Ranga Chimhundu

Retailer brand share statistics in four developed economies from 1992 to 2005: Some observations and implications

Purpose – This paper seeks to examine long‐term trends in retailer and manufacturer brand shares in grocery product categories, and to relate these trends to retailer category strategy with regard to these two types of brand.Design/methodology/approach – The study makes use of secondary data and empirical materials from the literature to establish and explain the trends in four countries: the UK, the USA, Australia, and New Zealand. Additionally, interview data are used to develop issues.Findings – The results indicate the existence of long‐term equilibrium points between the shares of manufacturer brands and retailer brands in grocery product categories in the USA, New Zealand and Australia. Only the UK shows strong growth of retailer brands in line with retailer consolidation and power, but this trend is arrested, reversed and brought to equilibrium in 2001.Research limitations/implications – The data presented are restricted to four major English‐speaking economies between 1992 and 2005. The data are a...

Category captain arrangements in grocery retail marketing

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine shelf management practices of grocery retail chains and their category captains (CCs) in the marketing of consumer packaged goods. Design/methodology/approach – This is a qualitative, exploratory study that is set in a duopoly retail environment in the Asia-Pacific region. The study employed 18 in-depth interviews with executives and managers of two umbrella retail organisations and their suppliers/manufacturers. The method of data analysis employed was content analysis. Findings – Despite CC input in merchandising decisions, it is the retail chains that have the final say on shelf matters. There is no risk of strategic loss of power in employing CCs to manage store product categories on behalf of, or in partnership with retailers provided the retail chains closely monitor the activities and decisions/recommendations of the captains. Research limitations/implications – The paper is developed from data obtained from the grocery retail industry of one econom...

Key Research Issues in the Marketing of Private Label and Manufacturer Brands

This chapter is a critical summary of the literature reviewed on private label and manufacturer brands in food product categories in a highly concentrated grocery retail landscape. The summary is directly linked to the research issues developed. The research issues fall into three major themes, namely: the balance between private label and manufacturer brands in the product categories (research issues 1, 2a, 2b and 2c); innovation, category marketing support and consumer choice (research issues 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 4c and 5); and category strategic policies on the coexistence of the two types of brands (research issues 6 and 7).

The Management of FMCG Product Categories

This chapter explores the management of consumer goods product categories, with a special focus on food categories and on the coexistence of private label and manufacturer brands. The chapter covers category management, which is the management context in which private label and manufacturer brands coexist. The historical contexts of category management and private label are investigated, as are brand and category management organisational arrangements, culminating in an examination of key points from the literature on the management of food and grocery product categories. In addition, it is established that power relationships between private label and manufacturer brands in food product categories in an environment of high retail consolidation and concentration need to be better understood.

Product Innovation, Category Marketing Support, Consumer Choice and Power

This chapter examines the literature on important marketing and management subject areas related to the coexistence of private label and manufacturer brands in consumer goods categories. The review looks at the product innovation activities and category marketing support efforts of manufacturer brands and private label, and consumer choice considerations are taken into account in view of category management’s emphasis on consumer focus. This then leads to a critical analysis of the power relationships among players in the consumer goods industry.

Private Label and Manufacturer Brand Research Execution

This chapter discusses the execution of the research on the coexistence of private label and manufacturer brands in food product categories in a grocery retail landscape characterised by high retail consolidation and concentration. The main focus of this chapter is data collection and data analysis procedures. Data collection issues are discussed first, and these include techniques of data collection, secondary data, in-store category observation study, in-depth interviews and a pilot study; followed by a discussion of data analysis procedures. Ethical considerations are also addressed.

Conclusions and Implications of this Book

This chapter discusses the conclusions and implications of this study. It outlines a summary of outcomes on the research issues and then goes on to address specific interpretations. Answers are provided to research sub-questions on the topics of the nature of the balance between private label and manufacturer brands, their comparative capacity for innovation and category support, their awareness of this comparative capacity and the strategic stance taken on it, the role of consumer choice, the nature of the coexistence relationship between private label and manufacturer brands, and the role that is played by power in this coexistence in a consumer goods environment characterised by high retail consolidation and concentration. Global implications are discussed, including through case study examples.

Empirical Evidence on the Coexistence of Private Label and Manufacturer Brands

The results of an intensive study carried out on private label and manufacturer brand coexistence in the FMCG/supermarket industry are presented and discussed. The approach to reporting in this chapter is that the data collected are systematically analysed and discussed against the research issues developed for this book. The research issues, which take the form of research subquestions, are a decomposition of the primary research question. In addition to the research interview and in-store category observation data, the results of a preliminary study on private label share trends are integrated to address some of the research issues. The chapter reports key research findings on topics ranging from the balancing of the two types of brands in consumer goods categories to the role played by power.

Research Paradigm, Research Method and Research Design

Research issues form the focal theory of this book, and these are based on a review of the literature that constitutes the background theory of the book. This chapter discusses the process that was followed in addressing these research issues, and explores data theory. It is generally recognised that academic research should be undertaken with rigour, so in planning and executing methodological approaches, this book strives to comply with relevant procedures to ensure that a systematic approach as recommended by research experts, is adopted and maintained. In doing so, the chapter discusses pertinent methodological issues.

Introduction to Issues around Marketing Private Label and Manufacturer Brands

Private labels—also known as retailer own brands, retailer brands, store brands or house brands, among other terms—have become a common feature of food retail chain shelves, alongside manufacturer brands. This chapter offers an introduction to the issues under discussion in this book on the coexistence of private label and manufacturer brands in food product categories. These are also referred to as fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) categories, since most foods fall into that category. The playing field for both private label and manufacturer brands is supermarket shelves. The main research question under investigation is: How do manufacturer brands and private labels coexist in FMCG/supermarket product categories in a grocery retail landscape characterised by high retail concentration, and how relevant is power to this coexistence? Power, in this regard, is the influence or control that the two types of brands have on each other.