Private label

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Swedish grocery store where private label products (under the brands Hemköp and Eldorado, Axfood) are placed along with other brands such as Knorr (Unilever) and Blå band (Campbell Soup).

Private label products or services are typically those manufactured or provided by one company for offer under another company's brand. Private label goods and services are available in a wide range of industries from food to cosmetics to web hosting. They are often positioned as lower cost alternatives to regional, national or international brands, although recently some private label brands have been positioned as "premium" brands to compete with existing "name" brands.

There are different kinds of private labels:

• Store brands - The retailer's name is very evident on the packaging.
• Store sub-brands - Products where the retailer's name is low-key on the packaging.
• Umbrella branding - A generic brand, independent from the name of the retailer.
• Individual brands - A name used in one category, this is only used to promote a "real" discount product line.
• Exclusive brands - Again a name used in one category, but to promote "added value" products within the category.

There has been a significant increase in private label brands in the recent years. In Europe, private label goods now account for about 45% of products sold in supermarkets, compared to 25% in the USA. Wal-Mart, for instance, has a 40% private label representation in their stores.^{[citation needed]}

Historically, private labels were seen as low-priced, low-quality products. In recent years, however, companies have started using private labels to market higher quality items, and many believe high-quality private labels will increase their presence.

The concept has recently been extended to written text. The web is now awash with articles known either as 'Private Label Articles' or 'PLR (private label rights) Articles'. These are bought and sold in large volumes in order to quickly populate websites to attract traffic from search engines.

Just as with private label products were seen as low-priced and low quality products, so too was the PLR Article industry, which in the recent 12 months has improved drastically with the quality of content available.

The articles are presented as though created specifically for the site concerned. There is also now software available to automatically generate unique permutations of these articles.

[edit] External links

• Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA)
• Private Label Manufacturers Association International Council
• PLMA Australia & New Zealand
• Private Label Magazine
• Private Label Rights Articles
• How To Make Best Use of Private Label Rights Articles
• PLS Inc's Extensive Database of Private Label Sourcing Manufacturers

[edit] Examples of Private Label Manufacturers

Store Brands: (Products distributed and sold using the store's name)

• Food Lion
• Kroger

Private Lable Manufacturers

• Topco (Skokie IL)- Brands- Food Club (moderate price), Value Time (budget) Availble in several intermediate grocery chains. Sometimes produces Store brand products as well.
• FOSFA (Breclav, Czech Republic) - producent of laundry detergents and cleaners specialized in private label manufacturing.
• Associated Wholesale Grocers, Inc. (Kansas City, Kansas)- Brands- Best Choice (moderate), Always Save (budget). Available at intermediate grocers as well as K-Mart.