As the recession took a toll on many companies, many shoppers moved to private label or store brand products to save money. The trend had some food companies worried and they countered with price reductions to avoid losing market share. But as the gaining popularity of store brands has leveled out, companies are able to see which of their products were able to survive and at what price. Kraft CEO Irene Rosenfeld discussed the issue with investors during a conference call on Tuesday.
QUESTION: Do you feel like the big picture, with your adaptive pricing model going into 2010, you stabilized share versus private label at least in the U.S.?
RESPONSE: I think we’re feeling awfully good about the state of our share performance as we mentioned. Obviously we’re still carrying two quarters of challenging year-over-year comparisons from a pricing standpoint, but I feel quite encouraged by our most recent performance in this quarter and I think you will continue to see it strengthen as we move forward. So I feel very good about the state of our price gaps and I feel very good about the results of our marketing programs and our investments in our market share, particularly in the U.S. But as we discussed, around the world we’re feeling very good about the health of our share performance.
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