Upwardly Mobile Stationery

It's a brutal market, so why does Staples think it's a good time to go upscale with office supplies?

BusinessWeek, March 6, 2008 — On one side of the Staples in Needham, Mass is the office supply chain's past. Plain manila folders, stacked in generic blue boxes, are $6.29 for 100. Six aisles away, on the other side of the store, lies what Staples (SPLS) hopes is its future: A dozen file folders, made of thicker stock and decorated with black-and-yellow stripes, are displayed on a faux mahogany table, like sweaters at J. Crew (JCG). They don't have price tags. Instead, a discreet sign on the table reads $6.99 for a dozen.

Staples is trying to take mundane office supplies upscale. Inspired by high-end stationery chains such as Crane & Co. and Papyrus, a new private-label brand, dubbed "M by Staples," features spiffy leather journals, several lines of stationery, business card... continue reading

Private Label Is Growing But When Will It Take Off?

MediaPost Publications, November 13, 2007 — PRIVATE LABEL IS GROWING, BUT how fast? In-house brands like Safeway's "O Organics" and Target's "Archer Farms," are retailer extensions competing with traditional consumer packaged goods brands. Private-label products are a big part of the European market, and have made inroads in the U.S. in recent years.

Wal-Mart Brands Its Green Strategy†

Retailer to Unveil Energy-Saving Line Of Own Light Bulbs

Wall Street Journal, September 20, 2007 — One of the biggest U.S. proponents of energy-saving, compact-fluorescent light bulbs will double its bet on the technology as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. unveils its own line of the spiral-shaped bulbs under one of its in-house brands.

Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer by sales, plans for its Great Value CFL bulbs to cost less than brand-name bulbs, pricing a pack of four bulbs at $7.58, or roughly the price of a three-pack of brand-name bulbs. The Bentonville, Ark., retailer intends to stock its bulbs in 3,000 — or nearly three-quarters — of its U.S. stores this month. It is expected to announce its plan today.

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.

101 Brand Names, 1 Manufacturer†

The Mass Pet-Food Recall Reveals a Widespread Practice: Many Competing Products Come From the Same Factory

Wall Street Journal, May 9, 2007 — Pet owners have been reeling ever since tainted pet food led to the confirmed deaths of more than a dozen dogs and cats and likely sickened many more. Some owners were also startled to learn that dozens of competing brands, from discount to premium, are all made by the same company, Menu Foods Inc. of Ontario.

Lessons in motivating the staff†

Financial Times, March 20, 2007 — JC Penney is one of the grand names of US retailing, tracing its history back to 1902 when James Cash Penney opened its first store in Kemmerer, Wyoming. But as the 20th century was winding down, it looked a little as if JC Penney might go the same way. In 1999, together with other retailing stalwarts, its stores were facing the rising challenge of Wal-Mart and Target, the mass discounters.

Recall Sheds Light on Pet-Food Industry's Little Secret†

Consumers See That Premium, Private-Label Products Can Come From Same Place

Advertising Age, March 20, 2007 — The massive national pet-food recall stemming from deaths of at least 10 pets is also letting consumers in on one of the industry's well-guarded secrets — that some of most premium pet-food brands in the U.S. use the same manufacturer that processes dozens of low-price private-label products.

Dunkin’ duking it out in supermarkets

Boston Herald, March 1, 2007 — Dunkin’ Donuts coffee will soon join Starbucks in fighting for shelf space with Folgers and Maxwell House at stores nationwide. Dunkin’ Brands Inc. signed a long-term agreement for brand behemoth Procter & Gamble to distribute packaged whole bean and ground Dunkin’ Donuts coffee to U.S. grocery stores, mass merchandisers, club stores and other retailers within a year.

Revenge of the Generic

Copying Target's model, chains such as Office Max and Costco are developing more upscale, store-brand products and customers are buying them

BusinessWeek, December 27, 2006 — It used to be that few people would admit to buying generic. You remember, those almost comically minimalist packages of food, starkly decorated with text indicating the contents—"Spaghetti" or "Frozen Peas"—produced and sold by grocery-store chains

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.