Exploring the gap between policy and practice in private branding strategy management in an emerging market

Purpose: Private-label goods are now available in more than 55 countries worldwide and their total sales value is estimated to be in excess of one trillion US dollars. The prevalence of such goods, however, drastically differs across countries. Whilst market share in some developed economies exceeds 50 percent, penetration appears much lower in emerging economies. The purpose of this paper is to investigate marketing issues surrounding such low-penetration levels in emerging markets. Design/methodology/approach: In-depth interviews were conducted with: 36 store managers and the marketing director of a large emerging market retail chain. Findings: Eight factors were found to impede the retail chain’s vision regarding implementation of the private branding strategy. Practical implications: Several implications are extracted from the study, mainly in the context of emerging markets that managers should consider in order to improve their private branding strategies. Originality/value: Although some research has aimed to shed light concerning the significance of private brands from retailers’ perspectives, such research has not tended to address the issue of how to implement private brand strategies in emerging markets. To bridge the gap, this study investigates these issues from a retail chain management perspective in order to potentially leverage performance advantages associated with the nurturing of private-label branded goods.