Trademarks in retail chains. Own trademark (private label): rules of the game

Creation own brands It’s still not very common in Russia, but everyone has encountered them, one way or another. Most often they are found in hypermarkets and supermarkets, on shelves with familiar brands. Only the price differs: the cost of goods produced under a private chain label is, as a rule, 10-15% lower than that of analogues. This does not mean that the product is of worse quality, it’s just that the manufacturer has the opportunity to save on advertising by promoting products directly at points of sale, which significantly reduces the final price. In addition, private labels are created specifically for a specific audience trading platform, so manufacturing retailers can respond flexibly and quickly to their requests, which helps increase demand.

Creating similar brands is a requirement modern market. With their help, retailers gain control over part of the product, can attract customers and improve the store's image. How does this happen? Let's find out.

The impact of private labels on store image

In Russia, as mentioned above, private labels are still not very popular. Changes in commodity-market relations originate in Europe and America, where they “settle down” and become commonplace, and only then attract the attention of domestic entrepreneurs. Thus, abroad a 30-40% share of own goods in a supermarket’s assortment is considered the norm. They account for a third of the turnover, two-thirds of the margin, and without these products the retailer can no longer exist.

Domestic retailers are still using simple copying, offering products at low prices from popular categories. In foreign practice, attracting customers with additional benefits is actively developing: for example, the production of organic products that compare favorably in their properties with branded competitors. This does not exist in Russia yet, but everything is striving towards this.

Today, the largest retailers produce almost all products in the food and non-food segments under their own brand: alcohol, tableware, animal feed, dairy products, and much more at medium and low prices. As a rule, their own products are similar in appearance to their branded counterparts, which is logical, since the retailer needs to start from something.

The name of the product must include the name of the manufacturer and a logo. This is where the entire network “goes”: a high-quality product that is cheaper than its analogues creates a positive image for the entire company.

Production of goods under your own brand

Retailers rarely have the opportunity to organize own production- Moreover, we are talking about a very wide range of goods from all categories, from household chemicals to food. The purchase of private label goods is carried out from third-party manufacturers interested in creating their own brands and having relevant experience. Certification for compliance with technical specifications and GOSTs takes place in independent licensed laboratories.

Third-party companies also produce packaging for goods and develop design, which is worth talking about separately.

Features of creating packaging for your own brand

There are two key points in this matter: the packaging should attract attention, but not be incredibly expensive. Therefore, great attention is paid to thinking through the design.

The development of packaging and release of products to shelves is carried out in stages:

1. Competitive products and their packaging designs are analyzed, after which ideas are collected and proposed.
2. The design is developed by our own design studio, branding agency or freelance specialists. The emphasis is on the presence of the chain name in the product name, as well as on a consistent design style: this way buyers can immediately recognize the private label.
3. A trial batch is ordered and tested. If the product is successful, the batch is increased and becomes part of the store’s permanent assortment.

"continues to explore packaging in its natural habitat. The topic of the third column arose from the “make a bigger logo” debate. Although this request is considered a cooler client idea than “playing with fonts,” the studio rarely encounters such requests. Gigantism is not in fashion now: customers are increasingly asking to shift the emphasis towards the product, image, text, but not the logo. According to Ohmybrand's observations, people rely on a large logo when nothing else good can be said about the product. In addition, there are segments in which the size of the logo does not matter at all, and the most striking example of this is private label, where the product and its price, as well as brand differentiation, are primarily important.

Private label, or your own brand, is always in a more advantageous position than products that enter the network from the front door. Private label design is created without regard to face control of retail, it does not need to fight for a good place under the sun on the shelf or play it safe in the marketing field. In the supermarket, private label is at home, so he can move on to talking about the most important thing without unnecessary curtsies. For example, about what kind of product is hidden inside the package.

Simplicity and clarity of message: this is what private label design strives for when there are no budgets for supporting types of communication. In this case, the logo fades into the background: it mimics the main tone, is integrated into the overall geometry of the composition, acts as a modest “postage stamp” on the front part - in general, it behaves far from being the main one. Large, naturalistic product images or transparent packaging that showcases the contents are key techniques to keep your design honest and clear.

Design adaptation of private label “D” packaging by Quantum Graphics branding&design

We sell a product, read

Another way to communicate with the buyer “straightforward” is to call a spade a spade. Weight and expressiveness are achieved through font and color. In our opinion, the authors of the design for the Garant private label handled the task brilliantly: contrasting combinations, rhyming colors, recognizable font. The logo here stands on a par with the “Eco” icon and doesn’t even try to outgrow it.

