opinions online, retailers and manufactures are seeing a significant shift in how they can communicate with consumers. MacDonald examined how social media is being leveraged in this area. Online reviews are important and the more consumers are connected the more they will talk about retails, which is why it is important for them to get into the conversation.
Other presentations and panels included Delivering Consumer Value Together, presented by Kevin Hunt, Co-CEO, Ralcorp Holdings, Inc., and Dave Pullar, Consumer Brands, Safeway, Inc.; Business as Unusual, presented by Thom Blischok, president, Global Innovation and Strategy, SymphonyIRI Group; Nutritional Labeling–FDA Updates, presented by Sharon Natanblut, senior advisor for strategic communications, FDA Foods Program; Fighting Back: National Brands’ Strategies to Recapture Market Share, presented by Tim O’Conner, VP, RetailNet; Keynote Address: A Wall Street Perspective–What’s Next for Private Brands, presented by Andrew Sawyer, VP–Global Investment Research, Goldman Sachs; CEO Perspectives on the Future of Private Brands: Panel Discussion; The Private Brands Supply Chain, presented by Jack D. Horst, partner, Kurt Salmon Associates; Food Safety for Private Brands: It’s All About Certification, presented by Donna Garren, VP, Food Safety Programs, The Consumer Goods Forum; and Competing for the New Consumer: Private Brands vs. National Brands, presented by Juli Zoota, Ph.D., director of research, Buxton Company.
