There is no doubt that retailers' own labels in the packaged grocery markets are posing a threat to the branded sector. But to what degree? The research described here has evolved as part of a long‐term programme to assess consumers' perceptions of the competitive structure of the market....

With grocery brands manufacturers trying to respond to the increasingly concentrated retailing environment and the significant investment in own labels by retailers, a less than healthy future has been reported for some brands (eg Leahy, 1987). To succeed, grocery brands manufacturers should not...