Own labels: An adjunct to brands?

With grocery brands manufacturers trying to respond to the increasingly concentrated retailing environment and the significant investment in own labels by retailers, a less than healthy future has been reported for some brands (eg Leahy, 1987). To succeed, grocery brands manufacturers should not only take into account consumer buying behaviour, but also recognise and respond to retailers' strategic objectives. However, brands manufacturers have to strike the right balance between satisfying consumers' needs and helping retailers achieve their corporate goals. Warnings have been sounded about the dangers of brands manufacturers shifting their attention too much to retailers, with the consequential cut in consumer related activities, and during the first part of this decade there has been speculation about whether own labels and brands were becoming more alike. This paper is concerned with the problem of similarities/dissimilarities between brands and retailer labels and by reporting on a major consumer research programme provides insight as to the way consumers perceive the competitive tiers of brands, own labels and generics.