Abstract

In regards to food consumption in Italy, consumers demonstrate a growing appreciation for Store Brands in their various forms: premium, mainstream and value. While retailing literature has largely been focused on the determinants behind the Store Brand’s success, little attention has been paid to a specific model able to describe and explain the main factors behind the creation of retail brand equity. Drawing on the literature that has analyzed the success of the Store Brand, this paper aims to assess the Italian consumer’s perception of the Store Brand. It is particularly interesting to study the consumers’ comparative evaluations between the two types of Store Brand segments: mainstream and premium. The variables which characterize a Store Brand’s Identity and those which enable it to offer a credible alternative to the leading industrial brands will be the focus of the study. They include: price advantage, perceived quality, level of innovation, ethics and sustainability. Data were collected from a quantitative survey based on a structured questionnaire. The final sample group was made up of approximately 600 Store Brand consumers loyal to the same retailer. Looking at the two Store Brand segments analyzed, results demonstrate that the consumers’ opinions differ in regards to price advantage, while they remain relatively uniform in regards to the other factors. These results lead to important managerial implications as they highlight how important it is to qualify a Store Brand’s distinctive factors, implement communication policies and to understand the final consumers’ expectations in order to increase its overall value.

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