"Garant" by "Axfood"

Williams-Sonoma

"ICA" by "Silver"

"Be.Better" by "Rexall"

Funny pictures

Using strong imagery is another technique to attract attention to the product, but not to the brand. Selling the image is more important than Once again measure the size of the logo with your neighbors on the shelf. But there is no need to bashfully hide the logo - let it be remembered as an element of a funny image and in the future be associated with the same positive emotions that are evoked by a hipster mustache on a bottle of milk or bright semicircles, in which, in a certain mood, you can see the silhouette of a thong.

"Pams" by Brother Design Ltd

"Pams" by Brother Design Ltd

Alternative brand

The mission of private label is to act as an alternative to “brands from the street.” Of course, a direct connection with a network or distributor is not always advertised. A textbook example of Russian market- Tesoro olive oil, which provokes approximately the following thought chain: “What is this? I didn't notice it before. Looks like decent oil. It's not too cheap, which means it's good. Perhaps I’ll take it, since “Maestro” isn’t available.”

In the Russian market, such alternative brands have become established, first of all, in pharmacies: the number of private labels of the same “36.6” and “Rigly” allows these companies to be included in the category of grocery companies.

"Natura SPA" by "36.6"

"Natura Pure" by "36.6"

In the West, there are practically no categories that have not been mastered by private labels. And the higher the price segment, the less likely it is to detect even a hint of a specific “private label stamp”. We bet it never occurred to you that these brands are the brainchild of networks?

»

"Swiss" by "Tesco"

"Just for Kids" by Morrisons

"Delhaize" by "Lavierna & Cienfuego Design"

It doesn't get any cheaper

Private label also feels very comfortable in the economy segment, where cost is the main thing that the buyer needs to pay attention to. A minimum of elements, a self-explanatory name, two or three colors - that’s the designer’s entire arsenal. A striking (in every sense) example is “Red Price”, Perekrestok’s own trademark. Red-orange stripes, a fierce layout and a self-explanatory name make it clear that the line will not hurt your wallet.

“Red price” by “Crossroads”

Sainsbury's

A radical approach is a sticker with the words “Small Price” as the only label.

Petit prix by Carrefour

Perhaps the behavior of a private label can be compared with the behavior of the offspring of famous parents: they try in every possible way to remain incognito and make people love themselves for who they are. Do you agree?

Any modern company, respecting itself and its clients, cannot do without special corporate identity and therefore without a brand name to differentiate it from other similar companies.

Definition

A trademark is understood as a combination of the company name, brief text information and graphic details. This mark allows the manufacturer to show their individuality and uniqueness.

A private trademark is recognized by law as the intellectual property of an individual or legal entity and is protected by the law “On intellectual property" It is assigned a certain value on the balance sheet of the company (organization). refers to intangible assets. The rights to it can be sold or transferred, as well as create a franchise or mortgage it to the bank.

Types of trademarks

Today they are classified as follows:

1. Verbal. Usually this is a name with a combination of fonts. More than 80% of all trademarks belong to this category. Examples include VTB, Honda, Adidas, etc. There are also famous slogans here, which are also registered and protected by law. For example, Apple: “Think different.”
2. Fine. This includes symbols or graphics that do not contain words or letters. For example, the well-known Lacoste crocodile or the Nike flourish.
3. Combined. This is a combination of the first and second Them in Everyday life are called logos. For example, familiar to many payment system- MasterCard (verbal name enclosed in two circles).

By the way, you can register the shape of the packaging and color scheme.

Small clarification

The stable combination “trademark” is used extremely rarely in everyday life. Much more often you can hear “logo”, “brand” or “trademark”. And if the meaning of these expressions is similar, then the concepts are different.

The word "brand" comes from marketing. It implies the image of a product (service, company, organization) and its philosophy. “Logo” is a unique image that is applied to the product. And only the word “trademark” carries a semantic load similar to the expression “trademark”.

None of the above expressions in Russian legislation not officially accepted. There is only the concept of “trademark”. It is discussed in Article 1477 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. And creating your own trademark involves issuing a trademark certificate.

Registration takes place in several stages. In some of them, to facilitate the process and save money, it is recommended to contact specialists.

Stage one

The developed sign must be checked for uniqueness. And even before the application for registration is submitted. You can do this yourself. Rospatent databases are freely available on the Internet (in our country they mean the Federal Institute of Industrial Property - FIPS). But there are also organizations that specialize in checking the uniqueness of a registered mark.

This stage is quite important. Since a detected repetition will entail refusal of registration and loss of paid amounts of state fees.

However, the absence of repetitions is not yet a guarantee that the trademark will be accepted by Rospatent. Department officials very often “meet” similar symbols or graphic images and the applicant has to prove the uniqueness of the presented mark.

