Metro Ramps Up Private Label

TORONTO — Canadian retailer Metro Inc. has revamped its private-label brands with a new look and new formulations and is rapidly ramping up the number of offerings in the lines, company executives said at an investor conference here yesterday.

Currently the company offers 1,500 private-label items under two brands: a premium line called Irresistables and a national-brand equivalent called Selections, but plans call for having 3,500 items in those lines by the end of the year, Richard Dufresne, senior vice president and chief financial officer, said at the CIBC Retail & Consumer Conference here yesterday. He said sales of private-label items have been very strong at the Montreal-based retailer, although he noted it was unclear if the growth was due to the soft economy or to the product-line relaunches.

“We think the customer appeal of the new products and new formulation is working well for us,” he said.

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