Safeway Cultivates Its Private Labels as Brands to Be Sold By Other Chains†

Wall Street Journal, May 7, 2009 — Safeway Inc. has reached deals to expand the outside presence of two of its house brands, selling them through other retailers, both overseas and domestically, an unusual approach for private-label goods.

Safeway, the fourth-largest U.S. food retailer by sales, has said it wants to market O Organics and Eating Right to other supermarket chains and to aggressively advertise the lines.

Cut the Mustard

Red Dot Square uses virtual reality to reinvent the center of the store

Hub, December 1, 2008 — Yes, it is critically important to understand how the mindset of the shopper is different from that of the consumer. But we must not forget that the shopper and the consumer is the same person. The greatest challenge of shopper marketing is, in fact, connecting the shopper experience to the consumer experience. The most important insight of all is how shoppers plan to use what they buy once they’re back home, once again living their lives as consumers.

Home Depot Learns to Go Local†

Uniform Approach Didn't Cut It; Unsold Mowers in Arizona, Too Few Power Tools Out West

Wall Street Journal, October 7, 2008 — Shortly after taking command of Home Depot Inc. in early 2007, Frank Blake found a pyramid of riding lawn mowers outside a store in Arizona, where lush lawns are uncommon. It turned out the store had sold only one such mower in two years. Then, he learned that the retailer was chronically short of Makita power tools on the West Coast, where they sell particularly well.

Mr. Blake ordered changes in Home Depot's purchasing system, which had favored national uniformity at the expense of local customer preferences... The shift in Home Depot's buying patterns highlights a tricky problem for national retailers: balancing local demand with national efficiency. In Home Depot's case, the new, more targeted buying has helped lower merchandise costs by reducing... continue reading

The Newest Brands? Open for Business

Retailers Have Switched Gears, Marketing Their Stores and Labels and Strengthening Bonds With Shoppers

CMO Strategy by AdAge, August 25, 2008 — Many marketers are rapidly becoming more concerned with how retailers think. They want to know their concerns, objectives, equities and images and how they go about creating bonds with shoppers. That's because today's retailers are evolving far beyond their historical role as simple points of distribution for selling national brands.

Marketers, Seize the Opportunity to Help Heal Society's Ills†

Do the Right Thing: Motivate Consumers With Responsible Marketing That Doesn't Exploit Trends

Advertising Age, November 12, 2007 — We should not be afraid of marketing's power. Through effective marketing, we can make a difference. The question is: What kind of a difference do we wish to make?

From Cheap Stand-In to Shelf Star†

Food Retailers Put Spotlight On Store-Brand Products, To Dismay of Sara Lee, Kraft

Wall Street Journal, August 29, 2007 — When Zarlacht Atiqzoy, a Dallas mother of two, went grocery shopping at a Target supercenter recently, she was surprised to find a bottle of dipping oil flavored with pomegranates and apricots. The oil, from a brand called Archer Farms, "sounded so good and was so unusual that I didn't mind paying the $7, which isn't cheap," she says. She was even more surprised when she turned over the bottle and learned the oil was actually made by Target Corp. "I didn't expect Target to be so creative," she says.

Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

BusinessWeek, September 18, 2006 — Safeway wanted a fresher, healthier image. The first step was to become fresher and healthier

Growing cachet of the store brand

New York Times, November 27, 2005 — LIKE many other American shoppers, Vicki Burroughs, a medical secretary in Jacksonville, Fla., knows that she can save money while she spends — for instance, by buying store-brand products at the supermarket.