PRIVATE LABEL COMPETITIVE ACROSS VALUE CHANNELS

CHICAGO -- Alternative retailers have put an emphasis on private label in recent years, undermining traditional supermarkets' ability to compete in this area, according to a study by Information Resources Inc. here. With the exception of dollar stores, all value channels (club, mass, drug, supercenters and mass merchants) have increased their private-label share more than traditional grocery stores since 2003, and the competition is expected to intensify in the next few years, the report predicted.