FMI Kicks Off Private Brands Summit in New York

SHARE:

Email

Print

LinkedIn

Facebook

Twitter

June 16, 2009

By Maureen Azzato

Firmly focused on the aggressive growth of store brands, The Food Marketing Institute hosted its first ever Private Brands Summit this week in New York City to help retailers and suppliers seize the opportunity.

"This Summit provides a historic moment in the history of private brands as the industry comes together to speak with ‘one voice' in shaping the future of this tremendously important industry segment," said Leslie G. Sarasin, president and CEO of FMI.

The goal of the conference, which took place June 14-16 at the Waldorf=Astoria Hotel, was to "engage industry leaders in high level discussions to address strategic opportunities and to establish an industry platform to address the long-term goals of the private brands community," according to FMI.

The current economic environment and consumers' predisposition to private label brands "is an ideal opportunity to profitably grow private brands through enhanced levels of trading partner collaboration, leveraging consumer insights and consumer focused product innovation," Sarasin added.

At the opening dinner event Sunday, this year's FMI chairman, Richard Jurgens, chairman and CEO of Hy-Vee Inc., described the current store brands business environment as "a bit of a perfect storm that presents a unique opportunity for private brands. This category used to be referred to as private label, but we're not talking about labels; we're talking about brands and developing brands. That's why this event is called the Private Brands Summit."

Retailers and manufacturers must listen to what consumers need and develop the right quality products at the right price and always deliver value, Jurgens said. "This is a unique opportunity to strengthen our entire industry -- not just private brands. We must grow the overall business."

During the opening session Monday morning, Patrick Walsh, vice president of industry relations and collaboration for FMI, said the Private Brands initiative was developed by FMI with the support of 25 leading manufacturers and retailers. Unlike many other association structures, Walsh said this new model is unique because retailers, manufacturers and wholesaler members have equal voting rights, and the value proposition of the group was jointly developed.

"Mission critical is providing leadership and advocacy for private brands worldwide," Walsh said. "We will focus on the U.S. first and expand from there."

FMI‘s goal is to expand its membership to include store brand manufacturers, suppliers and distributors, and also plans outreach to retailers in other channels of trade that sell store brands, including drug stores, mass merchandisers, warehouse clubs, dollar stores, limited assortment stores and convenience stores.

Keynote speakers at the event included Danny Wegman, CEO of Rochester, N.Y.-based Wegmans Food Markets Inc.; and Robert McDonald, COO of Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble, who in July will take the helm as CEO.

Other speakers and panelists included Linda Severin of The Kroger Co., Ralph Fischer of Meijer Inc., Kevin Hunt of Ralcorp Holdings Inc., Jack Kelly of American Italian Pasta Company, Carla Cooper, formerly of PepsiCo, Dan Mazur of Topco Associates LLC, Kevin Holden of Bay Valley Foods, Mark Gershenson of Vi-Jon Laboratories Inc. Maurie Fettig of Red Gold LLC, and Andres Siefken of Daymon Worldwide Inc.

Consumer and retail insights were presented by Lynn Dornblaser of Mintel, Diane Huth of Valassis Communications Inc., Michael Kelter of Goldman Sachs & Co. and John J. Lewis of The Nielsen Company.

Stay tuned to the Store Brands Decisions web site for more indepth and continuing coverage of sessions at the Private Brands Summit.

Read These Related Articles:

• Building Trading Partner Collaboration with Trust
• Meijer and Kroger Forecast Double-Digit Store Brand Growth
• National Brands Prepare for War With Store Brands
• Kroger Unveils Produce Traceability Technology
• Holiday Price Wars Could Make Consumers Big Winners

Most Read

Guest Columns

How to Develop a Private Label Expression Aligned with Retail Brand Strategy

By creating private label as a marketing tool rather than just a price alternative, retailers gain the opportunity to tell a complete brand story while simultaneously boosting customer loyalty.

Source: CBX

Using the Store Banner to Endorse Private Label Architecture

Although the economic downturn accelerated private label growth in Europe, there was another key driver -- retailers started to brand their stores.

Source: IPLC

Linking Your Empowered Customer into Your Store Brand Management Process

The formula for success is for retailers to take a holistic store brands management approach by collaborating with customers to maximize store brands potential.

Source: Austin Clark Group

See All Guest Columns »

Press Releases