The International Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA) is celebrating after witnessing a record turn-out at its 21st annual trade show, World of Private Label.
The event, held last month at Amsterdam's RAI Centre, attracted more than 7,000 visitors and some 3,000 exhibit stands representing manufacturers from more than 60 countries.
There were also a greater number of large exhibit stands at this year's event, providing more room for meetings, opportunities for tasting food products and examining non-food items.
Brian Sharoff, PLMA President, said: “The attendance at this year's World of Private Label and the surge in private label market share across Europe reported by ACNielsen demonstrate that retailers and wholesalers have chosen private label as their strategy to build profits and increase customer loyalty.”
He added that private label market share has for the first time surpassed 40 per cent in four countries - the United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium and Switzerland - and private label now accounts for more than one of every three products sold in France and Spain.
This year, the event introduced a one-day special education programme.
At the same time, the Executive Education EXPRESS classes encompassed a broad range of topics, including: private label around the world, private label brand management, supply chain management, and consumer behaviour.
Classes were given by a faculty drawn from the industry and professors from Nyenrode Business Universiteit, SDA Bocconi School of Management, and Université Paris Dauphine.
During the seminar programme representatives from Deloitte, BBPG (Business to Business Production Group) and PLMA spoke on the major issues affecting retailers and private label.
BBPG’s Alexey Filatov said he thought private label would grow rapidly in the next five years. And Russian companies will put a greater emphasis on creating "strong retailer brands" in addition to new product development, he claimed.
Visitors were reportedly also attracted to the Idea Supermarket, where they could examine hundreds of private label product ranges and food and non-food products from 64 retailers from Europe, North and South America and Asia.
