What are Private Brands?

ometimes referred to as house brands, private brands are product brands that are owned by the retailer instead of the entity that produces the product. The concept of private branding is not new and is used in many different industries. Most people are used to seeing the private or store brands displayed alongside national brands on the shelves of supermarkets, pharmacies and many other retail chains. The concept of private brands has been around for many decades. As early as the middle of the 19th century, there is evidence of the first major department stores contracting with suppliers to private label some of the goods that were sold on store shelves. The trend has continued on to this day, with some of the most well-known retailing entities sometimes attracting customers based on the quality of their house or store brands as well as their selection of national brands. Retailers who market private brands benefit from the activity in several ways. First, there is no need to establish manufacturing facilities in order to produce the goods or services offered. The retailer does not have to hire additional employees, deal with the acquisition of raw materials, or arrange for storage space for finished goods until they are sold to a customer. Because someone else is dealing with details of that type, the overhead for the retailer is significantly less than if the business attempted to produce the goods on its own.