More than half of the fast-moving consumer goods market in Portugal is made up of private label brands, but they account for only one-third of the value of supermarket sales.
These figures from the third edition of the study "Brands + Consumers", a partnership of Centromarca and Kantar Worldpanel, which focuses on the evolution of the FMCG market in Q4 2016, as reported by Diario de Noticias. In this period, Portuguese households bought 1% less in volume, but spent 2.1% more in value.
Contrary to the rest of Europe, own-brands have been losing ground in the Portuguese market since 2012, with a 12% reduction in their share. This is despite Portugal having the cheapest private label brands in Europe - these products cost, on average, less than half the price of manufacturers' branded goods.
The increase in the value of products purchased is the result of shoppers' increasing interest in healthier products, free of additives and preservatives, and the fact that they are willing to pay more for these items.
In terms of product categories, food has suffered the biggest drop (-1.4%), followed by personal hygiene, beauty articles, and beverages. In contrast, there was a 1.2% growth in purchases of household hygiene products.
Textiles are also now gaining clout, thanks to the interest in this segment displayed by chains like Lidl. In fact, clothing already represents 3% of the total sales of supermarkets and hypermarkets in Portugal.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine
