Consumers want branded domestics - brand-name domestics - Power Brands

Discount Store News, Oct 16, 1995

The domestics department is dominated by one Power Brand. Ironically, beyond that brand, Fieldcrest Cannon, style and design matter more to consumers than the name stitched on the label--just as long as its a brand name. These consumers were the least brand-discriminating in the Power Brands survey, with only 43% naming a preferred brand, a decline from last year's five-year high of 48%.

Their decision on what to buy can be easily changed. Six out of 10 consumers said they would switch to another brand if they didn't find their first choice. This goes hand in hand with the low confidence level (34%) among consumers who were "sure" they would find the brands they wanted.

However, 63% of consumers would entertain the thought of buying a private label, a substantial proportion, but a 12-percentage point decrease from last year's survey.

The drop-off in the number of consumers willing to buy private label goods is significant. In a telling parallel, the retailers identified only one private label as a top performer this year, down from three private labels in retailers' top 10 last year.

Martha Stewart and Color Classics at Kmart and Common Sense at Wal-Mart had all gained enough total mentions by retailers last year to win top 10 status as top-performing brands. In 1995, only Martha Stewart, which was mentioned by just 5% of the retailers--down from 8% last year--was named in that class.

Private labels performed better in the Big Three segment, where Furio (a crossover brand that also appears in housewares, hardware and stationery) received 8% of mentions at Target. Kmart gave similar treatment to Martha Stewart, with 25% of mentions for the brand. Kmart has built an extensive coordinated program for several of Martha Stewart's designs.

With the decline of private label acceptance, it only stands to reason that retailers, as well as consumers, want national brands. Judging from the survey, they overwhelmingly want Fieldcrest Cannon.

Fieldcrest Cannon was the No. 1 brand in the survey, being named as a top performer by 57% of all retailers and 61% of conventional retailers. Its performance among consumers was even more impressive, with 79% naming it a preferred brand. All of this positive feedback contributed to its status as the No. 1 Power Brand overall, with the highest score of any of the 26 categories surveyed.

Among discount store shoppers, Fieldcrest Cannon fared best at Wal-Mart, with 83% naming it a preferred brand. Kmart and Target shoppers viewed it about equally with 76% and 74% of mentions, respectively.

The overwhelming dominance of Fieldcrest Cannon in the survey made the remaining nine brands shrinking violets. Only Lady Pepperell got enough mentions from retailers and consumers to achieve "near Power Brand" status, due primarily to its strength with retailers.

Lady Pepperell, a WestPoint Stevens brand, was mentioned by 16% of retailers as a top-performing brand, three percentage points less than last year. And 6% of consumers called it a preferred brand, up slightly from last year's results.

J.P. Stevens, also a WestPoint Stevens brand, was well accepted by retailers and captured the third spot, with 12% calling it a top-performing brand. Conversely, only 1% of consumers named it a preferred brand. Consumers gravitated toward a host of Stevens' other brands, including Taste Maker (the No. 8 brand with consumers) and even Martex, which is primarily a department store brand, at No. 10.

J.P. Stevens was equally reviewed by shoppers at Kmart and Wal-Mart, with 2% naming it a preferred brand, while Target shoppers gave it no mentions.

Securing the fourth slot among retailers was Springs/Spring Mills, which performed steadily at discounters overall, but enjoyed a significant increase at upscale discounters, with 10% more calling it a top performer this year than last year. While the brand wasn't named specifically by consumers, they did name Springmaid--a mass market brand distributed by Springs--with 3% of consumers calling it a preferred brand. The brand repeated this performance at all of the Big Three chains, with 3% of shoppers naming it a preferred brand across the board.

Tied for sixth place among retailers were St. Mary's (the blanket division of Fieldcrest Cannon), Newell and Kirsch, all with 3% of retailers naming them as top-performing brands.

Kirsch did particularly well with upscale discounters with an eight-percentage point gain in mentions this year. This window treatment manufacturer has definitely built up its business and received prime space not only at Target but at many of the regional discounters.

The remaining two spots were gained by Burlington and Dan River, both receiving 2% of mentions as top-performing brands by retailers.

Among consumers, Burlington was tied with Louis Hand, Taste Maker, Martex and Dan River, each garnering 1% of consumer responses as a preferred brand and completing the rest of the survey.

The Big Three retailers were in agreement on key top brandPs: Fieldcrest Cannon, Lady Pepperell, Springs/Spring Mills and J.P. Stevens.