An investigation into the impact of the current economic recession on 'own-brands' in the Irish grocery retail sector

摘要

The objective of this study is to investigate the impact of the current economic recession onudown-brand ranges in the Irish grocery retail sector. With the recession continuing to effectudindividuals daily lifestyles across the globe, retailers can expect to see more consumersudswitching to own-branded products. Consumer’s weekly incomes have decreased and areudcontinuing to do so. Consumer’s are now seeking ways to save money during the recession,udnot alone on price, but on quality of offering. Evidence suggests that today's own-brands areudbetter than yesterdays packaged goods.udThe study is entirely exploratory in nature. The research techniques employed is semistructuredudin-depth interviews with Managers in Head Office of Musgrave’s and TescoudIreland. Qualitative questionnaires were conducted both face-to-face and via the telephoneudwith Store Managers from four credible Irish Retailers operating in Ireland, SuperValu,udDunnes Stores, Centra and Tesco (the method by which to conduct the questionnairesuddepended on Manager preference). In addition to the research five focus groups withudconsumers were constructed and a small scale in-store observation study was also conductedudto gain further insights and perceptions for the research.udThe research findings demonstrate that the recession has had a desirable impact on retailerudown-brand sales. Findings indicate that own-brands have become the main priority forudretailers now in these tougher economic times. From a consumer point of view the researchudfindings illustrates that the recession has had a huge effect on consumer’s perceptions of andudpurchasing behaviours of own-brands.udThis research concludes that own-brands are excellent for increasing market share,uddifferentiating a retailers brand and winning back consumers. Therefore retailers need toudconstantly invest and nourish their own-brand ranges. Own-brands have become a majorudgrowing consumer acceptance. With many consumers struggling financially, the own-brandudranges have become to be an excellent way of providing consumers with cheaper alternativeudproducts, without compromising on quality.