Comments on: White Space Takes Over Private Brand. Walmart, Tesco & Publix

By: lisa,tx

lisa,tx — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:11:03 +0000

As a consumer and mother of three( ages,,now 16,20,24 ), I remember trying to save when my kids were very young( Super save ,save mart. All those boxes, just cut open and stacked on top of each other …Oh and that PLAIN labeling ,,, I remember it taking longer then ,,, all to save maybe 10.00 to 20.00 bucks. After taking 20 mins longer you had the joy of bagging them up yourself weee! ,,, not so hot with 2 toddlers fighting and a small infant crying… THOSE BAG boys or girls made it look so easy!!!! Let them try it with one crying baby / one sticky toddler and one fighting toddler,,, hangging off their hips),,, and now that the economy is going through hard times. Its seems to me that the companys are taking advantage of the consumers. Stressing how “bad” it is and saying its “recession sales” ,, and “slashing prices ads”. Hmmmmm???I havent seen any extra savings through this plain labeling. I would be curious to know how much of that saving ,, if any is really passed on to the consumer?( our bottom line vs how much more they are saving ??? Also just my 2 cents worth … The new labeling is NOT so easy to pick out if your comparing different items that are the same brand ( take corn, green beans,corn flakes, raisen bran, frosted flakes… look the same you have to look for the raisen ,, or the goop in the cream corn ,,, you have to read ,,, that take so much more time … this being after you have read the nutrition labels ,,, YOU KNOW WHAT YOU WANT ALREADY ,, your just trying to get in and get out ),,, you realy have to pay close attention. You will end up with cream corn vs whole kernel, and french style green beans instead of reg cut, or frosted flakes instead of plain corn flakes. They are tricking us ,,, its not all that “easy” and it takes more time to sift through ( Its a Hassle ). Then wait until you get it in your own little pantry,,, Then everyday you get that great expeirence of them saving the bottom line…all to spend extra time because all the cereal goes together( in your pantry, and no one likes the same cereal sooo their are 3 boxes same color, same shape, same look )good luck you have a 50/50 chance, of going straight to it ,,, Not so easy for “us” when we get it home and great for them though?? Great maybe, for their pockets but a real hassle for the consumer they are “not” tricking me !! they are watching their bottom line NOT OURS!

By: lee newham

lee newham — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 09:13:41 +0000

The point we were making is that this range seems to be hailed as something special, new groundbreaking even. And it isn’t. Everyone has been doing it for years.

But the new packaging is undoubtedly much better than the previous packs, but that’s like saying a round wheel is better than a square one.

By: Ed Dennis

Ed Dennis — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 22:36:41 +0000

Many seem to miss the point, and that is consumer convenience. Many have come to trust retailers like Publix and WalMart. Their private label product compares very favorably with National Brands. When I used to go into the ceral isle I spent too much time looking for the Great Value Bran Flakes. The old package looked like Kellogs and Post. Now I can find the white box in a jiffy and be on my way. I know grocers don’t want to hear this but I don’t dream of grocery shopping. I hate it. My convenient grocer plays huge “you can’t find it” games in an attempt to keep you in their store so you will buy more. Well this worked to some extent because I bought their private label pineapple rings (because they decided to move the canned fruit 10 isles away form the canned veggies) and found them to be extremely tough and inconsistent. I don’t trust their PL, so packaging won’t help them, even though they will surely follow WallMart. I know the packaging people don’t want to hear this but the value of a PL package is determined by consumers confidence in the merchant. The white packaging makes finding a trusted friend a little easier.

By: lee newham

lee newham — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 08:46:29 +0000

Hmm, thanks Tom, I designed packaging for Tesco for 8 years…the cheques in the post.

By: Tom McNulty

Tom McNulty — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 14:53:26 +0000

I agree with Lee… there is nothing unique or innovative about the new Walmart Great Value private label range. Let’s face it, minimal / white space packaging can work (when designed well) but traditionally it’s been the “private label” standards for many years. I think private label packaging needs to be well designed yet can offer great price points against national brands.

One of the best private label food brand examples I have found is “Marks & Spencer’s” in the UK. Tesco is also a strong up-and-coming contender as well.

The Walmart Great Value, it’s what “private label” looked like some 15+ years ago, Nothing new to the marketplace. Nothing new to the consumer.