Private Brands Evolve From Generics to Must-Haves

Discount Giants Paved the Way With Owned Lines That Rival National Names

By: Alexandra Bruell Published: March 19, 2012, adage.com

In 2010, private and exclusive brands accounted for a third of total sales at Target, and today they claim over half of Kohl’s product portfolio.

The private-brand concept has been a consistent driver of sales for discount retail giants for decades, but over the years it has been adapted to suit shifting consumer demands. Today, private brands have evolved from generic value products into must-have exclusives at many discounters, and marketing budgets played a big role in that evolution.

It started with that wardrobe staple: jeans, or as they used to be called, dungarees. In the “60s and “70s, private brands were essentially private-label generics, many of which started in the denim category. Value gave retailers an edge — that is, until every store began to offer the same value brands at the same prices. In the “90s, however, the concept of new and exclusive private brands took off when retailers learned that “value” can also be defined as having distinct products that serve as differentiators, driving store traffic and loyalty.

Regarding the transition from developing “copy-cats” of national products to more exclusive products in the “90s, Tina Wilcox, CEO and creative director of retail branding shop Black, said, “The retailers started [private brands] in an era where there wasn’t the kind of keen focus there is today on national brands. The more consumers started to embrace the whole notion of brand loyalties, the more it started to weaken those [generic] private-label brands and assortments.”

Zain Raj, CEO of agency network Hyper Marketing, noted that when retailers realized that national brands were gaining clout, “they created newer brands that would stand side-by-side with national brands and be credible.”

Target’s Archer Farms and Walmart’s’s Sam’s American Choice line are just two examples. Today, private brands have become so prevalent and popular that they’re “forcing the national brands to fundamentally find other ways beyond product and price to differentiate,” Mr. Raj said.

BLACK CEO Tina Wilcox goes shopping with Shop Girl Allison Kaplan - check out the article in this month’s Mpls St. Paul Magazine!

BLACK CEO Tina Wilcox is One Minnesotan You Should Know

Reprinted from Twin Cities Business, December 2011

BLACK CEO Tina WIlcox heads to the Mall of America with this season’s most influential consumer - tween girls. Check out this clip of Tina’s KARE11 segment!

BLACK EYE: Unique Brand Voice

Wandering around the mens department of Saks at the Grove in LA, I was captivated by the simple yellow label. Upon closer inspection, the brand name Descendant of Thieves made me want to learn more and decide if it was a badge I needed to include in my wardrobe. The shirts have a classic silhouette with surprising yellow detailing.

Designer Dres Ladro’s method of design is unique as he creates clothing from the inside out. He pays careful attention to every single detail on the outside as well as the inside of each piece. This includes trimming the interior hem with blazing yellow tape as well as developing a stitch-through collar that always maintains a propped up shape. Even care label tags are unable to escape his artistic touch - all list the number or units made per style, the “born date” of each garment, and a witty message on cleaning instructions. 

According to the website, Ladro translated into English means thief. The root of Dres Ladro’s surname implies that he was a descendant of thieves.

In terms of Brand Voice, I give Descendant of Thieves an A+. Check it out at descendantofthieves.com and link to the designer’s very fun blog.

Like a Venus Fly Trap, retailer Johnny Cupcakes promises one thing and delivers something all together different. On a recent trip to Los Angeles, we were working our way down Melrose when we came upon its inviting storefront. We wandered in to find coolers and bakery cases stacked with fun, “fresh baked” tees and hoodies. The store was full of baking references - like an animated stove door wall display with smoke rolling out, and a replica of a stove top complete with neon burners used as a check-out counter. 

While we were making our purchases, a woman came in with her young son in tow and asked, “This may be a stupid question, but I am guessing you don’t sell cupcakes?”  A very cordial sales clerk said, “No, I’m sorry, we don’t. But thanks for stopping in.” When the woman was gone, he said, “Happens everyday.”

The Johnny Cupcakes logo features prominently throughout the line. Visit and you’ll find a great variety of T-shirts, hoodies, shorts, accessories, hats and totes for guys, girls and kids.

Founded in 2001 by Johnny Earle, the retailer boasts four locations, one in LA, two in Massachusetts and one in London. Check out shop.johnnycupcakes.com for products and a fun blog penned by Johnny himself.

Shoppers will spend nearly $7billion on Halloween decorations, costumes and candy this year. That’s good for the economy. Real Good.

Pumpkin Spice Lattes return to Starbucks - on Halloween we like to add a little cinnamon schnapps for a special kick!

Halloween costumes for dogs - how can you not love a dog in costume?

Seasonal creepy fruit sculptures best showcase our proclivity for all things weird.

