The object of this work is identification with the private label offer of selective chain stores in the czech market and make the analyse of consumer behaviour in relation to private label products.

The aim of this thesis is to analyse past and present development of market of private labels in the Czech republic. Pursuant to this purpose of possible future trends with recommendation for individual market subjects. The first theoretical part is based on introduction to retail management. There are defined important concepts related to private labels. The next part is dedicated to summary of market of private labels in the world. This part is followed by analysis of past and present development of market of private labels in the Czech republic. Based on this statement it is proposed own consumer research. Research is focused on students behaviour. The final part is summary of research and recommendation for retail practise.

Uppsatsens titel: Leverantörens varumärkesstrategi – En studie om hur konsumenters beteende kan påverka en leverantörs varumärkesstrategi gällande private label och national brands Kurs: Examensarbete, Civilekonomexamen, Marknadsföring, 30hp (4FE62E) Lärosäte: Ekonomihögskolan vid Linnéuniversitetet, Kalmar Författare: Amanda Andersson och Rebecca Danielsson Handledare: Christine Tidåsen Examinator: Bertil Hultén Datum: 2014-05-26 Nyckelord: Private Label, National Brands, Varumärkesstrategi, Leverantör, Konsumentbeteende, Attitydslojalitet, Beteendelojalitet   Bakgrund: Varumärkesutbudet på hyllorna i dagligvaruhandeln har förändrats. Denna uppsats fokuserar på hur en konsuments beteende gällande varumärkena private label och national brands ser ut. Vidare utgår uppsatsen från hur konsumentens beteende kan påverka leverantörens varumärkesstrategi gällande private label och national brands.   Syfte: Examensarbetets syfte är att beskriva hur konsumenters köpbeteende och tankar kan påverka en leverantörs varumärkesstrategi gällande private label och national brands. Vidare avser uppsatsens författare generera slutsatser gällande hur leverantörer kan hantera sin varumärkesstrategi. Slutligen ämnar examensarbetets slutsatsers ligga till grund för rekommendationer till samarbetsföretaget och leverantören Nordic Stream.    Metod: Denna uppsats är en kvalitativ studie där konsumenters beteende och tankar beskrivits utifrån fyra fokusgruppintervjuer. I uppsatsen har även intervjuer genomförts med leverantören Nordic Stream och detaljisterna ICA och Bauhaus. Uppsatsen bygger på en abduktiv forskningsansats. Den teoretiska referensramen bygger på särskilda författare och teorier inom marknadsföring.   Slutsats: Attitydslojala konsumenter det vill säga de konsumenter som har en positiv attityd till en detaljists butiksvarumärke utryckte en mer positiv attityd mot private label. Beteendelojala konsumenter det vill säga de konsumenter som åter besöker en detaljist oberoende av attityden till detta butiksvarumärke utryckte en mer negativ attityd mot private label. Leverantörers varumärkesstrategier kan påverkas av konsumenters beteende både direkt och indirekt. Det som identifierats som intressant och påverkar leverantören är attityden och förväntningen på de olika varumärkena innan ett köpbeslut. / Titel: The supplier's brand strategy-a study of how consumer behaviour can affect a supplier's brand strategy regarding private label and national brands Course: Master Thesis, Business Administration and Economics, Marketing, 30 ETCS (4FE62E) Institution: School of Buisness and Economics at Linnaeus University, Kalmar Authors: Amanda Andersson and Rebecca Danielsson Supervisor: Christine Tidåsen Examiner: Bertil Hultén Date: 2014-05-26 Keywords: Private Label, National Brands, Brand Strategy, Supplier, Consumer Behaviour, Attitude loyalty, Behaviour loyalty   Background: The brand range on the grocery shelves in the stores has changed. This thesis focuses on describing consumers behaviour regarding the brands private label and national brands. Further more the thesis focus on how consumer behavior can affect the suppliers brand strategy regarding private label and national brands.   Purpose: This thesis purpose is to describe how consumers behaviour and thoughts can affect a suppliers brand strategy regarding private label and national brands. Furthermore the thesis generate conclusions regarding how suppliers can manage their brand strategy. Finally the thesis conclusions intends to be the basis for recommendations to the the supplier Nordic Stream.   Method: This thesis is a qualitative study where consumer behaviour and thoughts is described in terms of four focus group interviews. The thesis has also conducted interviews with the supplier Nordic Stream and the retailers ICA and Bauhaus. The thesis is based on an abductive research approach. The theoretical framework is based on specific authors and theories in marketing.   Conclusion: Attitude loyal consumers are consumers who have a positive attitude to the retailers store brand and are those who expressed a more positive attitude toward private label. Behaviour loyal consumers are consumers who revisits a retailer regardless of the attitude to this store brand and are those who expressed a more negative attitude toward private label. Suppliers brand strategies can be affected by consumer behaviour, both directly and indirectly. Consumers attitudes and expectations of different brands before making a purchasing decision affect suppliers brand strategy.

