What is a retail brand - a systematic review of terms and definitions

Abstract

PurposeAlthough many scholars have acknowledged inconsistencies in the use of the retail brand term within the existing empirical literature, no one has conducted a systematic study to clarify the confusion of terms. Aiming at unifying the use of terms, this study aims to explore the terms that best express each retail brand concept, and discusses the definitions of proposed terms that can distinguish the connotation of different retail brand concepts.Design/methodology/approachThrough a systematic review, 463 articles were obtained, from which retail brand terms and their definitions were further extracted. Semantic analysis and content analysis were adopted to analyze terms and definitions, respectively.FindingsSemantically, the terms that best express four levels of retail brand concepts are own product brand, store brand, platform brand and retailer brand. Six key elements to distinguish different levels of a retail brand are identified through the content analysis of definitions, and on this basis, four proposed terms are defined.Originality/valueNoting that no study focuses on the conceptual confusion of retail brands in recent decades, the findings are expected to clarify the confusion of terms and unify the use of terms, hence facilitating the communication between scholars and the sharing of research results.

Economy or premium? A systematic review of factors influencing retailers’ own product brand strategies

“…Firstly, according to the United States Industrial Classification Code System (SICCODE, n.d.), the retail industry excludes the retailing aspects of the pure service sector, namely, the financial, banking, hospitality and education sectors. Secondly, own product brand refers to the product brands fully owned, controlled and sold exclusively by the retailers (Chen et al, 2023), excluding the product brands of manufacturers and the brands of retailers' stores, retail platforms and companies. Third, we specifically targeted on English peerreviewed articles, excluding editorials and book reviews published in selected journals.…”

“…Own product brands, also known as private labels, store brands, own brands, are typically owned, developed and sold exclusively by retailers (Chen et al, 2023). Strategically, own product brands were initially positioned as economy brands with lower prices and lower but acceptable quality; however, in today's retail landscape, retailers are confronted with a diversified array of own product brands, ranging from economy, value, to premium offerings (Gielens et al, 2021).…”

“…Own product brands, also known as private labels, store brands, own brands, are typically owned, developed and sold exclusively by retailers (Chen et al. , 2023).…”

Private label partnerships with retailers: a risk or opportunity for producers?

“…PL brands are managed and owned by retailers, and PLs allow retailers to diversify their product offering to consumers and differentiate themselves within a competitive market (Calvo Porral and Levy-Mangin, 2016;Gielens et al, 2023). Food retailers can create and build consumer loyalty through PL products, which are otherwise known as "own-label" or "ownbrand" products (Chen et al, 2023). PLs were initially used by retailers to target price conscious consumers, providing more affordable options to national (market) brands.…”

“…, 2023). Food retailers can create and build consumer loyalty through PL products, which are otherwise known as “own-label” or “own-brand” products (Chen et al. , 2023).…”