Private Labels. Merlion на 23-м саммите розничной индустрии Retail Business Russia

In late October, the 23rd Retail Business Russia 2023 summit took place at the Imperial Park Hotel & SPA. Kirill Kostyushko, Brand Director of Private Labels (Merlion), participated in a panel discussion at the forum and gave a presentation as part of the session "Private Labels vs. Brands."

The Retail Business Russia Summit is one of the key events for players in the retail and trade market in Russia. This year, the event was attended by more than 150 top managers from retail chains, brand manufacturers, and partner companies, which this year included MegaFon, Sovcombank, OptiTeam Consulting, SteadyControl, Emami Group, Imredi, GTNT, and Gazprombank.

The business program of the event was built around four topics relevant to the entire retail sector – "Buyer-2024," "Private Labels vs. Brands," "The FOREVER Store," and "Marketplace Rockets."

The panel discussion "Maintaining the Brand! Are Brands Really Necessary, or What is the Limit for Your Private Label?" was attended by:

· Maria Gvozdovskaya, Director of the Private Label and Import Development Department at VseInstrumenti.ru;

· Kirill Kostyushko, Brand Director of Private Labels. Merlion;

· Dmitry Lunev, owner of TM im. Kondratova;

· Maxim Kondrat, Director of Private Labels and ETM at Aptechnaya Set 36,6.

During the discussion, the moderator of the panel discussion, Grigory Shanaev, highlighted the main problem areas when launching private labels in retail. Discussions on the topic of Private Labels vs. Brands are still relevant not only in retail chains but also among manufacturers. What are the prospects for the growth of private labels, should we focus on launching first-price brands or set more ambitious goals – these and other issues were discussed by leading experts in launching private labels for the largest Russian companies.

Then, the discussion of private labels smoothly transitioned into a block of case studies, where Kirill Kostyushko, Brand Director of Private Labels. Merlion, presented a report on "The Private Labels. Merlion 2023 Ecosystem," in which he presented an approach to forming positioning and promotion strategies for PL.M brands, the marketing tools used for this, as well as several notable cases – the launch of the GMNG gaming peripheral brand, the launch of the high-tech sub-brand DIGMA PRO, and the repositioning of the Starwind consumer electronics brand and the launch of the Domfy brand.

"The main tasks of Private Labels. Merlion are to strengthen the sustainability of the business by developing its own vendors, forming intangible assets by creating full-fledged brands with a loyal audience and a high level of recognition, as well as increasing profitability, as brands are bought by those who are willing to make a 'principled' choice. At the product level, we turn technology into opportunities accessible to everyone. We do not produce technologies ourselves, but as one of the leading players in the IT and consumer electronics market, we have a deep understanding of them and know how to saturate our products with exactly the functionality and technologies that the consumer needs. In communications, the main thing for us is methodology and craftsmanship. In Russia, it is still customary to consider marketers akin to magicians. But this is far from the case. The practical part of the presentation was devoted to methods for developing brand strategies and communication platforms, which we develop and use in our work on a daily basis, forming conscious communication with the end consumer," noted Kirill Kostyushko, Brand Director of Private Labels. Merlion.