Companies that have undergone a similar procedure recommend that beginners turn to professionals. Firms specializing in assessing the uniqueness of a manufacturer’s trademark promptly carry out verification and issue a conclusion. They were enshrined at the legislative level in the early 90s of the last century.

Patent attorneys

That is, the institution of intermediaries has officially appeared, whose responsibilities include protecting property in the field of intellectual law. These are patent attorneys. They represent the interests of the applicant for trademark registration in Rospatent. A patent attorney requires only details and an image of a trademark for his work. No further participation from the applicant is required. Naturally, this is more expensive, but the time required to obtain a certificate is reduced significantly.

The assistance of attorneys significantly reduces the time required to complete registration and confirm uniqueness, which, in turn, reduces financial costs.

Today there are about 2,000 active patent attorneys in Russia. Their activities are regulated by civil law and the law of December 30, 2008 No. 316-FZ “On Patent Attorneys”. Fees and other payments of patent attorneys are subject to Government regulations.

Stage two

The patented brand is always used unchanged. That's why Special attention it is necessary to pay attention to the choice of the class of goods (services). For this there is an international classifier (ICGS). It divides goods (services) into 45 classes. Ten of them are dedicated to services, the rest to goods. Working with the catalog requires certain skills and knowledge. For example, the same name of a product (service) may belong to different classes, and you will have to search for it first by purpose, then by material of manufacture, etc. To work with the classifier, Rospatent has developed guidelines. It is advisable to start your work at this stage with them.

Stage three

If preparatory work completed, you can file an application for your own trademark (its form is determined by Rospatent Order No. 32 dated March 5, 2003). For this you will need a package of documents. It includes:

Application for registration, which will indicate the details of the individual (legal) person representing the trademark;

Documents confirming payment of duties;

Image of the future brand (8 copies) with a mandatory attachment with a description of the logo and a list of goods from the international classifier;

State registration certificate individual entrepreneur, or legal entity.

If a patent attorney was involved in registering a trademark, then a notarized power of attorney is required.

Stage four

Submission of prepared documents to Rospatent. There are several ways:

In person at any department branch,

Russian Post (with notification),

Fax (but originals will still be required),

Electronic application on the official FIPS website (for this you need to install special software and receive a key),

With the help of a patent intermediary.

On the day of receipt of the application with the attached documents, the secretary of Rospatent prepares it and informs the applicant of the registration number.

Stage five

It consists of tracking the status of submitted documents for registration of your own trademark. Documents accepted by the department undergo a formal examination. That is, the application is checked for correctness of preparation and content, availability necessary documents and their copies, etc. The whole process takes about two months. If there are no comments, Rospatent takes it into operation.

Next, a significant examination begins, which can last up to six months. At this time, there is an active reconciliation with trademarks of Russia and the world, which is accompanied by correspondence with the applicant. Usually experts require something to be clarified or supplemented. It is at this stage that unprepared (see stages one and two) applicants are cut off. If there are no comments and there is no need to defend your case, the department makes a decision to register the trademark. In this case, the applicant receives official letter from Rospatent.

It is possible to reduce the application processing time. To do this, it is necessary to provide compelling arguments for obtaining a certificate of uniqueness as soon as possible. For example, you can indicate that the products are supplied abroad.

Stage six

Receiving the coveted certificate. After notification of a positive decision, the applicant must pay the state fee to obtain a certificate and submit a payment document to Rospatent. The law allows two months for the certificate to be issued. During this time, the patented mark is entered into the state register and published in the monthly official bulletin “Trademarks”. The resulting document must be renewed every ten years.

Having received it, the owner can sue and demand compensation for material and moral damages for unlawful use of the trademark by third parties.

It is not that simple

Trademark in modern world consumption has its pros and cons. The benefits of your own brand include the following:

Reducing the influence of competitors on the sale of goods (services), as well as advertising and marketing costs;

Establishing your own pricing system,

Increasing margins

Unconditional control over the distribution of goods (services) and its quality.

At the same time, the manufacturer faces some problems. For example, when releasing goods or producing high-quality services, you cannot inflate prices. Because competitors will immediately occupy the vacated niche. For this reason, for example, well-promoted retailers do not allow similar product lines of competitors into their stores. In addition, the brand needs to be constantly promoted. And this is almost the main problem.

Possible mistakes

Most often they occur:

If the applicant tried to independently determine the classes according to the International Classifier;

The trademark turned out to be non-unique;

The designation is described incorrectly or inaccurately (for example, color scheme);

There were inaccuracies in the details for paying the state duty;

The trademark contains elements of state symbols or images famous people(without their permission). A list of all prohibited signs is given in the Civil Code, Article 1483.

