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there is a strong market belief that private label brands harbor the untapped potential in the retail sector . Private label brands , if strategically executed and well carried out in the market , are going to be the game change in this sector .

With the changing dynamics of increased competition , tough economic conditions , expansion , ( un ) sustainable policies , and muscle flexing amongst retailers and suppliers to control the market share , every retailer has every reason to push for a private label brand and ensure that it exceeds even the share a firm holds in the market .

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The private brands profitability realization through consumer uptake has made both the local and international commercial and retail players to re-strategize and realign on their modus operandi to ensure that whatever is on the market is exactly what is in the alignment with consumer needs and total satisfaction .

If retailer ‘ A ’ controls market share of say 50 % + 1 , then , why should its own brand ‘ X ’ fail to sustain itself on the market , fail to compete with its peer brands , be threatened by the new entry brands and even in the worst-case scenario create a commercial / retail loophole that might make the whole retailer struggle and take it to its deathbed .

What key players need to ask themselves is how come , being the negotiators of commercial strategies / deals on external brands from vendors , being the reason for entry brands growing to become key threat in the market , and being internal strategists to external players , they are still struggling to strategize on their own private brand .

Could this mean that protecting external relations has superseded the need to grow the private brand , from the fear that external brands suppliers will be on the run to unleash all market strategies to vanquish private label brands ? If they swim in the

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There is a strong market belief that private label brands harbor the untapped potential in the retail sector . Private label brands , if strategically executed and well carried out in the market , are going to be the game change in this sector . merry of retail innovation , then definitely , there is that threat of unleveled competition .

That notwithstanding , retailers need to ensure that whatever goes to the market stands tall as one of the best quality brands competitively priced , without looking like there ’ s private label branding devaluation which will undoubtedly raise loyalty concerns on the whole product mix - both the retailer and product as the brands .

There is a need to do thorough analysis , have the right human capital by identifying who fits where , ensure proper product mix , have proper strategies and a systematic and gradual approach / launch as well as an allteam player involvement to ensure private branding is all a success in the market .

Private label brands survival has had a mixed bag of fortunes ranging from success to failure by predecessors and is still highly likely to pose major challenges to the current retailers . It has witnessed sectoral success without the strategist necessarily knowing that they are already in the market selling private brands .

The first retailer to crack the private label brand puzzle in our local market will enjoy a huge market share with the rest of the players latching on the copy pasting strategy in the hope of remaining in the game .

That retailer is going to be the market benchmark of all time in the generation of modern trade private label retailers and entrants . Whoever is going to be the first to solve the elephant in the room , will pose a competitive challenge that if other retailers will not be strategic to understand the how ’ s and why ’ s and channel their own models , it will be disastrous on their growth and might lead to their failure .

The first winner of the puzzle will stay in the market to enjoy for as long as she keeps up with private label strategy and innovative situations to run around the market , lead and control market share and pricing through economies of scale .

All the retailers need to understand is that competition is competition , and it gets better when the private brand is the mix because the retailers will need to realign their scope of operations to operate like retailers ( as they have always been ), think like consumers and most importantly engage the market as producers and distributors - that ’ s where the strategies are unleashed to fight the brand internally and externally .

If the private brand collapses , be sure to struggle in the market if not crushing down to pave way for market successors hence one must be very tactful . Private labels enjoy immune of margins ( as well as other retail strategic parameters ) and what it takes is to have a three-sixty turn around working framework to support and safeguard the numbers because , ideally , private label has the numbers .

The numbers of the retail sectors are in the untapped potential of the private label brands and that is where the future of retail holds . With proper strategies , proper human capital , ideal timing and understanding consumer behavior , this is the future of Kenyan modern trade retail sector .

Patrick Maninga is a graduate of Economics with IT from Maseno University who believes in economics of sustainability . He is currently working at Naivas Limited as Branch Support Officer - Pricing and Promotions . You can engage him via email at : Maningapatrick97 @ gmail . com .