The PLMA show’s reputation for the quality of its exhibits and status of buyer visitors is growing fast. Stephen Foster reports
One of the most important and buyer-focused international trade shows in the global exhibition calendar throws open its doors next month.
The Private Label Manufacturers Association’s World of Private Label opens officially on Tuesday, May 25, for two days but also offers exclusive buyer viewing and a series of seminars the day before, on Monday, May 24.
The venue is the RAi Exhibition Centre, Amsterdam, where the biggest own label show in the world offers the opportunity for buyers from key markets in Europe and around the world to assess the latest category and product trends and developments in the own label market.
Brian Sharoff, president of the PLMA, says: “Private label’s growth is coming from a broad range of products and categories, and this will be seen this year on the trade show floor.
“There is a balance of food products, such as grocery, fresh and frozen, as well as non-food items, such as health and beauty, household and kitchen, personal and leisure products.”
New trends in food are emerging in categories such as ready meals and fresh foods. New product trends are also emerging from the burgeoning non-food market for own label and these will be on display in Amsterdam.
The PLMA show floor is divided into separate halls for food and non-food, so visitors can make the best use of their time. The non-food hall features health and beauty, kitchen, household, D-I-Y, auto supplies and gardening products.
The increasing number of non-food stands reflects the move by many European retailers to focus on non-food because of its growth potential and relatively high margins.
Sharoff says: “The show reflects what is going on in the marketplace. In mature markets, where private label is more than 25%, the issue is who is going to be the low-cost supplier. In developing markets, the issue is assortment and quality.”
Own label continues to be a crucial part in UK retailers’ armouries, where its penetration is, in many cases, far greater than the 25% mark.
In a retail environment like the UK, where points of difference are ever more
important, private label is certainly one of the weapons which can promote and distinguish an individual retailer’s emphasis on innovation and fresh ideas, whether they are individual products or complete own label ranges.
Indeed, many of these ranges such as Tesco Finest, Sainsbury’s Be Good To Yourself and, of course, Marks and Spencer’s entire portfolio, have become brands in their own right.
Exhibitors have that sort of target in their sights. Ian York, group sales director of debutante Premier Foods, says: “The show will enable us to demonstrate our capability across several categories, to identify new opportunities and strengthen existing ones.”
When visiting an exhibition, the last thing that busy UK buyers need is to find themselves wasting their time away from head office. The PLMA show is one of the few international trade shows that consciously avoids visitor wastage, and allows genuine, time-hungry buyers to walk the show without unnecessary interruptions to business.
It aims to stick to the principle that a show should attract quality visitors in sizeable numbers as opposed to a mass invasion of the halls.
Sharoff points out that UK buyers from the leading multiple chains tend to have a different approach to buyers from other countries when visiting the show. “They are very focused on specific product suppliers and look for something that is new and different because their private label programmes are mature, sophisticated and widespread.”
But he also says that, although it’s mature in the UK multiple sector, smaller UK retailers and wholesalers may not have full own label assortments. They visit the show and “walk the halls in a manner more in line with the majority of buyers from Europe and around the world”.
One of the most important and buyer-focused international trade shows in the global exhibition calendar throws open its doors next month.
The Private Label Manufacturers Association’s World of Private Label opens officially on Tuesday, May 25, for two days but also offers exclusive buyer viewing and a series of seminars the day before, on Monday, May 24.
The venue is the RAi Exhibition Centre, Amsterdam, where the biggest own label show in the world offers the opportunity for buyers from key markets in Europe and around the world to assess the latest category and product trends and developments in the own label market.
Brian Sharoff, president of the PLMA, says: “Private label’s growth is coming from a broad range of products and categories, and this will be seen this year on the trade show floor.
“There is a balance of food products, such as grocery, fresh and frozen, as well as non-food items, such as health and beauty, household and kitchen, personal and leisure products.”
New trends in food are emerging in categories such as ready meals and fresh foods. New product trends are also emerging from the burgeoning non-food market for own label and these will be on display in Amsterdam.
The PLMA show floor is divided into separate halls for food and non-food, so visitors can make the best use of their time. The non-food hall features health and beauty, kitchen, household, D-I-Y, auto supplies and gardening products.
The increasing number of non-food stands reflects the move by many European retailers to focus on non-food because of its growth potential and relatively high margins.
Sharoff says: “The show reflects what is going on in the marketplace. In mature markets, where private label is more than 25%, the issue is who is going to be the low-cost supplier. In developing markets, the issue is assortment and quality.”
Own label continues to be a crucial part in UK retailers’ armouries, where its penetration is, in many cases, far greater than the 25% mark.
In a retail environment like the UK, where points of difference are ever more
important, private label is certainly one of the weapons which can promote and distinguish an individual retailer’s emphasis on innovation and fresh ideas, whether they are individual products or complete own label ranges.
Indeed, many of these ranges such as Tesco Finest, Sainsbury’s Be Good To Yourself and, of course, Marks and Spencer’s entire portfolio, have become brands in their own right.
Exhibitors have that sort of target in their sights. Ian York, group sales director of debutante Premier Foods, says: “The show will enable us to demonstrate our capability across several categories, to identify new opportunities and strengthen existing ones.”
When visiting an exhibition, the last thing that busy UK buyers need is to find themselves wasting their time away from head office. The PLMA show is one of the few international trade shows that consciously avoids visitor wastage, and allows genuine, time-hungry buyers to walk the show without unnecessary interruptions to business.
It aims to stick to the principle that a show should attract quality visitors in sizeable numbers as opposed to a mass invasion of the halls.
Sharoff points out that UK buyers from the leading multiple chains tend to have a different approach to buyers from other countries when visiting the show. “They are very focused on specific product suppliers and look for something that is new and different because their private label programmes are mature, sophisticated and widespread.”
But he also says that, although it’s mature in the UK multiple sector, smaller UK retailers and wholesalers may not have full own label assortments. They visit the show and “walk the halls in a manner more in line with the majority of buyers from Europe and around the world”.
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