Private Label as a global trend of food networks for pricing policy optimization (case study of St. Petersburg)

Abstract

The practice of creating Private Label by large food chains is a global trend. Such international and Russian retailers as Auchan, SPAR, Prisma, Okay, Lenta, etc. have these products of their own brand. However, this marketing policy is not used by all the players in this market. In the conditions of a protracted economic recession that began in Russia in 2014, even such a seemingly stable sector of the economy as grocery retail faced a decline in its trade. The main reason for the current situation is, of course, a significant, more than 15% in 5 years, fall in real disposable incomes of Russian households. At the same time, for certain groups of households (families with children, single pensioners, etc.), the poverty is still much higher. In such households, expenses for food take significantly more than half of their incomes. The heightened competition of retail chains for a shrinking budget of buyers pushes them to search for new models of pricing policy. This article explores the possibility of using the practice Private Label by food chains.