The Metro brand offers an exclusive product. The company's experts, focusing on the needs of their clients, be they small points of sale or hotel or hotel professionals restaurant business, are developing their own Metro brands. These are practical, modern and affordable (cost) proposals. For some, this is a line of basic products (services), and for others, complete sets for serving in a hotel tomorrow at a minimal price.

Metro's portfolio already includes six active focus brands designed for professionals, as well as a number of additional offers.

How to position your own brand product

According to marketers, positioning is the art of forming a brand image in the mind's eye target audience. That is, it must convey information about its advantageous difference from its competitors. This is caused by combinations of such characteristics as distribution channels, touch, price, level of service, image (impression from advertising, PR), etc. In a global sense, positioning is the company’s activities aimed at convincing consumers of the significant difference between its products (services) and competitors.

A private label (store brand) is assigned to goods produced by a manufacturer at the request of a retail chain that promotes them under its own brand.

The history of private labels in our country goes back 10 years - in 2001, private label goods appeared in Ramstore supermarkets for the first time in Russia. By the end of the same year, the Perekrestok trading house released several items of goods under the Perekrestok brand. This trend was then supported by Dixie, Lenta, Pyaterochka, Kopeika and Auchan, which entered the Russian market in 2002.

At first, the introduction of private labels was carried out by retailers quite haphazardly. Chains tried to cover a wide variety of product categories with private labels, both in the food and non-food segments. However, it quickly became clear that private labels bring the greatest benefits to the group of consumer goods with high turnover. In this regard, there has been a strong tendency to introduce own brands in food categories, which form the basis consumer basket, V seasonal goods, as well as in that component of the assortment matrix that has the least brand dependence. And individual successes were not long in coming. So, for example, in Perekrestok the total number of items sold under its own brands exceeds 1000 positions (these are Perekrestok and common for the X5 networks Retail Group brands "Red Price" and "Ice Age"). "Lenta" is also constantly expanding the product line of the private label of the same name and the low price category brand "365". "Auchan", in addition to pata products, offers customers private brands "Fortress", "Lakomo", "Don Gusto", etc.

Recent financial crisis and the associated hunt for low prices have led to a surge of interest in private labels from retailers and consumers. And when the economic situation stabilized, analysts noted that most buyers remained loyal to own brands retail chains. And today, chains use private labels not only to increase profits, but also to strengthen customer loyalty. And this, according to analysts, is not a temporary trend.

See: S. Vakhrusheva. Market situation // Trade practice. 2011. No. 7.

In retail trade, the process of creating and developing retailer's own brands trading enterprise can be classified as innovation. Innovation should be defined as a new benefit. Moreover, the benefits should be mutual. For the company, the benefit is profit, the guarantee of it successful development. This applies to both manufacturers and retailers. For the consumer, innovation is value expressed in solutions that offer not just a product, but new benefits.

The main reason for the emergence of a private label is the concentration of trade and the growth of networks.

The relevance of the production and sale of goods under the retail trade enterprise's own brands is due to the fact that chains want to earn more and at the same time have low prices that are more attractive to consumers. If a store sells only well-known brands of the manufacturer, sooner or later it will either have to negotiate with its supplier for more low prices, or reduce your own markup, which has a certain limit. To increase profits, it is advisable for a retail trade enterprise to produce goods under its own brand. Since the entire volume of such products is sold through the customer’s network, the manufacturer does not need to widely advertise the product and distribute it. Because of this, the purchase price and, accordingly, the final price of a private label product turns out to be lower than the cost of goods produced by manufacturers under their own trademarks.

The effect of savings on the purchase price can be (depending on the category of goods and terms of the transaction) 5-10% or more, which, of course, is attractive to the buyer who receives a quality product at a lower price.

If we consider world practice, then the share of sales of private label goods as a percentage in America and Europe can reach 30-40%, and according to forecasts in some networks it can be increased to 60-80%. The same European buyers want to see everything more products private label in the networks where they are used to shopping. If previously orders for the production of private label products concerned the low segment, today you can increasingly find private label products in the middle segment, as well as in the premium segment.

In Wal-Mart stores (the world's largest retail chain; an American company), there are approximately 120,000 different types of goods. Of these, private label goods are probably less than 10,000 items. This is a small percentage. They produce them in all Asian countries. In China alone there are 800 enterprises. Private label products are more popular in Europe compared to the USA. But today one of Wal-Mart's goals is to increase the percentage of private label goods.

