CROATIA: Private label brands snatch 22% of Croatian retail market | Progresiv
Nine years after the arrival of discounter Lidl, private label brands have managed to snatch a 22% share of the Croatian retail market. According to local daily Poslovni Dnevnik, before Lidl, the share of private label products stood at just 2%, before rising to 8% in 2011. 
In some categories, such as milk and dairy products, the share of private label products in Croatia now stands at 40%.
The head of Croatian retail market leader Konzum, Darko Knez, has pointed out that the private label brand used to be a cheap alternative, as the price difference with branded products topped 10%, but today amounts to only 2 to 3%.
Local market consultant, Drago Munjiza, said there are almost no retail chain in Croatia, with perhaps the exception of KTC, where private label brands do not account for at least 25% of the sales. Most of them are in the non-food and packaged food sections.
In his opinion, retail chains such as Spar with the Spar Premium line, Lidl with the Okusi zavičaja and Konzum with K Plus, which combine local raw materials with strong private label brands, are probably among the best quality products on the market, while the lower price is achieved by skipping distributors and classic product marketing. (www.esmmagazine.com)
