NATIONAL BRANDS VS. PRIVATE LABEL
Byline:
INNERWEAR
The national brands still dominate all channels and are gaining in discounters, but losing slightly to private label in the food/drug and direct mail sectors. Specialty stores sell four times the amount of private label than brands, and the spread continues to grow. The share of brands purchased in department stores is almost twice that of private label, and neither share grew between l989 and 1994.
LEGWEAR
Once the bastion of the brands, department stores’ sales of private label are on the increase, while the national brands’ share is eroding. And private label’s dominant share in specialty stores continues to grow as brands decline. Conversely, the brands are gaining share in discounters, J.C. Penney and Sears.