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Re-visit these pages during the month for updates and new items. Asterisks before a *Company Name indicates that company's current listing is in the 2012 Exclusive Brands SOURCEBOOK database.
‘SPOT ON’ FOR THE SUPER BOWL
Call it: "30 seconds of ‘fame’" for the 100% store brand, Swedish retailer *H&M.
While practically everyone today (Feb. 6) may be talking about the New York Giant’s miracle win over the New England Patriots, we cannot let a milestone for the private brands business go unnoticed. H&M, coming off the official launch of its new David Beckham Bodyware product range on Feb. 2, at one of H&M’s high street stores in London, outdid itself by buying a $3.5 million, 30-second commercial, which aired during yesterday’s Super Bowl XLVI telecast—estimated by some people to have drawn the largest TV audience of the year in the U.S. This is very likely the first time ever that a retailer became a sponsor for its store brand during this event.
Even if you were not one of the estimated 111 million+ TV viewers of the Super Bowl on NBC, you probably know who won the game —given all the media attention for that event. What you may not appreciate is that H&M's overpriced TV spot was for a store brand.
This very well could be an unprecedented event for the private label industry. Usually, you see Coke or Budweiser or some other prestigious name brand as a sponsor of the Super Bowl. It’s possible that even Michael Jordan, the now retired iconic basketball superstar, appeared on one of the past 45 Super Bowl telecasts, endorsing Hanes brand underwear; something he’s been doing for more than 10 years. We don't know.
H&M recruited the still-active soccer superstar, David Beckham of the LA Galaxy team. (Beckham already has modeled Armani brand of briefs as well as other brands in past ads.) His latest endorsement, however, represents his own identity as an exclusive H&M brand for a line of body-fitting underwear products to be sold in some 1,800 H&M stores worldwide. The first collection, which Beckham and an in-house design team reportedly worked on for 18 months, features nine key products: briefs, trunks, boxer briefs and woven boxers; T-shirt, vest and Henley; and pyjama bottoms and long johns.
The TV spot on Super Bowl XLVI shows Beckham’s semi-nude, tattooed body, in a sexy play over his face and body parts, all reinforced with the background music, “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood,” sung by the British rock band, The Animals, but originally recorded years ago by Nina Simone. Its sexy tone was not out of context for the Super Bowl telecast: Superstar Madonna, during the half-time show, sang: “I’m sexy and I know it.” If viewers wanted to tweet along later with Beckham, the TV spot ended with the hashtag, “#beckhamforhm” along with the “hm.com” website signature. Needless to say, all this hype has already gotten exposure on YouTube plus numerous tweets on Twitter. That’s really what Super Bowl ads are suppose to do: Draw consumer attention—and create a brand impression.
While it can be argued that McDonalds, which exclusively sells its own brand products only from its outlets, has advertised on Super Bowl telecasts, strictly speaking, this company operates in the foodservice sector. The H&M’s store brand ad breaks into big time advertising, promoting what it is developing as a global store brand.
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CANADIAN INDEPENDENT PHARMACIES RESHUFFLED
Traditionally, store brands do not get the high-profile, Beckman Super Bowl treatment. So when multi-billion-dollar companies acquire or divest properties, their private brand business often is barely mentioned. Nevertheless, such activities do have a significant impact on the private brand business. This is the situation with the latest sale by the *Katz Group Canada Inc. of its Drug Trading Co. and Medicine Shoppe Canada Inc. businesses to *McKesson Corp., San Francisco
On January 30, McKesson, the largest pharmaceutical distributor in the U.S. and Canada (fiscal 2011 revenues of $112 billion) for $918 million agreed to buy the marketing and franchising business of 1,000+ Canadian independent pharmacies. They include 850+ independent pharmacies, operated by Drug Trading Co., under the I.D.A. and Guardian banners plus the franchise network of 160 independent Medicine Shoppe pharmacies. The seller, The Katz Group (estimated sales of $6 billion+), controlled by billionaire Daryl Katz, owner of the Edmonton Oilers hockey team and a network of some 400 Rexall and Pharma Plus drugstores besides the pharmacies up for sale, i.e., the two Drug Trading chains plus the franchised Medicine Shoppes chain, all in Canada. The Medicine Shoppes are franchised internationally by wholesale pharmaceutical/healthcare distributor, *Cardinal Health, Inc., Dublin, OH (fiscal 2011 revenues $102.6 billion). Since McKesson already supplies the pharmacies being sold by Katz, they will be integrated into its overall Canadian business. McKesson Canada currently operates a number of banner groups, including Proxim, Associated Retail Pharmacy, and Family Health Care Pharmacy. The newly acquired banner groups from Katz will be operated in a manner similar to McKesson's three existing banners, which means member-pharmacists will remain owners of their pharmacies and will retain sole responsibility for the management of their business. Additionally, the two Drug Trading banners, which sell Katz’s own brand, Rexall, will continue to sell that store brand after being transferred over to McKesson sometime this year. Katz meantime has put more focus on its Rexall business, growing both the chain and the Rexall store brand line. Recently, Katz purchased 18 Dell Pharmacies in southern Ontario, which will be added to the Rexall chain.
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