According to “2010 International Private Label Yearbook,” published by the Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA), the share of private label goods in all products sold last year reached 17.4 percent in Turkey, up from 13.7 percent in 2008. Private label sales also gained 2.7 percentage points over a year, rising to 11.5 percent. Even though private label products grew in both value and volume in Turkey, its share is still quite low compared to other countries in Europe. Private label accounted for 52.5 percent of all products sold in Switzerland last year, while this figure was 46.9 percent in the UK, 35.4 percent in France and 26 percent in the Netherlands. Turkey has the least market share for private label products across Europe, along with Italy.
Jean-Jacques Vandenheede, European director of Retail Insights, attributed the low level of private brand sales in Turkey to low retail brand penetration in the country. “This can equally be explained by the very low market concentration, standing at 17 percent, for the top five grocers,” he said. Vandenheede cited discount retail chain BİM as one of the main drivers in Turkey and said the chain is rapidly expanding. “Modeled on Aldi, BİM managed to drive its own label share of sales up to 58.4 percent in 2009, which compares with just 44.6 percent three years before. It is evident that BİM’s success has triggered reactions from its competitors.”
Last year private label sales grew in 14 of the 20 countries tracked in the survey, indicating that more customers are buying store brands than before. “These gains are not temporary due to the recession but are permanent and part of shifting consumer attitudes toward private label,” Brian Sharoff, president of PLMA, remarked.
The report found that for the first time, private label goods account for 40 percent or more of all products sold in a total of five countries -- Switzerland, the UK, Slovakia, Spain and Germany.
