Allan Gate tells the story of GPA’s own brands and talks about the chain’s future strategy in this segment
The main event in Latin America entirely dedicated to private labels, PL Connection will be held between September 19th and 21st, at Expo Center Norte, in So Paulo.
The fair is an opportunity to publicize the growth of the private label market in Brazil, where, according to data released by NielsenIQ, a third of Brazilian homes already opt for this type of product. In Brazil, Grupo Po de Acar (GPA) pioneered the launch of its own brands, which began to appear on the shelves of the chain’s supermarkets in the 1970s.
The big advantage for consumers when opting for their own brands is the price, generally 30% cheaper, guarantees Allan Gate, director of exclusive brands at GPA. In the following interview, he tells the story of GPA’s own brands and talks about the chain’s future strategy in this segment.
How long has GPA been working with its own brands, how did this strategy come about?
We were pioneers in creating our own brands and have been in this business since the 1970s. Our strategy arose from the need to offer quality products at more competitive prices and also to meet the specific demands of our consumers. Our brands go through rigorous quality processes, similar to those carried out in large food industries. GPA has an area dedicated to guaranteeing these processes and carries out periodic quality tests. Private brand products from the Po de Acar and Extra chains are positioned to cost up to 30% less compared to leading brands.
What are the business challenges?
Our daily job is to show consumers the quality of our private label products. The main challenge for customers to make their first purchase of products from exclusive brands is knowledge and building trust. There is also a doubt on the part of the consumer that, because the items are cheaper, the quality could be lower than that of leading brands. And, in fact, we have a very high level of demand to release an item for sale, with projects that take up to two years to reach the final product, to be sure of the quality we want to offer our customers. We work consistently to deliver quality at a competitive price across all of our brands.
What brands and products are available through them?
Qualit: was created in 2008 and brings together everyday items, ranging from food (grocery and perishables), cleaning, baby and pet products, among others. Currently, the brand has a portfolio of more than 2,000 products; Taeq: was launched in 2006 and presents items focused on healthy eating, with emphasis on organic products. the largest healthy line in the country, with more than 400 items; Casino: imported items of differentiated gourmet products. We have more than 100 products; Club des Sommeliers: wine brand, with more than 90 selected labels of different nationalities.
What is the strategy for growing brands’ sales share?
To increase the share of sales of our private brands in a scenario where consumers demonstrate increasing demand and willingness to try new products, we developed a comprehensive strategy, focused on growth and also on the loyalty that only private brands can bring. By the end of the year, we will launch around 250 products with a large sales volume and in categories in which we are not yet present, in addition to strengthening our Qualit brand, which has the largest number of items and categories, offering options from cleaning to food. . This allows us to address unexplored market niches and capture new customer segments. Taking into account that GPA’s own brands represent 21% of our sales, we are concentrating our efforts on improving our presence and reputation. In the first quarter, we already registered a 15% growth in sales of our brands. Our goal is not only to continue this upward trend, but also to increase the visibility of our own brands at our points of sale (POS). Currently, the Qualit brand, one of our flagships, which already represents 90% of private brand sales at Po de Acar, is in the reformulation phase. We are focused on a complete evaluation of products that involves the analysis/reformulation of items, where factors such as recurrence, composition and competition are evaluated to further raise quality standards. In a second step, we will also relaunch the brand with more modern and updated packaging, in front of a younger and more connected audience, who talks more with our end consumer.
Read the full interview in the September 11, 2023 edition
