PLMA’s 2007 Private Label Trade Show

Forty-one percent of American shoppers now describe themselves as frequent store brand buyers, up from 36% just five years ago, and nearly one out of three consumers say that they are more likely now than a year ago to buy private label. Moreover, the popularity of store brands in supermarkets is having a halo effect on home/office, household, and DIY products.

Where do America’s retailers and wholesalers go to source for their private label programs? The answer is PLMA’s annual private label trade show. With more than 5,000 visitors and 2,000 buyers, it is the largest show of its kind in the U.S. This year’s show will be held Nov. 11-13 at Rosemont Convention Center in Chicago. The Rosemont Convention Center is only 10 minutes from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. Conveniently located within walking distance or short shuttle bus rides from major hotels, the convention center provides exhibitors with an easy-to-reach, efficient venue for trade shows.

Highlights:

Show Floor

• On the food side, the show floor includes fresh, frozen and refrigerated foods, snacks, beverages, ethnic specialties and gourmet lines. On the non-food side, the show includes paper, plastics, wraps and foils, all types of kitchen and household products, health and beauty, DIY and GM.
  
  
• Product categories include fresh, frozen and refrigerated foods, snacks and shelf-stable groceries, health and beauty, household and kitchen products, paper and plastics, general merchandise, consumer electronics, home/office and DIY.

Idea Supermarket

• The Idea Supermarket showcases the latest examples of what supermarkets, drug chains and mass merchandisers around the world are doing with their private label programs. Retailers from Europe, Asia and South America are all represented as well as chains from the U.S. and Canada. Plus, PLMA’s “New Product Expo” highlights innovations in product concepts, ingredients, and packaging from this year’s exhibitors.

Seminars

• For the latest market research and information, there are PLMA’s Sunday seminars, offering insight into sales and merchandising. The keynote speaker at the seminars is John Stossel, co-anchor of the ABC News program 20/20 and winner of 19 Emmy Awards. In his popular “Give Me a Break” segments on 20/20, Stossel takes a skeptical and often controversial look at subjects ranging from government regulation and pop culture to censorship and unfounded fear. Rodney Wood, who was a Tesco director for seven years, will give an insider’s look at Tesco, the U.K.-based retailer, which is just beginning its much anticipated entrance into the U.S. market.
  
  Jim Wisner, Wisner Marketing Group, will present the finding of a new study on strategies for increasing private label penetration in the center store. Finally, Stephen Reily, CEO of IMC Licensing, will discuss the future of licensing and store brands in supermarkets, drug stores and other mass channels, especially in the light of the partnership between Kroger and Disney.

Awards

• Innovative products from about two dozen of the nation’s largest retailers and wholesalers have been selected as winners in PLMA’s fourth annual Food & Drinks Awards and third annual Home & Health Awards.
  
  The awards, which recognize outstanding new store brand products will be presented at the Salute to Excellence Breakfast on Nov 12. at the Trade Show.
  
  The products will also be showcased in the Idea Supermarket area on the trade show floor.
  Products considered for the Awards were submitted to a panel of judges that include product representatives, trade journalists and consumers.

Retail Trends Breakfast

• Tuesday morning’s Retail Trends Breakfast will feature a presentation of a new study from Mckinsey & Co. that foresees the possibility of $55 billion in annual sales shifting from the national brand companies to private label. Kari Alldredge, a principal with McKinsey will present the study.

Special Section

When Kroger, the country’s top supermarket chain, set out to create a new private label program for kids that would also get the thumbs up from health conscious moms, they enlisted a celebrity whose credentials with the lunchbox set was unimpeachable: Mickey Mouse, courtesy of Disney Magic Selections.

When CVS, the nation’s largest drug retailer, sought to drive up sales for ethnic hair care, they signed a branding agreement with Ellin LaVar, the celebrity hair stylist whose famous clients include Mary J. Blige, Naomi Campbell, Angela Bassett and Oprah. When Target decided to build up its home and housewares lines, it turned to famous architect and interior designer Michael Graves to create an entire line, which has reached 1,000 items.

The PLMA trade show is where buyers and executives from virtually all the top retail chains meet manufacturers to identify the latest innovative products and merchandising marketing concepts.

This year, PLMA’s trade show will reflect the fast-growing celebrity trend with a special section featuring licensing companies, artistic management firms and celebrity agents, publishers, entertainment lawyers and others who either own or manage licensing properties. In addition to the new section on celebrity promotion, the show will present more than 2,000 exhibit booths with the latest products, packaging and promotional ideas.

PLMA Executive Education Program

• Taking place Saturday and Sunday Nov. 10–11, PLMA’s “Weekend with St. Joe’s,” is organized in conjunction with St. Joseph’s University’s Food Marketing Institute. The two-day program provides executive education courses in private label branding and supply chain management.
  
  The program gives insight into what retailers and wholesalers are doing, how to manage private label brands and where consumer trends are going.

For more information about exhibiting or attending, contact PLMA: Telephone: (212) 972-3131, Email: info@plma.com.

Visit PL at Show

Private Label magazine invites our readers to visit us at PLMA 2007 Trade Show at our booth #2523.