Japan’s Aeon turns to store brands in tough times By Taiga Uranaka Aeon, the second-largest retailer in Japan announced it would introduce more Private Brands and dramatically cut the prices of existing Private Brands. The Private Brands in Japan are following the same trend as the US and Europe where Tesco, Kroger and Safeway are positioning their Private Brands as direct competitors to national brands.
Aeon’ competitor, Seven & I, Japan’s biggest retailer, is reporting a similar growth in its Private Brands. It expected sales of its private label items to more than double to 180 billion yen in the current business year, a spokesman said. Interestingly enough the Japanese retailer uses English names and seems to be mimicking the private brand structure of many US and European grocers.
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