Private Labels for Public Good?

PRACTICES

K.Radhakrishnan

Private Labels for

public good?

Pic: Bijoy Ghosh

just the beginning or rather the realisation has just happened.

Decision making in a Private Label

strategy is neither easy nor generic.

It requires high customisation in

each country, region and category.

The diversity of decision making in

Private Label operations may vary

from ‘Why’ to ‘Why not’, In the

Indian context too we need to ask

both these questions.

T

HE emergence of organised

retailing in India has made

Private Labels a reality. It is

now well within the reckoning of the

consumer, retailers and brand owners. However, from the goings on and

the evident initiatives started by

some retailers, it seems that there is

a need to understand the role and

timing of Private Label products in

the life of the retailer a little better.

There is a hurdle at the start. What

qualifies as private? Private Label is

not merely a product with the store/

retailer’s name on it. It takes more to

64 Praxis 3 Business Line 3 January 2002

qualify as a Private Label. The consumer must see the Private Label

product as distinct from being just a

‘product in a pack’. There must be a

clear perception that ‘it is produced

by this store’. Listed below are the

ingredients of a Private Label:

1. It must be a unit package: It is

difficult to assign a Private Label

character to, say rice sold loose from

a 100 kg bag. Even though it may

enhance consumer loyalty for whatever reason, it does not qualify as a

Private Label product.

2. Relabelling: The unit pack must

Why and Why Not?

Though this prognosis may be

biased towards grocery, it may serve

the thought processes for other types

of retail formats equally well.

There is only one point of view

from which the two questions ‘why’

and ‘why not’ can find appropriate

answers - from that of the value

matrix of the consumer. Very clearly,

no Private Label strategy can succeed

by only serving some...