Στην σημερινή εποχή, τα προϊόντα ιδιωτικής ετικέτας αποτελούν τα πλέον ανταγωνιστικά προϊόντα για τις επώνυμες μάρκες και κατέχουν ένα μεγάλο μέρος στα ράφια των σούπερ μάρκετ, καθώς παρατηρούνται παράλληλα αυξημένα μερίδια αγοράς σε διάφορες κατηγορίες προϊόντων σε σχέση με το παρελθόν που λειτουργούσαν ως υποστηρικτικά των αντίστοιχων επώνυμων προϊόντων. Με δεδομένη την ραγδαία ανάπτυξη των προϊόντων ιδιωτικής ετικέτας στα σούπερ μάρκετ, τα τελευταία χρόνια, τόσο στο προϊοντικό εύρος που καλύπτουν όσο και στην μεγαλύτερη αποδοχή τους από το καταναλωτικό κοινό, η εξέτασή τους κρίνεται σαφώς πολύ ενδιαφέρουσα. Έτσι, λοιπόν, οι στόχοι της συγκεκριμένης έρευνας που διενεργείται στα πλαίσια της παρούσας διπλωματικής εργασίας είναι να διερευνηθεί η στάση και η συμπεριφορά των καταναλωτών στα προϊόντα ιδιωτικής ετικέτας των σούπερ μάρκετ, να αναζητηθούν συσχετίσεις και στατιστικά σημαντικές διαφορές μεταξύ προφίλ καταναλωτή και αγοραστικής συμπεριφοράς για τα προϊόντα ιδιωτικής ετικέτας και να προσδιοριστούν ομάδες καταναλωτών αγοράς προϊόντων ιδιωτικής ετικέτας. / Nowadays, private label products are the most competitive products for brands and own a large part on the shelves of supermarkets, there are also increased market share in several product categories compared with the past functioned as supportive of branded products. Given the rapid growth of private label products in supermarkets, in recent years, both product range covering and in greater acceptance by consumers, their examination is clearly very interesting. So, the objectives of this research carried out in the context of this thesis is to investigate the attitudes and behavior of consumers to private label products in supermarkets, explore correlations were statistically significant differences between profiles and consumer purchasing behavior for private label products and to identify groups of consumers purchase private label products.

This dissertation examines organic food marketing from three aspects: household demand for organic food, household choice of retail formats accounting for preference organic food preference, and farmers’ joint adoption of organic farming and direct marketing methods. In Chapter Two, given the fast growth of private label milk and organic milk in the U.S., we estimate a censored demand system to study the demand relations among types of milk differentiated by brand types and organic status, using recent Nielsen Homescan data. We find that sociodemographic factors still play important roles in a household choice of milk types, and fluid milk is an inferior good. Moreover, as income increases, households are more likely to shift from buying conventional milk to organic milk and from private label conventional milk to branded conventional milk, as indicated by the asymmetric cross price elasticities. In Chapter Three, we examine whether households’ preference for organic food can affect their retail format choices for their grocery shopping trips. We model households’ choices of five major retail format with a conditional logit model, also using the Nielsen Homescan data. Our main findings are that regular organic user households are more likely to patronage organic specialty stores and discount stores, but less likely to shop in warehouse clubs. Price, consumer loyalty, and household shopping behavior also affects household retail format choice. In Chapter Four, we examine the relation between farmers’ adoption of organic farming and direct marketing, given their similar objectives in satisfying consumer demand and increasing farm income. We model farmers’ adoption of the two practices with a bivariate simultaneous linear probability model using data from USDA Agricultural Resource Management Survey. Our main finding is that the farmers’ adoption of organic farming decreases their probability of adopting direct marketing, whereas the reverse effect is insignificant. Also, organic farming is found to improve gross farm income.

