House brands at big retail chains continue to grow

Private-label products sold by large retailers have experienced sharp growth in the Korean market on rising demand for cheaper products, a report said Wednesday. The market for such house-brand products reached 9.3 trillion won in 2013, up from 3.6 trillion won in 2008, according to the report by the state-run Korea Development Institute (KDI).

Industry leaders Lotte, E-mart and Home Plus earned some 20 percent of their sales from house-brand goods, while convenience stores like GS25, Seven Eleven and CU earned 28.8 percent.

Retailers have extended private branding in a way to reduce costs. They outsource store-brand good and don’t have to run large manufacturing facilities or even design teams. YONHAP