Some data on the market trend and distributor brands had been anticipated during the opening of Marca, but additional figures on the 1.1% growth of consumer packaged goods expected for 2016 were commented upon during the convention "La marca del distributore nel nuovo scenario di consumo: innovazione, qualità e sostenibilità" (Distributor brands in the new consumer scenario - innovation, quality and sustainability).
The growth is small because of the effect of the "2015 seasonality peak," commented Gianmaria Marzoli from IRI, the company who carried out the XII Rapporto Marca sull'evoluzione dei prodotti a marca del distributore (Marca report on the evolution of private labels). In fact, last summer's heat pushed the consumption of seasonal products to €229 million, but 2016 will not be the same. "Volume growth will be due to fresh produce and groceries". After all, among private labels, the fresh produce segment was one of the sectors that recorded the biggest growth - +3.5% in terms of volumes and +5.5% in terms of value.
"In addition, there was a rationalisation of the lowest-price segment (-27.6%) while there were less promotions. All chains worked on a better shelf positioning and only some worked on promotions."
Round table with the main retailers
The convention also included a round table with the managers of some of the main retailers - Coop, Conad, Carrefour, Auchan, Crai-Secom, Selex, VèGè, Unes.
"Our data continues to be positive and, all in all, the share of our private label products reached 30%, with a turnover that reached €30 billion. In addition, if we only considered small and medium stores, the share would be even higher. The turnover remained stable while, thanks to the "Prezzi Bassi Sempre" campaign, we experienced a significant increase in volumes without compromising on quality," explains Roberto Nanni, strategy manager for Coop private label products.
Coop's objective for 2016 is the extension of the "Origini Materie Prime" project, which enables consumers to discover in real time where the main raw materials part of certain products are from. This means consumers can make choices based on clear information and values such as ethics, sustainability and safety."
Auchan's marketing manager Alberto Miraglia stressed how "we have not been promoting private label products because we want consumers' perceptions to be real, while often they can be confused by promotions."
"We also saw a decrease in lowest-price private labels while the mainstream and premium segments did well. More assortment is needed to grow, and the challenge will involve the mainstream segment. We will focus on made in Italy healthy products," explains Gonzague De Carrere from Carrefour.
"The data shows that the market is quite complicated and will not improve in the near future. Products have been differentiated as copying one another which did not help us grow. We need to make a choice about what to place on our shelves, having the lowest price is not compulsory," adds Marco Bordoli from Crai-Secom.
VèGè group also has a clear idea about what to do this year: "we will create a private label that will be an endorsement brand. We will work with Delizie VèGè and add new products," says CEO Giorgio Santambrogio. In addition, the group will invest a lot in new technologies, communication as well as trust & sharing and proximity market systems.
"Customers must 'need' every new product, that is why we are working on the fundamentals every day," reports Conad's Customer Marketing and Communication Manager Giuseppe Zuliani.
"This year, we carried out a series of analyses to better understand our customers' choices and improve what they did not like. We work on the quality of our products because customers need facts, not just words," stressed Fabio Sordi, sales manager for Selex.
Unes CEO Mario Gasbarrino concluded by saying that "private labels are an indicator of the development of this system - a brand cannot grow if the company does not grow too, just like if the boss does not believe in it or the company and the brand do not have the same policy."
