We Salute: 2009 Store Brand Stars
By Peter Berlinski

The editors of Private Label are please to announce the retail winners of our publication’s 2009 Store Brand Leadership Awards and 2009 Store Brand Retailer of the Year Award.

A & P, The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, has been selected as Private Label’s overall 2009 Store Brand Retailer of the Year Award recipient.

Founded in 1859, this year marks its 150th year in business — making it one of the nation’s first supermarket chains.

The grand award recipient is drawn from one of the four 2009 Store Brand Leadership Award winners from the retail segments listed below:

• A & P, Montvale, NJ, for the Supermarket Segment,
• Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc., Jacksonville, FL, also for the Supermarket Segment,
• Fred’s Inc., Memphis, TN, for the Discount Store Segment,
• Shoppers Drug Mart Corp, Toronto, ON, for the Canadian Retail Segment.

Award Criteria

The Store Brand Leadership Awards and Retailer of the Year program is dedicated to honoring North American retailers for their noteworthy contributions to the growth of store brand products in the retail marketplace.

The above retailers have been selected from nominations submitted by the readers of Private Label based on one or more of the following store brand criteria:

1. Product Innovation,
2. Packaging,
3. Marketing—including Advertising and In-Store Merchandising,
4. Employee Involvement,
5. Quality Assurance.

Company profiles of the above winners will appear in the upcoming Private Label July-August 2009 issue.

The editors of Private Label applaud this year’s winning class of retailers for their outstanding contributions to the growth of store brand products in their respective segments of retail trade.