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Unit 13: Private Label Brands

from design and lifestyle personalities like Michael Graves, Isaac Mizrahi and Cynthia Rowley Notes
in various parts of its store. The retailer has lines from each of these individuals and their allure
and expertise provide a sense of contemporary relevance for consumers. Like an exclusive or
proprietary brand, these brand personalities infuse meaning into the overarching Target promise
and experience.
The tactic of exclusive offerings is something that has been apparent in department stores for a
long time. If one is browsing through the INC or Alfani racks for work attire in a Federated
Department Store like Macy’s, there is rarely a concern that the clothes are going to be substandard
when compared to other fashion brands offered in adjacent sections of the store. More often than
not, consumers engage with these brands in the same way they identify with other fashion
brands of the same caliber. The fact that INC and Alfani have crafted a credible and relevant
standing in the minds of their consumer following is important. But of greater significance is the
knowledge that consumers who are exclusively loyal to INC and Alfani consider Federated
Stores the sole outlets that offer them access to these favored work wear brands.
There are also countless brand success stories outside of the immediate industry that can provide
insight and inspiration for proprietary brand managers. NBC (the National Broadcasting
Company), for instance, embodies Maslow’s hierarchy of needs in the way its brand is manifested
and expressed for its target audiences. It not only connects with consumers through its varied
television programming and celebrity personalities, but it occupies a compelling place in their
lifestyles. There are many Americans who religiously start off each morning with coffee, breakfast
and the “Today Show” or who rally their regular Thursday night ritual around “Must See TV”.
Like the NBC brand, proprietary brands have a similar capacity to not only carve a place in
consumers’ hearts and minds but in their everyday lives as well.

Task Go to a nearby Retail Store and finds details about their “Own” brand products.

13.3.1 New Approach to Private Label Branding

In order to be truly successful, retailers must advance from the generic or store brand mindset of
the past to a new private label paradigm. Many retailers have begun to describe their private
label brands as “own” brands because there is recognition that these proprietary, exclusive
offerings are tools that represent momentous power and potential for the retail store.
The term “own” brands acknowledges that today’s visionary retail marketers have powerful
proprietary portfolios that they control and manage and there is potential to reap bigger and
better rewards by taking a closer look at the way they orchestrate the role and expression of
these brand offerings in the eyes of consumers in each product category. Those retailers who
appreciate the magnitude of this brand opportunity have created a new industry standard in
their realm of influence and activity.

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Caution Private labels have not been too keen on innovation. They mostly try to imitate
national brand competitors rather than looking at consumer needs directly.
“Own” brands are articulated and developed in a way that they not only fit with the brand
promise of the retail store, but if effective, they also give consumer drivers a key point of
departure to enhance and celebrate the overall retail brand proposition to keep consumers
coming back for more.

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