This is a really important goal. Let me give you an example from the USA, where Tide is one of the most popular brands of washing powder, produced by the Procter and Gamble company. So what is Wal-Mart doing? Creates his own own formula"Tide" produces it in its own production. This washing powder is no longer called "Tide", it is already a Wal-Mart brand. Wal-Mart's strategy of "same quality at a lower price" works here. The reason they do this is to put pressure on brands to lower their prices. All manufacturers of branded goods are at war with retailers. If Wal-Mart had the option, it would sell only private labels. And all this is due to the price premium, the margin. Retailers make money more money on private labels than on branded goods.

See: Today one of Wal-Mart's goals is to increase the percentage of private label goods. Interview with Meikol Bergdahl // RETAIL.RU. April 3, 2007. URL: retail.ru/news/20432/? sphrase_id=303481

Having your own brands allows stores to:

• - fully control the price formation process;
• - reduce costs for promoting goods;
• - offer customers all products without exception, including vegetables and fruits, under their own brand.

Private label development goals:

• - promotion of the brand on the product market;
• - increasing profitability by reducing purchase prices;
• - increasing the competitiveness of the network;
• - creating a tool to increase customer loyalty.

Competitive advantages of private label:

• - The retail trade enterprise itself selects manufacturers based on experience and market analysis and guarantees consumers the quality of goods under its own brand.
• - The manufacturer does not bear the cost of advertising campaign. A retail trade enterprise creates an image of goods and guarantees their quality, and also promotes these products through in-store means - special display, information support and so on. This allows us to reduce the cost of a number of goods under our own brand. In accordance with world practice, many private label goods are cheaper than their absolute analogues. According to ACNielsen research across 36 countries and 80 product categories, private label products are on average 31% cheaper than similar manufacturer branded products. In Russia, discounts are not yet so significant, but they exist and range from 5 to 25%.
• - A retail trade enterprise has the opportunity to enter into contracts with manufacturers to supply them with products with unique properties.
• - The presence of goods under your own brand facilitates consumer choice, especially in those product categories where goods of low brand dependence are presented.

Social features of private label:

• - The retail chain assumes responsibility to the buyer for the quality of goods under its own brand. The guarantee of quality is great experience the company's purchasers in choosing suppliers, as well as the availability of company employees special knowledge about food. We can say that in this case the retail chain acts as an expert in the field of food and non-food consumer goods, offering the buyer its experience and knowledge.
• - Private label suppliers often include small regional companies that produce high-quality products from natural ingredients, but for a number of obvious reasons cannot break into the capital market. For such suppliers, this is a serious breakthrough, since cooperation ensures stable production capacity.

When determining product groups, a retail trade enterprise proceeds from the following selection criteria:

• 1) high turnover;
• 2) everyday demand (products that attract consumers to the store more than twice a week and, as a rule, have limited shelf life - perishable goods, meat and dairy gastronomy, etc.);
• 3) socially significant goods stable demand, which form the basis of the population’s consumer basket - cereals, tea, sugar, etc.;
• 4) high-margin goods;
• 5) goods with unique consumer characteristics;
• 6) new products that are promising from a marketing point of view.

Products under their own brand are beneficial to everyone: manufacturers, who receive the opportunity for stable sales without promotion costs, buyers, who purchase goods of guaranteed quality at a lower price, and retail chains, since purchase prices for such products are lower than for brands in which Considerable advertising costs have already been invested.

Manufacturers participating in the private label project also note its promise. Little-known regional companies that produce high-quality products can break into the capital market and ensure stable utilization of their own production.

The release of goods under private labels is of interest not only to chains, but also to manufacturers. The goals of manufacturers in working with private labels look like this: the opportunity to be represented in large retail networks, obtaining additional sales volumes and, as a result, capacity utilization, and expansion of the range.

All retailers agree that the combination of quality, reliability and service is a key issue when choosing a supplier of private label products.

It is important that the quality meets retail requirements and remains high throughout the entire period of cooperation. And the price is also important: the quality must match it. The reputation of the supplier also plays a significant role. It is also important that the supplier has the opportunity to fulfill the volume of orders that the retailer needs, and that there are no interruptions in the supply of goods.

Unfortunately, small manufacturers do not always have the opportunity to produce private labels due to various difficulties.

The larger the network, the more difficult it is to saturate it with goods. Therefore, large networks often choose for private label major suppliers: there is a guarantee that at least with the volume they will not let you down, and there is experience collaboration(the manufacturer knows the network requirements - the network knows it can be trusted).

Speaking about the choice of private label suppliers, it is necessary to especially say what they are afraid of when working with a private label: suppliers are afraid of the short-term nature of the contract. What if a competitor offers a lower price - and the products of the original supplier will remain unclaimed, perhaps production lines reconfigured for a certain private label product will stop working, and the prepared packaging will turn out to be unnecessary?

