Virtual makeovers. Killing Kroger's stock. The future of trash can tech.
Shelf squeeze
Hi there,
Private labels: retailers have used them for decades to attract shoppers and better control pricing and inventory.
But in 2018, their growth is likely to accelerate. Why? Retailers are struggling. They hope to use their private label brands to compete.
Kroger views private label growth as a pillar of its 2018 turnaround plan (even launching a clothing brand this fall). Albertson’s plans to add 500+ more products to its $1B O Organics brand this year. CVS is scaling up its efforts, Target just announced its first private fragrance, and the list goes on.
This poses a challenge to CPG brands.
As stores — which brands formerly viewed as their main clients — become competitors, CPG brands will have to respond.
Further complicating the picture, new online marketplaces are already rolling out CPG labels, from Boxed (Prince & Spring) to Jet.com (Uniquely J). And of course, Amazon is playing too.
But as stores push private labels more aggressively, CPG brands will have to respond. They will increasingly seek to control their own points of sale — opening their own stores, setting up their own e-commerce platforms, or using other strategies.
We saw startups pushing some of these strategies at CES last week —check it out.
