Market-research company Canstar Blue has revealed that the popularity of Coles’ private-label lines is rapidly growing, and that, generally, private label is better regarded by Australian shoppers than it has been in previous years.
The native supermarket chain is beginning to gain ground on Aldi’s own lines, which have dominated private label in Australia in recent times. Woolworths has not made similar progress, however. While Coles increased its sales by 4.3 per cent over the six months to December 2015, Woolworths’ sales fell by a percentage point during the same period.
In terms of customer satisfaction, Coles’ private-label toilet paper, long-life milk and dishwasher detergent have all topped their respective categories. Prior to August 2015, it had no best-in-class private-label products in its portfolio.
Simon Downes, spokesperson for Canstar Blue, told News.com.au, that even though "Aldi remains very strong in all FMCG categories, Coles are leading the fight back. This change in private-label perception has coincided with an improvement in results for Coles, winning three customer ratings in the last six months."
"Woolworths is seemingly having a hard time convincing its customers of the quality and value of its home-brand groceries, and is in danger of getting left behind the other two," Downes added.
"We know Coles has made big efforts to address previous image problems when it comes to its private labels, and this renewed focus on quality products at low prices is clearly paying off. At this stage, we’ve yet to see any changes from Woolworths' result in improved satisfaction scores. Perceptions about home brands are changing, but this change doesn’t seem to be carrying through to Woolworths as yet."
A Coles spokesperson said that the chain "has worked hard over the past six years to improve the quality of our private-label products, so that we can deliver fantastic value to our customers every time they shop.
"This quality has been reflected in the 400-plus awards Coles Brand products have picked up over the past four years. However, we are always looking to deliver further improvements to delight our customers."
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Peter Donnelly. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here