Le contexte actuel dans lequel opèrent les enseignes de grande distribution est caractérisé par un besoin de légitimité, de compétitivité et de différenciation. Dans ce contexte, nous observons deux phénomènes : d'une part un engouement des différents acteurs pour l'argument socialement responsable et d'autre part, un rôle de plus en plus important donné aux marques de distributeurs dans les stratégies de différenciation suivies par les enseignes. L'objectif de cette recherche est de déterminer les réponses des consommateurs à la qualité sociale de la MDD parce qu'elle est la garantie du respect des droits humains et des travailleurs tout au long du processus de fabrication et de commercialisation des MDD. Une expérimentation menée auprès de 800 individus représentatifs de la population française montre que communiquer la qualité sociale de la MDD améliore de façon significative la qualité perçue de la MDD et la fidélité intentionnelle des consommateurs à la marque et à l'enseigne (fidélité globale). La compétitivité des Marques De Distributeur semble avoir le pouvoir explicatif le plus important de la qualité perçue et de la fidélité globale du consommateur. En outre, les réponses positives des consommateurs à la qualité sociale de la MDD semblent motivées par les valeurs d'universalisme qui sont plus saillantes pour les consommateurs engagés socialement que pour les autres. / The current context in which the retailers operate is characterized by a need for legitimacy, competitiveness and differentiation. In this context, we observe two phenomena: on the one hand a craze of retailers for the socially responsible argument and on the other hand, an increasingly significant role devoted to private labels (PL) in the differentiation strategies of retailers. This research aims to determine how consumers react to the social quality of the private labels, presented as a guarantee of the respect of the human and workers rights throughout their manufacturing and marketing process. Experimentation carried out with 800 French consumers shows that communicating on the social quality of the private label will significantly improve its perceived quality and the intentional loyalty of the consumers to the label and the retailer (overall loyalty). The competitiveness of private labels seems to have the most significant impact on their perceived quality and of the consumer's overall loyalty. Moreover, positive answers of the consumers to the social quality of the private labels appear to be motivated by the values of universalism, which are more salient to the socially involved consumers than to the others.

<p>The study empirically investigated the effects of consumer price perception dimension and reputation dimension on attitude toward private label brands among young Swedish consumers. Consumer price perception dimension includes value consciousness, price consciousness, and price-quality association factors. Reputation dimension includes retailer’s reputation, existence of word-of-mouth (WOM), positive WOM, and negative WOM.</p><p>Previous studies have found that factors under the consumer price perception dimension have an impact on attitude toward private label brands. The current study argues, based on theoretical framework, reputation dimension could also be considered as having an impact on attitude toward private label brands but that this has not been investigated before.</p><p>Measurement scales for consumer price perception dimensions were taken from Baltas (1997) and Burton et al. (1998). New measurement scales were developed for factors under the reputation dimension. The reliability and validity of all the factors used in the study have been discussed.</p><p>A multiple regression analysis was conducted where the private label attitude was the dependent variable and all factors under the two dimensions investigated in the study were the independent variables. The results of the analysis showed that value consciousness and price consciousness factors under the consumer price perception dimension have significant relationships with attitude toward private label brands. Similarly, retailer’s reputation, positive WOM, and negative WOM under the reputation dimension have significant relationships with attitude toward private label brands. Specifically, these three reputation dimension factors were found to have more influence on attitude toward private label brands among young Swedish consumers than the two factors found significant under the consumer price perception dimension.</p><p>The major implication for the Swedish retailers is that they should put more emphasis on their own reputation (retailer’s reputation factor) and on positive WOM to develop favorable attitude toward private label brands among young Swedish consumers. They should also fight any negative WOM about their private label brands. In addition, the Swedish retailers should try to promote the quality aspect of their private label brands to the young Swedish consumers as value consciousness was found to be a significant determinant across the most of the demographic variables studied here.</p>

