With the energy crisis, a phenomenon that may not have escaped you: supermarkets are multiplying promotions at the moment, often putting their own brands forward. Even more astonishing: they no longer hesitate to “compare” them openly to the big traditional brands. A real “product war”.
Attract consumers at all costs: from in-store discounts to campaigns. The trick of the supermarkets, highlighting their house brand, to the point of turning away without complex from the usual big brand products. The strategy is not new: but it is increasingly used by supermarkets. Their argument: distributor products are cheaper and better for consumers.
Pierre-Alexandre Billiet, economist and retail expert, explains: “This tension has always existed between brands and white goods. Today, distributors are forced to put white goods forward to attract consumers to stores with often lower purchasing costs for white goods.”
Margins for distributors are lower on white goods
In the spokes, the difference is noticeable. For example, a packet of first-price pasta costs 1.09 euros, or 1.40 euros difference with a known brand. The same is true for dairy products. Result, for many consumers, more items in their basket and a lower check. The trend is confirmed. Sales of distributor products increased by 5% for the month of September.
So a paid strategy? Not always. “This is a complicated point for two reasons. Firstly, the margins for distributors are lower on white goods, and secondly, most of the ‘product’ innovations, which meet a new need, come most of the time from the big brands which have research centers at the international level. .”
And yet, the campaigns are hostile towards the big brands in an already tense context between supermarkets and suppliers to negotiate prices.