A&P's Private Brand Strategy

In less than three years, The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., a distributor in northeast America, has completely revamped its private brand strategy (see Store Brands Decisions for the complete document). It deserves a detailed analysis.

1. A&P has 435 stores, with four different formats (and 6 store names): Fresh (A&P, Waldbaums, Superfresh) / Gourmet (The Food Emporium) / Discount (Food Basics) / Price Impact (Pathmark). The choice of private brands was made by adapting to the format, the ensign, the store itself and the profile of its catchment area - in a completely flexible manner: "We don't change the strategy of own brands based upon store format. We also don't take a carte blanche approach and put items everywhere. What we do is provide that portfolio of brands within each one of those formats and we determine what best suits what best suits their customer base".
2. To implement this strategy, A&P hired Doug Palmer who successfully launched the "O Organics" private brand at Safeway (which I have several times spoken of on BrandWatch): This is a private brand that is today the leading organic brand in the USA.
3. The private brands (which represent 18% of sales volume) were structured in a conventional 3-level manner (Hartford Reserve as a private label Premium / America's Choice as core range / Smart Price as entry-level) with the creation of two transversals that are completely new: Green Way, an organic private brand and Via Roma, an Italian private brand.
   
   
   
   
   
   Each of these private brands was structured like a real national brand: they carry a story, have a strong graphic identity ... and are presented mostly as independent sales displays, giving them even more impact. Via Roma is in this respect, a real success: it conveys authenticity, proximity, fun ... and not the nth 'Italian brand" of the market (all the visuals are pictures of the inhabitants of an Italian village).
   
   
   
4. There is no mention of the retailer and its stores on the private labels. If one considers the "O Organics" case (which is now present in several stores in the U.S. and abroad), the objective is clear: distribute these private brands at other retailers.

A strategy that is comprehensive and sophisticated - modern design, proximity to consumer expectations: this is in complete contrast to the French strategies where private labels are all standardized under a single store name. Will the sole French distributor who can develop such a strategy (Intermarché) take inspiration from it?