<p>Background: In the past 10 years private label has increased significantly in the Swedish grocery market. This is an important strategic event, which is a great challenge to suppliers as it causes stiff competition. To handle this situation an increasing number of suppliers have to make the decision whether to produce private label or not.</p><p>Purpose: The purpose of this study is to find and analyse factors that influence suppliers in the Swedish grocery market to produce private label. On this basis we intend to confirm or develop existing theories within the field of study.</p><p>Research method: The study has a qualitative approach where empirical data has been gathered through interviews with suppliers and retailers in the Swedish grocery market.</p><p>Results: This study has identified factors that underlie suppliers’ decision to produce private label. The most important factor is the possibility of increased volumes and a more efficient capacity usage. Today there is a great downward pressure on price, why it is of great importance to have a cost efficient production. Many suppliers in the Swedish grocery market do not use their full production capacity and producing private label is therefore an option to increase the level of usage. Moreover, suppliers are experiencing a growing dependence on retailers. This is due to the increased power that retailers have attained through their centralised decision-making, dominating position and increased knowledge and negotiation power. This study shows that the shift in power influences suppliers’ decision to produce private label. Finally, possibilities of improved relationships between suppliers and retailers do not underlie Swedish suppliers’ decision to produce private label.</p> / <p>Bakgrund: Under den senast tioårsperioden har private label ökat kraftigt inom den svenska dagligvarumarknaden. Detta är en viktig strategisk händelse som utgör en stor utmaning för märkesleverantörer, då det innebär en allt hårdare konkurrens. För att möta denna ställs alltfler leverantörer inför beslutet gällande huruvida de skall tillverka private label eller inte.</p><p>Syfte: Syftet med studien är att finna och analysera faktorer som ligger till grund för att leverantörer på den svenska dagligvarumarknaden tillverkar private label. Utifrån detta avses vidare att bekräfta eller utveckla befintliga teorier inom forskningsområdet.</p><p>Metod: Studien har en kvalitativ ansats, där empirisk data har samlats in genom intervjuer med leverantörer och detaljister på den svenska dagligvarumarknaden.</p><p>Resultat: Genom studien har faktorer identifierats som ligger till grund för att leverantörer på den svenska marknaden tillverkar private label. Den viktigaste faktorn är leverantörernas möjlighet till ökade volymer och ett mer effektivt kapacitetsutnyttjande. Då det i dagsläget råder en stark prispress på dagligvarumarknaden är det av stor vikt att ha en kostnadseffektiv verksamhet. Eftersom många leverantörer på den svenska marknaden inte utnyttjar hela sin produktionskapacitet framstår private label-tillverkning som ett alternativ till att utöka denna. Vidare upplever leverantörerna på den svenska dagligvarumarknaden ett allt större beroende till detaljist. Detta beror på den ökade makt som detaljisterna uppnått genom deras centraliserade beslutsfattande, dominerande ställning samt ökad kunskap och förhandlingsstyrka. Studien visar att denna maktförskjutning har en inverkan på leverantörers beslut att tillverka private label. Slutligen utgör inte möjligheten till relationsförbättringar mellan leverantör och detaljist ett motiv till att leverantörer på den svenska marknaden tillverkar private label.</p>

