A growing number of online retailers are introducing private label brands to reap the benefits physical retailers have been seeing for decades, including better margins and improved customer loyalty, according to The Virginian-Pilot. Existing e-Commerce house brands are also growing, with Boxed expanding its Prince & Spring line from staples such as toilet paper and napkins to items including laundry detergent, almond butter and bottled water.
“We believe that private brands, when done well, are not just an add-on or ‘me too’ value option anymore, or even just a way to drive margin expansion,” said Jeff Gamsey, Vice President of Private Brands at Boxed in an interview with Retail TouchPoints. “They can actually become a fundamental defining piece of the entire retail experience.”
Boxed, which is often described as an e-Commerce version of Costco, looked to the warehouse club retailer for inspiration when naming its private brand, according to Gamsey. Kirkland Signature is named for the Washington city Costco used to call home, while Prince & Spring are two streets near the e-Commerce retailer’s old New York City office.
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Boxed doesn’t release its sales figures, but private brands are lucrative at physical retailers. Sales of O Organics at Albertsons and the retailer’s other banners exceed $1 billion annually, while sales of Simple Truth are valued at more than $2 billion at Kroger stores. At Costco, Kirkland-branded items make up approximately 25% of the retailer’s $129 billion in annual sales.
Gamsey will present a Digital Strategies Session entitled Best Practices for Building A Private Brand In The Digital Era at the Retail TouchPoints Retail Innovation Conference. The event will be take place April 30 to May 2 at Convene in New York City.