None of the buyers are interested in a short-term contract if cooperation with the manufacturer is satisfactory. Who wants to renegotiate contracts, fill out a ton of paperwork, and build business processes? A change of supplier occurs not because the customer suddenly wants it, but, for example, because control samples They were good, but then we started receiving complaints from customers about the product - it became tasteless.

The work on creating private labels should be close, two-way.

See: S. Vakhrusheva. “Selecting a Private Label Supplier” // Trade Practice. 2011. No. 7.

Despite the profitability of private labels, manufacturers of national brands are very concerned about the growth of their popularity and strength. Some analysts predict that private label products will displace all competitors except largest producers national brands. The following reasons can be cited: the growing quality of private label products, the emergence of private labels in premium segments, penetration into new product categories (cosmetic products, soft drinks, clothes, beer).

In the past, consumers ranked different brands on a brand ladder, with their favorite brand at the top and the rest ranked in descending order of preference. Today there are signs that brand parity is coming - equal recognition of different brands. A stable preference for a product of a specific brand is being replaced by a choice of goods from several recognized brands, depending on which of them is in this moment discounts apply.

The growing power of private labels is by no means the only factor influencing the weakening position of manufacturers' brands. Consumers have become more price sensitive. Due to the reproduction of the qualities of the best branded goods by competing manufacturers and the largest retail businesses they note the great similarity of products under different brands. Coupons and Special offers have taught a whole generation of consumers to shop primarily during sales. In addition, many manufacturers' reduction of advertising expenditures to 30% of their promotional budgets has weakened their brand equity, and the endless expansion of brand families and boundaries has robbed them of their individuality.

According to experts from the Federal Purchasing Union ZLO "Sistema TZS", in the near future, sales volumes of goods under retailers' own brands on the Russian market will increase by 50-70%. Such high growth rates are associated with an unstable economic situation, forcing buyers to save on brands. Retailers are starting to work with private label goods to gain additional margins, and manufacturers are interested in opening new production facilities.

Competition between retail chains in terms of pricing policy becomes more tense. In this regard, more and more players in the market are paying attention to working with goods under their own brands.

The vast majority of retail chains offer customers private labels, the quality of which is comparable to or superior to the characteristics of branded products. The absence of marketing budgets and a ready-made distribution system reduce the cost of goods by 25-30%.

Federal Purchasing Union CJSC "Sistema TZS" as part of the implementation strategic objectives According to the company's development in 2012, it plans to increase the turnover of goods produced under its own brands by 80-90%. Growth rates exceeding the market average will be achieved due to increased sales volumes, an increase in the number of networks participating in the project, as well as by expanding the product line.

See: FZS is authorized to declare: The private label market will grow by 70% // RETAIL.RU. December 29, 2011. URL: retail.ru/news/60387/?sphrase_id=259793

However, despite the tangible benefits, There are a number of disadvantages to using private labels. Firstly, in some cases, huge amounts of money have to be invested in product development, creating a favorable image and informing consumers; secondly, the problem of product quality control is becoming more acute, the solution of which also requires significant additional costs; thirdly, it is necessary extra education sales workers use methods of selling private brands less known than manufacturers' brands.

In turn, large manufacturing companies with strong brands began to use numerous techniques to counter private brands. Manufacturers of national brands can counter private brands using a number of targeted measures.

• - Manufacturers of national brands are cutting costs and lowering prices to counter private label brands.
• - Manufacturers are continuously improving the characteristics of their products, such as the level of quality, functional properties, and appearance, in order to attract new users and intensify consumption.
• - National brand manufacturers can audit their brand portfolio to focus on the strongest brands to counteract store brands. They can also introduce “brand fighters” into their product range, opposing their own brands in the “acceptable quality - low price” segment.

Companies that own national brands can sell some of their products to retailers by entering into an agreement that they will be sold under a private label. However, not everyone can become a partner of a large retail chain. All chain stores have strict requirements for manufacturers. The main criteria when choosing suppliers are: product quality, production capacity of the company, its financial stability and time of existence on the market. Most main criterion selection of partners for networks is the quality of goods. Nobody wants to embarrass themselves in front of customers by giving their name to a low-quality product. Therefore, any potential partner of a retail company must prove that there will be no problems with quality.

Guarantees of the quality of goods for a retail trade enterprise can be an independent examination or the reputation of a manufacturer who values ​​​​its image and has its own quality laboratories. The product must comply with the regulatory and technical documentation for a given product group. In addition, the manufacturer must not only initially declare high quality, but also maintain it constantly. If an independent examination shows its deterioration, as a rule, you have to part with such a manufacturer.

