Walmart is competing with itself? (Off brand pantry goods)

[SunnyD]

I noticed something the other day when I was picking up a couple things on the way home from work - hey, don't judge, there's a walmart conveniently located right across the highway from where I work, so if I get the "Honey we need XYZ, can you pick it up on the way home" guess where I'm going.

Anyway, Walmart's house brand is Great Value. It's cheap enough as is. But I noticed a couple weeks ago these really generic boxes sitting on the bottom shelf and was like "Oh cool, Walmart now is carrying a super-cheap welfare brand." Then I took a better look at this new PRICE FIRST brand label, "Distributed by Wal-Mart Stores".

Took a look at their toaster pastries, for example, versus their Great Value brand. Ingredients are identical. The only difference is that there's one less package in the box, but the price per ounce is slightly cheaper than the Great Value brand. Awesome! Walmart is competing with itself, boxing the same product in a cheaper package. Win!

 

[Gillbot]

Often, our walmart has name brands cheaper than great value. Wonder if they are killing off the GV brand?

 

[IronWing]

Grocery store strategies alway puzzle me. Kroger reprices just about everything in the store weekly, a penny up, a penny down, ten cents up - on sale now for five cents off. The labor expended in this pointless exercise is incredible.

 

[mvbighead]

I have to assume this is to get certain products to move when you have larger quantities in inventory that aren't moving. That, and getting deals from distributors on this or that which then get passed on to customers.

As for constantly shifting prices on EVERY item, screw that noise. As long as your prices are reasonable across the market, just drop prices where needed to move inventory.

 

[pete6032]

I would assume its to offer the perception of a greater number of choices.

 

[thedarkwolf]

Kroger has the samething. They have the Kroger brand generic which are usually a bit cheaper than the name brand and usually taste just as good and then they have the Great Value super cheap generic that taste like ass. Think Kroger calls it something like "pssst value" now. I buy the super cheap psst american cheese to give my dog pills and that stuff is NASTY. Doesn't even feel like normal cheese and it certainly doesn't taste like it.

 

[NFS4]

I used to swear by Walmart's Great Value line of products, until I discovered Kroger's usually cheaper Kroger-branded and Pssst-branded items. But even they are sky high compared to Aldi's prices where I do most of my shopping now.

 

[SlitheryDee]

Grocery store strategies alway puzzle me. Kroger reprices just about everything in the store weekly, a penny up, a penny down, ten cents up - on sale now for five cents off. The labor expended in this pointless exercise is incredible.

They know what they're doing. For whatever reason customers are finicky bitches when it comes to grocery item pricing. Nowhere else have I seen more people bitching so much about pricing differences or errors that amount to mere cents on the end total. It's what you have to deal with when so many of your biggest customers are grannies.

 

[sswingle]

Kroger has the samething. They have the Kroger brand generic which are usually a bit cheaper than the name brand and usually taste just as good and then they have the Great Value super cheap generic that taste like ass. Think Kroger calls it something like "pssst value" now. I buy the super cheap psst american cheese to give my dog pills and that stuff is NASTY. Doesn't even feel like normal cheese and it certainly doesn't taste like it.

Kroger also has Private Selection, which is like a higher quality store brand.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Very often stores will have different in store brands for different tiers of quality.

My local store HEB has:

-Hill Country Fare - cheapest of the cheap

-HEB brand - still cheap, but usually closer to the quality of the name brand than Hill Country Fare

-HEB Buddy- products for kids

-HEB Organics - cheaper organic food that cuts a few corners to get there (aka like a Kraft Organic product)

-Central Market Organic - top shelf organic products that Whole Foods would carry

 

[HendrixFan]

Very often stores will have different in store brands for different tiers of quality.

Tiers of quality is correct. HEB's Hill Country Fare brand is the cheapest they can deliver the product to the shelves. Quality is a non factor, price is the only factor. Whoever can supply the product the cheapest gets to be wrapped up in Hill Country Fare packaging.

From there the HEB branded products are as good as or better than the name brand. Some are made by HEB, others are just distributed by HEB. These are either a national brand in a value label (Imperial Sugar is HEB sugar for example) or HEB made products that beat the national brand in taste testing.

Both are cheaper than the name brand/national brand but one has a focus on quality and the other has a focus on price. Absent advertising and marketing these store brands are able to be sold for cheaper than the name brand even at similar quality levels.

I'd assume Walmart and Kroger or any other grocer is pretty much working through the same process.

 

[steppinthrax]

I used the Great Value line for things that I know for the most part are standard.

Mustard
Ketchup
Sauce
Salt
Pepper
Sugar

I certainly wouldn't get their brand of toilet paper, shampoo and laundry detergent.

However, a few years ago I bought their brand of Salsa, it taste like shit. Recently I gave it a try again, now it's a bomb.... It's only 1.97, larger quantity and taste like the more expensive Tostitos that I Usually buy. Their chips taste good as well. Can't tell the difference.

Usually a small jar of tostitos and tostitos chips would set me back 7 - 8 dollars. Now I can get both GV brands for $4 total

They improve the formula over time.

 

[Scarpozzi]

They may just be testing the market. My local grocery store has been selling a uber cheap brand as well on most common products. In some cases, the products are great. In some cases, they aren't worth buying... (they're ice cream in that brand isn't ice cream, it's a 'dairy desert' that has an odd texture...) Many other things are great and you can save quite a bit by buying those brands.

 

[SunnyD]

I certainly wouldn't get their brand of toilet paper, shampoo and laundry detergent.

May as well just rub your ass on a prickly cactus if you're going to consider store brand TP.

 

[Dr. Zaus]

As the name implies, price first means "yea, your milk is lumpy, but it was 20c cheaper so STFU!"