Zabka offering private label goods

2010-05-31

Zabka, the prominent convenience store chain, has introduced 70 products under private label brand names. At the end of 2010, the company will sell up to 200 such goods at its stores, and these will be 30% cheaper than similarly branded products. The private label items include dairy products, cold meats, snacks, beer and non-alcoholic beverages, in addition to tinned food and sweets.
Private label goods are growing in popularity in Poland. In its report Private label in Poland 2009, published in October 2009, PMR forecasted that the value of the Polish private label market increased by 27% year on year in 2009 to PLN 20.5bn (€5.1bn).

The Polish market for private label products is expanding fast and offers very good growth prospects, which leads more and more retail chains to introduce private label offerings into their mix. By doing so they broaden consumer choice and provide low-price alternatives to well-known products, while at the same time achieving higher sales margins. Zabka, which as a convenience store offers a limited assortment of staple items, also decided to expand its offering of private label items, despite earlier declarations that it had no plans to do so.
Consumer perceptions of private label brands have improved over the past few years, and more and more people buy such items. According to research carried out for the purposes of our report, “Private Label in Poland 2009”, last year 41% of consumers bought private label brands more often than they did in 2008. An extra factor that may have enhanced the appeal of private label products still further was the economic downturn, which made consumers notably more price-conscious. As private label offerings expand and as their quality improves, demand for such items is set to grow further in Poland in the years ahead.

Patrycja Nalepa
Senior Retail Analyst
PMR Publications