Radical change of strategy for Coop Italia. Over 5,000 own-brand products will arrive on the shelves of the brand over two years. The goal is to double the value of private label sales from the current 3 billion to 6 billion in 4 years. “The game we are about to play is a decisive one – explains Marco Pedroni, president of Coop Italia and Ancc-Coop -. With Coop products, families can save 25-30% compared to the industrial brand, guaranteeing quality and new performances ».
The number of supplier companies has increased by 250 SMEs and now exceeds 750 companies. «It is not an attack on brands that will remain a fundamental feature of our offer – adds Domenico Brisigotti, Food Coop commercial director -. This choice will give an answer to the Italian consumer in search of convenience ». According to the company’s plans, the private label’s revenue share will rise to 50% from the current 30%. The discount phenomenon is in the sights which, with their low cost offer, attract customers in search of maximum convenience. “We do not wage war on big brands or discount stores” explains Pedroni.
Discounters such as Md, Eurospin, Lidl are profitability champions, according to the Mediobanca report, while Coop is the rear with a Roi of 0.4%. Thanks to the new private label offer, Coop will bring the average margin to 30% on a large number of products while that obtained with industrial products is 5-10 points lower. We will also intervene on the efficiency of internal processes. The acceleration in the private label offer comes at a time when the industry is asking for price increases and inflation is growing sharply with projections at 13% by the end of the year. Since the beginning of the year, producers have asked for price increases of 10-12% to cope with the increases in raw material and energy prices, while Coop has adjusted prices by 2%. «The effects on consumers will be seen in the coming weeks – adds the president -. There is growing inflation which is already having negative impacts on the shopping cart ». Finally, a clear no to all traffic light labels. “We have moved with other Italian operators and we think that the Italian proposal is better” concludes Pedroni.