Another important question - productive capacity companies. Only large chains with dozens of stores launch products under their own brands. Accordingly, the manufacturing partner must be able to fulfill a large order. As a rule, retail trade enterprises choose as partners manufacturers who occupy second, third or fourth place in their market segment. They do not work with a leading company for the reason that it is successful in itself and at some point it will face a dilemma: either create its own brands or work for retailers. And such a company itself, if it has powerful marketing and good brand equity, will not cooperate with them.

Very often, negotiations between retailers and manufacturers reach a dead end when discussing the purchase price of a product. The price should arouse interest among buyers, but allow both retailers and manufacturers to make a profit.

Leaders in the development of private brands in Russia have been identified

"Magnit", X5 Retail Group, "Auchan", Metro Cash&Carry, "Lenta", "Dixie" and "Maria-Ra" became leaders in the development of their own brands according to the INFOLine Private Label Profi rating based on the results of 2010 and the first half of the year 2011

For the first time, the INFOLine agency, specifically for the forum "Own Brand - 2012", organized by KVK "Imperia", prepared a rating of Russian FMCG chains for the development of their own brands, based on the share of private labels in the chains' revenue in 2010 and 2011. (in %), share of private labels in the total number of SKUs in 2010 and 2011. (in %), total sales volume of private label goods (in rubles), total number of SKUs under private label (in pieces) and a number of other indicators.

See: Private label leaders // RETAIL.RU. November 29, 2011. URL: retail.ru /news/59591/?sphrase_id=259793

According to market participants, amendments to the Code of administrative offenses(Administrative Code), adopted at the end of December 2010, will help increase private label sales. The amendments provide for significant fines for violation of contractual relations between suppliers and retail chains. Such accusations could cost the company 5 million rubles. That's why federal networks Today they are noticeably reducing their assortment, and in the vacated spaces they are introducing products under private labels. The production of goods under private label allows the chain to combine the roles of supplier and trader, eliminating the possibility of claims of unfair contractual practices. According to the established practice in Russia, private labels are positioned by many networks in the lowest price category. This is where, when negotiating with a supplier, the retailer is interested in the lowest possible purchase price in order to offer goods with a very modest margin and attract consumers with price. Now the tough negotiating position of networks can be interpreted by some suppliers as the imposition of conditions. Therefore, it is much easier for a retailer not to purchase goods, but to produce them himself, placing orders for contract manufacturing, developing packaging.

According to forecasts, by 2012 the share of private labels in the turnover of FMCG retail trade in the Russian Federation will be at least 3~3.2%.

The total volume of private label sales in the world exceeded 380 billion euros. According to INFOLine, the share of private labels in global trade turnover in 2010 was 22%, and by 2020 it could increase to 30%).

The private label business is being developed not only by federal retail chains. Small regional retailers are also actively promoting products under their own brands. There is also a common umbrella brand - the Soyuznaya Marka private label, which was launched in May 2009 by the Union of Independent Chains of Russia (the Union of Independent Networks of Russia unites 44 regional grocery chains in 46 regions, more than 1.3 thousand. retail outlets). The Federal Purchasing Union (ZAO Sistema TZS), created by the NSR Union, produces over 100 types of goods, the sales volume of which over a year and a half of project development exceeded 400 litas rubles.

Products produced to order from chains can be divided into two categories: products of a certain brand and so-called first-price products. For example, first-price products are offered by the Auchan chain: on the packaging with a yellow-green stripe only the name of the product is indicated (sugar, tea, soap or cotton swabs). Auchan also offers own brands: “Lakomo” (dairy products), “Gradka Udache” (canned food), “Boncafe” (coffee), “Don Gusto” (cereals and pasta), “Fortress” (alcoholic drinks), CleenOK (cleaning products).

See: N. Novopashina. The desire to reduce the cost of a product at the expense of quality is hindering the development of private labels in Russia // However [Electron, magazine version]. March 30, 2011. URL: odnako.org/magazine/material/show_9897/

Today, many entrepreneurs are thinking about creating a line of their own brand. But how not to get lost in this market and what are the prospects for developing the share of private labels (private brands)? How to increase customer loyalty using private labels? Find out further in our article.

Private labels on the Russian market: development and promotion strategies

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Own brand, or private label – in the simplest sense, today it is a trademark owned by a fairly large retail chain, in which products under this brand are sold.

The biggest “plus” for manufacturers who own private labels is that they have the opportunity to fully control the production of their products, monitor their quality, as well as set their own prices and competently distribute products between the stores of their chains.

So, own brand – it is a brand that is manufactured to the retailer's specifications, owned by the retailer, and sold through the retailer's distribution network.

