KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- Spartan Stores has increased the market share of its core private-label Spartan brand 4% since the wholesaler and retailer introduced a new packaging design last year, said Alan Hartline, vice president, Center Store merchandising.
"We're pretty excited about what we've accomplished with private label," Hartline said earlier this month in a presentation at the Western Michigan University Food Marketing Conference here. "It builds loyalty, and it helps create a competitive advantage in the marketplace."
He said the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based company seeks to emphasize the quality, not the price, of its private-label lines. That was the case with the ice cream and frozen yogurt it introduced this past summer, which he said was well received.
Spartan gets three other private labels from Topco, Skokie, Ill.: Top Care, Valu Time and Full Circle, a 163-item natural/organic line that mimics Whole Foods Market's 365 brand.
Hartline said that in preliminary tests, Full Circle has done "very well" -- in some cases outperforming the 365 line in the market.
Spartan just began rolling out Valu Time, an 800-stockkeeping-unit line designed to compete with limited-assortment stores like Save-A-Lot. He said margins on the products can top 20%.
Wine is another area of focus, Hartline said. By month's end, the company will have a model department to show to its retailers that will include wooden floors, new lighting, colorful signs and an information kiosk.
"It will help our retailers differentiate themselves," he said, noting that food retailers in the Midwest capture a relatively low 15% of the market for alcoholic beverages.
Hartline said Spartan has also had success with its new "wall of values" displays located at the front of the store. The 318 retailers who have those displays have seen sales on those products rise by an average of 420%, Hartline said. Similarly, a "basket of values" for impulse items has been adopted by 97 stores, which have achieved a 600% sales boost on those items.
