ABSTRACT
The main activity carried out by commercial firms is the manufacture and sale of two categories, products and services, which can also be defined as the output destined to the final consumer. In this survey a particular retail distributing company, “Conad”, is analyzed.
A relevant function that this type of enterprise carries out is the size and quality of assortments, that is how to match the variety of the products which are offered to the choice that the consumer expects to find in the retail store where he usually shops. The necessity of brand identity and customer loyalty has made the most retailers supply a more specialized offer which is able to meet different requirements, by connecting the brand identity with the quality of the products. The result has produced a more rational assortment which can highlight the positive aspects of this choice. In the course of this process, Conad took great care in offering its clientele a wide range of its own private brand in order to distinguish and differentiate its commercial offer, giving to quality upgrading and packaging an increasing attention. Thanks to the confidence tie which binds enterprise and consumer, Conad is widening its brand to non food product categories. The aim of this survey is to analyze customers’ satisfaction as to a possible assortment extension by introducing new non food categories into the Aulla, Massa, Livorno supermarkets and S. Stefano hypermarket. After the analysis of the data, collected through face to face questionnaires, (in order to get a general idea of the typical consumer, his/her buying habits and expectations of non food “Conad” products) the following pivotal aspect have been singled out:
- Conad customers’ profile: woman, aged 36-50, employed, married, shopping at least once a week because the store is close, careful as to performance-price ratio.
- Conad brand customers’ profile: married, performance-price ratio is the purchasing reason; as to frequency, women after buy Conad brand products while men sometimes do it.
- What trough channels do customers know about Conad brand products: most consumers learn about such product mainly because they are shown in the stores, another consistent percentage of people learn about the products thanks
to promotions that make the sale easier while very few clients have chosen the other options (newspaper, magazines, tv and internet).
- Non Food product categories which represent a brand extension: Conad commercial brand extension to non food products mainly concerns household articles women’s favourite items, and household appliances and personal care tools. As women are the ones who more often frequent stores, they observe a particular attention in order to be successful in the offer. Conad is investing large financial resources in the stationary sector to meet both women’s and men’s requirements. Finally, the extension concerning electrical DIY products refers, in particular, to males.
- Features – Extra Performance of Non Food Conad brand products: price does not significantly influence the consumer’s satisfaction while availability – visibility, quality, trust – performance and design are unexpected characteristics, which generate an extraordinary degree of satisfaction, conversely if these features are insufficient then only provoke like dissatisfaction.
This survey ends with a section devoted to consumer – commercial brand relationship. To this end, a theoretical model, which tries to explain the principal factors of private labels, is considered. Here the evolution private labels have undergone in the Italian context, is illustrated as well as how it has bought about a new conscious consumer who acts with greater awareness in his buying choises.