Today, consumer goods are produced, labeled and sold under their own brands – food and non-food, household chemicals, Food.

Of course, today buyers are more willing to spend their money on goods of their own brands large networks and all this thanks to high quality goods and always affordable prices for them.

As a rule, products produced by stores’ own brands are much cheaper than similar products from other brands – the difference in price can reach 30-40%.

Such low cost is achieved primarily due to the reduction in the cost of goods: there are no intermediaries, no costs for delivery, advertising and marketing, since the product is promoted at the point of sale.

The manufacturer of goods under his own brand invariably and guaranteedly receives sales of his products, which were manufactured under the contract.

As you know, private-label products are produced using the facilities of independent factories – large retail chains sell various goods produced to their order, but under their own brand, but do not themselves take part in the production of goods.

As for the prospects of private label in Russia, experts are clear on this matter: the owners of their own retail chains have more than enough prospects.

For comparison, the sale of private-label goods in the Pyaterochka chain today accounts for almost 20% of the total turnover; in other hypermarkets the level is slightly lower, but remains consistently high.

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Own brands are a manufacturer's risk. Video

Types of private brands

Research shows that the number of private labels in large retail chains in our country is significantly lower than in America and Europe.

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So far, the leader in this segment remains the X5 Retail Group (which manages stores of such retail chains under the brands Pyaterochka, Perekrestok, Karusel and Perekrestok Express).

The next company in terms of sales volume of goods under its own brand is Magnit, followed by – retail enterprises belonging to the French retail chain Auchan.

Own brands are:

• species;
• own analogue brands;
• unique private labels;
• joint brands.

Each of us has come across specific private labels: for example, these are products under the “Every Day” brand, which are sold in Auchan stores, or “Red Price” products, which are actively sold in “Karusel” and “Perekrestok”.

Often a private label bears the name of the retail chain in which it is sold (for example, Metro C&C), but most often a private label is developed for goods of all categories: food, personal hygiene items, and household chemicals.

Own analogue brands are characterized by a lower price than similar products from other brands. As for the quality of such goods, it is, as a rule, slightly inferior to the quality of more “promoted” brands, but overall remains at the industry average level.

When releasing their own analogue brands, retailers must assess all the risks associated, including the costs of entering the market for such goods.

For example, your own brand of baby food analogue is doomed to “failure”, since the vast majority of parents will only buy food from proven and reliable brands and companies for their young children.

But the production of wet wipes or toilet paper under your own analogue brand will most likely be profitable, since these products – they are simply consumables and rarely do anyone think about their quality, paying more attention to their cheapness.

Unique private brands, as a rule, have no analogues, direct competitors among other brands, and they are sold, as a rule, to innovative consumers.

A striking example in this regard is the X5 Retail Group, which today continues to develop its own brands in various price segments – low (designed for consumers with low incomes) and medium (for consumers with average incomes).

Joint brands of private labels and other well-known product manufacturers are less common, but also occur. With such a partnership, all manufactured products are produced for sale under the retailer’s own brand.

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Products under your own brand: development prospects in Russia

Today every manufacturer is fighting for consumer wallets, and huge competition in the market forces entrepreneurs to look for new solutions, one of which is private label.

Today there is a huge layer of consumers who almost always purchase products in retail chains under their own brand.

People are quite satisfied with such “consumable” products, everyday goods of exactly this quality.

This does not mean that consumers have begun to buy less goods from famous world brands; the level of sales here will never be reduced to nothing.

Many consumers admit that they buy large volumes of private label products from large stores someone is bothering them psychological factor – they are simply afraid of looking too frugal in the eyes of others.

This means that for the holiday table or, for example, for work, you will buy the same Rich juice, and not the cheaper “off-brand” juice.

But “progress” in this segment is also evident: more and more families prefer private label products to all other analogues.

This state of affairs only indicates that this segment will steadily develop in our country, which means – expand the sales market and types of goods.

A striking example of the huge field of private label prospects in our country is the experience of France, Holland, and Germany. These countries have been hosting fairly large exhibitions of private-label products for several years now, where participants talk about their productions.

The contagious example of American and European colleagues greatly motivated Russian entrepreneurs, who have no less actively begun to develop this sector in the last few years.

Business in this area is promising, attractive, it can be diversified in various directions: for example, buy production or order packaging of products under your own brand from other manufacturers.

Every year, the largest retail chains are actively increasing the share of their own brand products. And on this path they are not afraid of the economic crisis: retailers consider this period a period for new opportunities and an incentive for development, which means that every entrepreneur, with some effort, will be able to take their place in this truly promising area of ​​commerce.

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