U of Florida marketing professor explains store brands’ appeal

In an article on the University of Florida’s news website, Woochoel Shin, an associate professor of marketing, explains why he has long purchased store brands.

“Years of studying them — not just as a consumer but as a researcher — have shown him that their quality is often comparable to their brand-name counterparts,” states the article titled “Are Store Brands Just as Good? An Expert Weighs In.”

The article notes that in recent years, retailers have established tiered store brands and often have a premium brand and a national brand equivalent as well as a value brand. In addition, the article points out that private brands provide better profit margins for retailers.

“National brands bring people into the store, but they have a thinner margin for the retailer,” Shin is quoted as saying. “With the store brand, the retailer has a huge margin. So retailers want to sell more store brands, but they can’t give up on national brands because they generate traffic.”