Out of the closet

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: about sticking labels on food products or branding goods whose manufacturing has been outsourced. We have methodically gone about getting our private labels in place,” says Sumantra Banerjee, president and chief executive officer, RPG Retail. “We consulted experts, took their inputs on what was required to be done. We outsource production based on specifications we provide and make sure that stringent quality standards are maintained. This is a huge effort and the investment is substantial. But that doesn’t worry us because if we get it right the returns will be substantial.”

The results are showing. The migration of consumers from national brands to its private brands has been about 15-20% over the last few months. The contribution to topline from its private labels is about 10% as of now. This should go up in the coming months as the products become popular with consumers, say Banerjee. “It’s been about a year since we started the private label initiative. Going forward, we see sales picking up.”

Name of the game

Spencer’s has labels for both the value-for-money conscious and upscale consumer. Its mass-market private brands, for instance, retail under the umbrella of Spencer’s Smart Choice. Its niche brands retail under different brand names, such as Maroon for kitchenware, 360 degrees in luggage and Collage Studio for stationery. In apparels, the retailer has brands spanning segments —Mark Nicholas for formal wear, Asankhya for fusion wear and so on.

At Reliance Retail, for instance, its private labels under food include Reliance Value and Reliance Select. This again is a positioning exercise targeting the mass-market and upscale consumer respectively. Products are differentiated on quality and pricing parameters etc.