8th & Walton’s Terry Clear discusses Walmart’s packaging overhaul of its Great Value brand as part of a broader push into private brands.
Lainie: We’ve been hearing a lot about Walmart’s recent repackaging of its Great Value brand, and we’re hearing so much about store brands right now. What does Walmart’s Great Value packaging overhaul signal to suppliers about expectations for branding?
Terry: First of all, as with anything, brands refresh from time to time, and Walmart is doing this with the Great Value brand. It’s kind of been needed. But Walmart is leaning into private brands more and more, especially with the rollout of the bettergoods brands. I believe that the percentage of private-label brands sold by Walmart is going to continue to increase over the years, and I think they could wind up with 35–40% of their sales coming from private brands.
So if you’re a supplier, how do you compete with this other brand, this Walmart private brand? How do you compete with that, and how do you lean into it? Are you a supplier that’s going to be interested in bidding on some of this private brand business?
Are you a Walmart Supplier? Get in touch to schedule a free consultation:
Lainie: And what are the biggest opportunities for suppliers to drive innovation in this evolving private-label strategy?
Terry: I think the first question is, “Am I going to participate in private brand development, or am I just going to keep my own brand and try to develop it?” In either case, you need to be focused on your brand development: how you connect with customers, how you continue to grow, and how you develop that emotional connection.
Because there are some brands that have such a strong emotional connection that if something else gets bought, you just say, “No, I’m sorry, we’re not doing that.” So you need to leverage your brand as best you can to develop that emotional connection with a shopper, and that’s where you generate brand loyalty.
And in today’s world, I heard a good quote the other day: “Loyalty is just where I am today until something better comes along.”
