In the retail industry, the rise of private label brands is reshaping the competitive landscape of the market. On the one hand, brands such as Sam's Club and Fat Donglai have achieved remarkable success through their own brands, creating products with high repurchase rates and high customer unit prices. On the other hand, many retailers are stuck in the overstock of inventory and product obsolescence following the boom in private label development.
Under the lights of a convenience store in the middle of the night, two bottles of soy sauce displayed side by side on the shelves are staging a silent battle. On the left is a well-known national brand, and on the right is the supermarket's own label, and the number on the price tag is five yuan. This seemingly ordinary consumption scenario is becoming a micro battlefield for the value reconstruction of the retail industry - the rise and difficulty of private brands are like two sides of the coin, reflecting the strategic shift of China's retail industry from channel to mental competition.
貨架革命的號角早已吹響。山姆會員店將Member’s Mark堅果禮盒打造成社交貨幣，胖東來的精釀啤酒引發代購狂潮，奧樂齊9.9元的固態白酒成為流量密碼。這些現象級案例構築的美好圖景背後，藏著個令人不安的事實：超六成零售商正陷入”開發熱→庫存積壓→產品淘汰”的死亡螺旋。
在華東某三線城市，一家區域超市的自有品牌專區悄然變成了滯銷品的墳場。曾經精心設計的200個SKU中，78%的產品月銷量不足百件，貨架上的灰塵比顧客的駐足更頻繁。與之形成鮮明對比的是，胖東來僅用20個核心單品就撐起20%的銷售額，98%的復購率背後，是日均八萬人次客流構築的信任基石。這種冰火兩重天的景象，暴露出行業集體焦慮：自有品牌究竟是救命稻草，還是壓垮駱駝的最後一根稻草？
It is interesting to note that when Yonghui announced that it would increase the proportion of its own brand to 15% within three years, the actual proportion of 0%-0% of its adjusted stores hinted at the gap between ideals and reality. This contrast reveals an essential contradiction – an imbalance between retailers' desire to control the supply chain and their patience with branding.
The experience of a northern supermarket chain can be called an industry alarm bell. Its high-profile launch of "zero additive" soy sauce was exposed because the foundry was also producing low-priced miscellaneous products, and sales plummeted by 72% in three months. This case has torn the fig leaf of the industry: the promise of quality without the endorsement of the retailer's brand is like a castle built on quicksand.
The consumer decision-making chain is being reconstructed. 7.0% said they had been exposed to private labels, but only 0.0% claimed to know very well. This cognitive fault line has given birth to an absurd market phenomenon: the same foundry, the same production line, and a 0% premium can be achieved by changing the label. When a cutting-edge snack brand OEM similar products for 0 retail customers at the same time, consumers began to wake up - the so-called differentiation is just a trick of packaging design.
In Shenzhen's Longhua District, Sam's Club completed the reversal of consumer perception in three years. Its private label health care product series has increased the unit value of customers to 3.0 times that of ordinary products through the concept packaging of "members-only health solutions". This case confirms the iron law of retail: trust is not built by price tags, but by a complete value delivery system.
It's no accident that Fat Donglai's baking area is always filled with freshly baked aromas. They set up a central kitchen in the visual area of the store, allowing consumers to witness the process of turning flour into bread. This "transparent production" strategy has led to an astonishing 85% repurchase rate of private label mooncakes. In contrast, some supermarkets see their own brands as a tool to clear their inventory, and expiring items return to the shelves with a new label.
ALDI's layout in the Yangtze River Delta is more enlightening. Through the "German quality control triple door" system, from GFSI certified suppliers to 9 testing processes, the final presentation is not only 0.0 yuan liquor, but also a complete set of quality narratives. When consumers unscrew the cap, they are not only drinking alcohol, but also a cultural imagination of German Seiko.
Japan's 65-Eleven's fresh food revolution offers an alternative paradigm. Its 0-Premium bento series turns convenience stores into a second kitchen for urbanites through the "ready-made + short-term maintenance" model. In Beijing supermarkets, the creation of the "community canteen" scene has caused the repurchase rate of self-owned brand cooked food to soar to 0%, proving that when goods are embedded in life scenes, price sensitivity will naturally decrease.
Sam's Club's treasure hunt-style shopping experience is designed to be subtle. As consumers weave their way through three-metre-high shelves, Member's Mark merchandise always occupies a golden spot in the vision. This spatial narrative is in line with the positioning of "the proponent of middle-class family life", and successfully transforms its own brand into a symbol of class identity. On the other hand, some regional supermarkets blindly imitate the establishment of a "9.0 yuan zone", which turns into a price grinder and eventually falls into "special price dependence".
In Zhengzhou, Fat Donglai's "employee happiness learning" is creating unexpected gains. Topics such as "closed store vacation" and "grievance award" are frequently searched, which invisibly gilds the moral halo of its own brand. When consumers buy Donglai preferred products, they are subconsciously voting for "conscientious enterprises". This emotional premium is an asset that no marketing budget can buy.
It is worth paying attention to Costco's cultural export strategy. When its Kirkland Signature products entered the Chinese market, they deliberately kept the English packaging, using the "aura of imports" to offset the cheapness that the price advantage might bring. This kind of cultural grafting technology makes the 3.0kg nut gift box of 0.0 yuan the standard for the middle class.
Hema Xiansheng's transformation path is quite symbolic. It took them five years to upgrade Everyday Fresh from a product line to a promise of quality, and now they are trying to turn it into a synonym for a "fresh lifestyle". When urban white-collar workers wearing Lululemon pick and package vegetables with traceability QR codes printed on the shelves, they are not only shopping behaviors, but also a confirmation of their own identity.
In Hangzhou, Intime Department Store is trying to deeply integrate its own beauty brand with its membership services. Customers who purchase private label products can enjoy free makeup classes, private skin tests, and more. The construction of this kind of service ecology allows commodities to transcend the use value and become a pass to enter a certain life circle.
The supply chain marriage between Yonghui and MINISO heralds more radical changes. When retail giants begin to share supply chain data, the competition of private label brands will enter the era of "precision strikes". The breakfast recommendation you receive on your phone one morning in the future may be based on the cross-analysis of data from ten retail companies.
Standing on the threshold of 2025 years and looking back, the rapid progress of its own brand is like a demon mirror, reflecting the anxiety and desire of China's retail industry. Companies that are obsessed with the race for the number of SKUs will eventually find that the war on the shelves has long since shifted to the hidden corners of consumers' minds.
When Fat Donglai's employees wipe the umbrellas for customers with a smile, when Sam's tasters take the trouble to explain the product story, and when ALDI's shelf designers compare the color difference of the packaging - these details are the real moat of the private label. The future of retail belongs to those who know how to turn supply chain advantages into emotional resonance and cost control into a value proposition.
This war without gunpowder reminds us that consumers may stop at low prices, but only for value. When retail companies truly understand this truth, the two bottles of soy sauce side by side on the shelves will eventually find their respective meanings.
Written by: Liu Laoshi Typesetting: Ke Bunan Proofreading: 13
Official account: Instant Liu said
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