PL buyers sense an improvement in product quality

The majority of Hungarian consumers think positively of retail chains’ private label (PL) products. 72 percent of buyers sense an improvement in the quality of PL groceries and household chemical and cosmetics products. Ágnes Villányi, head of department at Nielsen told our magazine that sales trends reflect consumers’ positive opinion. In the 90 grocery product groups audited by Nielsen, PL product turnover was worth HUF 196 billion in the first six months. In the same period PL household chemicals and cosmetics (70 categories) were sold in the value of nearly HUF 29 billion. Hungarian shoppers spent 27.1 percent of their money in the 90 food categories on PL products and 18.3 percent in the 70 household chemical-cosmetics categories. Discounters realised two thirds of PL product sales in terms of both value and volume. Private label products sell the best in Western Europe, where consumers spend every third euro on these – informed Jean-Jacques Vandenheede, retail insights director of Nielsen in Europe. In Switzerland PL products have a 45-percent share from sales, followed by 41-41 percent in the UK and Spain. This ratio is the lowest, 5 percent in the Ukraine. 70 percent of European consumers think that PL products represent a good alternative to branded goods. 69 percent reckon that they also have a good price/value ratio. Only every third European says that PL products don’t satisfy their needs when quality does matter.