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The battle of the brands is the “competition between dealer brands and manufacturer brand” (from our text books) over which will be more popular. Dealer brands, sometimes called private labels, are brands created by store chains (for example Safeway’s O Organics line of organic foods) and manufacturer brands are created by a producer (General Mills Cheerios). Dealer brands have been gaining share — boosted recently by economic downturn induced consumer price sensitivity.

This Bloomberg Businessweek article “Why Grocers Are Boosting Private Labels,” gives an update and some great examples. Dealer brands used to differentiate on price and then more recently offered comparable and sometimes higher quality. Now many retailers are adding brand managers and investing in more aggressive promotion. Surprising fact: in 2009, 8.7% of food and nonalcoholic drink new products were private label – by 2011 the number more than tripled to 31.4%.

The article will provide good examples when you cover branding and/or retailing.  Also posted at Learn the 4 Ps.

Fortune magazine looks behind the scenes at the fast-growing Trader Joe’s retail stores.  While I have never shopped at a Trader Joe’s, friends who shop there swear by the merchandise.  This article, “Inside the secret world of Trader Joe’s” (August 23, 2010) provides some background on the secrets of its success.  Among the secrets — low prices, private label brands, and stock turnover — provides some great examples to use when covering retailing, price, and product.  It also suggests that the store may be coming to Colorado — and maybe your town (if it is not already there) soon.