<p><strong>Bakgrund:</strong> Idag satsar distributörerna i detaljhandeln på differentiering genom att lansera egna märkesvaror till flera olika segment och till högre priser. Detta brukar kallas den fjärde generationens EMV och det är ett relativt nytt koncept i Sverige i jämförelse med andra länder. Detaljhandelskedjan Axfood är en aktör som har inlett en utökning genom lanseringen av Garant som vi anser vara en EMV av fjärde generationen.</p><p><strong>Problem:</strong> Leverantörernas varumärken har under lång tid ansetts vara ”riktiga” märken medan distributörernas egna märkesvaror endast är för priskänsliga konsumenter. Tidigare studier visar att konsumenter är villiga att betala ett högre pris för LMV pga. att de har lyckats bygga starkare varumärken. Byggandet av positiva associationer till EMV anses ha hindrats av att detaljhandlarna inte har skapat något unikt med sina varor. Ur ett brand management perspektiv, måste företagen som ämnar lansera den fjärde generationens EMV skapa en ny image som skiljer sig från de tidigare generationernas egna märkesvaror för att bli av med sin lågprisprofil, och visa att de är likvärdiga de marknadsledande produkterna. Då EMV har visat sig vara framgångsrikt på den brittiska marknaden så kan det vara en bra utgångspunkt för att identifiera framgångsfaktorer.</p><p><strong>Syfte:</strong> Syftet med denna studie är att med hjälp av företaget Tesco på den brittiska marknaden identifiera framgångsfaktorer som kan tillämpas på den svenska marknaden för den fjärde generationens egna märkesvaror. Ett underliggande syfte är att undersöka om Garant kan anses vara en fjärde generationens märkesvara och i så fall hur konceptet kan använda sig av de framgångsfaktorer identifierade på den brittiska marknaden, för att lyckas i Sverige.</p><p><strong>Resultat:</strong> Vi bekräftar att Garant är en fjärde generationens EMV. Vi har sett att för att lyckas med den fjärde generationens egna märkesvaror, behöver man bidra med ett mervärde som kunden är beredd att betala ett högre pris för och att detaljisterna mer måste utnyttja den starka position de har på den svenska marknaden för att förbättra imagen runt EMV och mer specifikt för den fjärde generationen.</p> / <p><strong>Background:</strong>Today, retail distributors are investing in differentiation by launching their own brands to various segments and to higher prices. This is known as the fourth generation of own brands and is a relatively new concept in Sweden in comparison with other countries. The retail chain Axfood is an actor who has started an expansion through the launch of the brand Garant that we consider to be a private label of the fourth generation.</p><p><strong>Problem: </strong>The suppliers’ brands have long been considered as the “real brands”, while the distributors' brands are only for price-sensitive consumers. Previous studies show that consumers are willing to pay a higher price due to that the suppliers have managed to build stronger brands. The creation of positive associations with own brands is considered to have been prevented by the fact that retailers have not created something unique with their products. From a brand management perspective, companies that intend to launch the fourth generation own brands need to create a new image different from the previous generations in order to get rid of their low price profile, and show that they are equivalent to the market leaders. Since private labels have proven to be a success on the British market, it is a logical starting point to investigate.</p><p><strong>Aim:</strong> Our aim is to explore the success factors for fourth generation private labels on the British market, with the help of the company Tesco, to apply on the Swedish market. The secondary aim is to see if the Swedish private label Garant could be considered to be a private label of the fourth generation, and if so, if the success factors can be applied.</p><p><strong>Results:</strong> We have found that to succeed with the fourth generation of own brands, value that the customer is willing to pay a higher price for, must be created, and that retailers must use their powerful position on the Swedish market in order to improve the image for own brands and more specifically the fourth generation.</p>

The study empirically investigated the effects of consumer price perception dimension and reputation dimension on attitude toward private label brands among young Swedish consumers. Consumer price perception dimension includes value consciousness, price consciousness, and price-quality association factors. Reputation dimension includes retailer’s reputation, existence of word-of-mouth (WOM), positive WOM, and negative WOM. Previous studies have found that factors under the consumer price perception dimension have an impact on attitude toward private label brands. The current study argues, based on theoretical framework, reputation dimension could also be considered as having an impact on attitude toward private label brands but that this has not been investigated before. Measurement scales for consumer price perception dimensions were taken from Baltas (1997) and Burton et al. (1998). New measurement scales were developed for factors under the reputation dimension. The reliability and validity of all the factors used in the study have been discussed. A multiple regression analysis was conducted where the private label attitude was the dependent variable and all factors under the two dimensions investigated in the study were the independent variables. The results of the analysis showed that value consciousness and price consciousness factors under the consumer price perception dimension have significant relationships with attitude toward private label brands. Similarly, retailer’s reputation, positive WOM, and negative WOM under the reputation dimension have significant relationships with attitude toward private label brands. Specifically, these three reputation dimension factors were found to have more influence on attitude toward private label brands among young Swedish consumers than the two factors found significant under the consumer price perception dimension. The major implication for the Swedish retailers is that they should put more emphasis on their own reputation (retailer’s reputation factor) and on positive WOM to develop favorable attitude toward private label brands among young Swedish consumers. They should also fight any negative WOM about their private label brands. In addition, the Swedish retailers should try to promote the quality aspect of their private label brands to the young Swedish consumers as value consciousness was found to be a significant determinant across the most of the demographic variables studied here.