This 226th edition of Pick of the Week will be my last because after many years in the business and at Europanel, I am retiring. Future editions will be in the very capable and insightful hands of Oliver Koll and Filippos Kaliakatsos. Many thanks to you all for reading and responding to Pick of the Week!
My final contribution is on Private Label and the complex drivers of it’s current growth path influenced by much higher than average price increases and the growth of Discounters.
Private Label shares are growing – more in value than volume
Over the pandemic PL value shares dropped as shoppers sought higher value branded options in expanded basket sizes. PL prices are now rising by 18.5% on average in the Big 6 Western Europe countries versus 11.4% for brands. Therefore PL value shares are now rising steeply.
Private Label value shares are rising due to three main factors
More than half the rise in PL value share is due to much higher than average price rises. Nearly a fifth of the increase comes from a growing Discounter sector with its high PL shares. And finally just over a quarter is down to shoppers moving from brands in other retailers.
Private Label share increases are not related to price inflation by category
There is no correlation across categories between PL share change and the price increases in each category. Shoppers are not making category level decisions to buy PL instead of brands but are looking at the overall basket spend. This means that it is up to all brands to invest to counter this PL threat.