Kroger relaunches Private Selection brand

[krogerclerk]

Kroger is preparing to relaunch its Private Selection brand with a new logo and tweaks in merchandise and variety. The brand will continue to be a high-end brand, unlike its origins at Ralphs where it was once a mid-range house brand. Overall, the brand doesn't seem to have been a major success, but I would say it is successful enough that Kroger would continue to invest in it. The biggest problem is more brands cause consumer overload, and SKU rationalization that favors private label over national brands sends customers to other retailers. Private Selection is often high-end treatment of otherwise mundane everyday items resulting on limited appeal, or a private label version of low volume specialty items that have limited appeal.

http://www.thekrogerco.com/corpnews/cor ... 022000.htm

[VibeGuy]

No, not a first for Ralph's. Before anyone in Portland could even spell Cincinnati, Fred Meyer was doing deals with Loblaw's to bring President's Choice into the US under, first, the President's Choice and later the Private Selection labels.

[Super S]

I have never had issues with any private label products from Fred Meyer/Kroger. They usually are good quality and value. However, some streamlining needs to take place. It can be confusing to people when a product is stocked in a Fred Meyer brand one week, and Kroger the next. And there are many other brands including Heritage Farm, Heritage Hearth, President's Choice, Perfect Choice, and there was even a Fred's Choice pop for a while. And there is even the FMV brand and Mountain Dairy brand. And in the Northwest, there is the possibility of the same product bearing a QFC brand.

[Brian Lutz]

A lot of dairy products seem to use QFC or Fred Meyer brands on minor variations of the Heritage Farm packaging. Others just use Heritage Farm straight up,

I agree that the store brands (at Fred Meyer in particular) can be a bit confusing, although there has definitely been streamlining going on.