Growth with brands

For the food manufacturer, the '70s were a decade of self‐defence. But, says Stephen King, the cause of reduced profits and product deterioration may not just rest with the tough buying policy of the retailer but also with the weak management sometimes displayed by the manufacturer. Over the years the brand name has been eroded by that of the retailer — witness the well‐known products herded together to advertise the price benefits of certain multiples — and the author sets out here a number of ways in which these problems should be tackled. These views were first heard at the Conference for the Food Manufacturers Federation, ‘Food for growth’, 1980.