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Your store is your brand: so manage it like one. Private label is a cornerstone of growth and differentiation--if you treat it right.

Article Excerpt
As manufacturers trim brand lineups down to their fastest-moving SKUs, there's increasing room for retailers to make a true brand connection on a personal level. Retailers have a clear advantage in creating differentiation: They control the selling environment. But so far, few have identified the tool to take advantage of this strength-the store's own brand.

Private label needs to be at the center of store brand strategy. Remaking the private label leads directly into the biggest job of all: a comprehensive strategy that integrates all the brands that a customer experiences (the store, manufacturer brands, and store brand). Such a unified focus transforms a store from a depot for manufacturers' brands to a complete experience for customers.

The customer's experience actually starts before she steps foot in your store, and it carries through to when your product appears on her shelf. The opportunity--indeed, the imperative--is to...