The underlying master thesis was developed to answer the question “Is there an “optimalshare” of private label brands for a grocery retailer?” and “What factors determine thevariation of the private label brands share between different retailers?”. Due to the verylimited amount of literature geared towards private brand shares, a qualitative study, applyinga mixture of a deductive and an inductive approach was considered to be the most suitable toprovide an answer to the research questions. In particular, the research was initiated with aliterature review, followed by three interviews with retail experts from Germany and Portugal.In recent times, the importance of private labels brands has been growing significantly. Whilethe UK has already realized the added value of private brands, other markets still need todevelop further. Therefore, it is of vital importance for the retailers to educate its customersabout the high quality standards of store brands in order to facilitate the companies’ success.Due to the profitability of store brands as well as their attractiveness to customers, retailerscan considerably benefit from offering and selling private label brands.The findings of the research have revealed that there is no “one-fits-all” optimum private labelshare for a grocery retailer. In contrast to the prior expectations, it is not even possible todetermine an exact optimum for one particular retailer with a certain format. According to thestudy at hand, the optimum should rather be regarded as a range, serving to provide guidanceto a retailer’s private brand strategy. What can be defined though, is an approximatemaximum that should not be exceeded, if customer loyalty and profitability are to be retained.Regarding the sub-research question about potential factors impacting the variation of privatebrand shares among retailers, the research disclosed that macroeconomics factors, competitoractions, procurement possibilities, respectively suppliers’ availability and ability to deliverquality-consistent products can have an essential impact on a PLB optimum. Additionally, theretailer’s assortment, the price image one wants to convey, the margins a certain PLB mightentail, the targeted degree of customer loyalty, country-specific demand and the current ratioof NBs versus PBs are of significant importance when defining a PLB optimum. Further,store brands can serve as an income-protection during the times that NBs do not sell well at agrocery store. Taking these aspects into consideration will simplify the determination of aretailer’s PLB optimum as part of his PB strategy. However, all actions taken with regard tostore brands should always be aligned with the overall retail chain or corporate strategy.
展开▼