Handing out full-size candy bars makes us the most popular folks on the block.

Visiting Haunted Houses is a great excuse to scream your head off.

The rebroadcast of It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown reminds us we’re pretty lucky compared that lovable loser.

JibHab’s customizable Halloween videos, starring us!

Spider webs are “decor”, not “poor housekeeping”.

Someone made a shark Halloween costume just for us!!!

Minneapolis Retail Brand Agency Debuts at No. 3,731 on Inc. Magazine’s 500|5000 List of Fastest-Growing Private Companies

MINNEAPOLIS (September 21, 2011) – BLACK: A Retail Brand Agency has ranked No. 3,731 on Inc. Magazine’s annual 500|5000 list of America’s fastest-growing private companies.

BLACK’s three-year revenue growth rate was 41 percent between 2007 and 2010, earning the six-year-old agency its debut appearance of the list. The agency is one of 22 Minneapolis-based companies to make the list and one of 82 Minnesota companies overall.

“It’s an honor for our team and agency to be recognized nationally for our success,” BLACK CEO and Creative Director Tina Wilcox said. “We’re a retail brand agency, and in today’s economy there’s no tougher terrain. When we help put our clients ‘in the black,’ it comes full circle.”

The 2011 Inc. 500|5000 is ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2007 to 2010. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2007. Additionally, they had to be U.S.-based, privately held and for profit. The minimum revenue required for 2007 was $100,000; the minimum for 2010 was $2 million.

The Inc. 500|5000 companies will be honored at a conference and awards ceremony in Washington D.C. on September 24.

About BLACK: A Retail Brand Agency

BLACK’s goal is simple: to put its clients in the black. The retail brand agency specializes in the many points of contact between consumers and retailers, including product concepting, development and packaging design; in-store and online merchandising; and traditional media, digital, mobile and experiential marketing. BLACK has worked on behalf of iconic retail and consumer brands, including Target, Starbucks, Office Max, Banana Republic, Nickelodeon, Regis Corp. and more. Agency founders Tina Wilcox, Wayne Talley and Renae DeBates have advised hundreds of clients and created thousands of retail programs over the past three decades. For more information, visit our website. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Many of us remember when Pop-Up Stores first began emerging as a major trend in retail back in the early 2000’s. Even though they’ve continued their evolution, the shock factor never grows old among consumers feverish for bold, intelligent buying. Here at BLACK, we understand the temporary yet powerful effect that a well made Pop-Up Shop, Pop-Up Storefront, and especially our very own design of the Regis Pop-Up Salon can have on lasting admirers of any brand.

- Target opened up a temporary 1500 sq. feet store in Rockefeller Center to celebrate Mizrahi’s new Women’s Clothing line from September 4 through October 15, 2003. The next year, Target built a temporary floating store for Christmas on the Hudson River and invited their flock of avid shoppers onto the deck for a unique shopping experience. Since then, Bullseye Bodegas and other mobile store ideas have sprung into action, decking out storefronts with specific designers for targeted attention (no pun intended).

 - Pop-Up Shops work for online venues too. Discount designer brand e-tailer, Bluefly.com, has splurged on the buzz of pop-up stores also. They have opened up ultra luxe holiday outlets in New York - like a 4,200-square-foot pop-up store located on 24th Street - and cleared out its old stock while generating a even more prolific following by targeting foot traffic. (Source: The Economist.)

- Perhaps most relevant today is the latest, greatest pop-up shop not done by a retailer at all. Going above and beyond the call for record selling duty, Kanye West and Jay-Z hit the street in New York and opened a gorgeous space for a whirlwind weekend to promote their latest CD. Inside, as TIME’s NewsFeed reported two days ago, “The weekend-long pop-up shop allows visitors a status warp into the lap of luxury - and in a sense, the mind of music’s biggest moguls.”

Bursting at the seams with a line of people around the block, this tiny Soho storefront was wrapped in the same iconic Riccardo Tisci gold packaging that the album itself used. They even included the tricked-out $300,000 car that was used in their music video as a centerpiece.

Architectural and brilliantly designed for a powerful yet temporary statement, Pop-Up Shops can take on many shapes and sizes. To gain the ultimate ability to stop a consumer in their tracks, choose the exclusive, once-in-a-lifetime feel that a Pop-Up Store can offer your brand. 

The Regis Pop-Up Kiosk creates “stopping power” in a busy mall environment.

This fully-powered, self-contained “mini salon” allows for product demonstration and seasonal promotions, helping to create stopping power in a busy mall environment.

In addition to its ability to attract ‘walk by” traffic with its modern, illuminated look, the kiosk also serves as a way to direct guests to the nearest Regis mall location.