Private Label

Washington, D.C. -- A survey released by the National Retail Federation and conducted by BIGInsight found that the average parent will spend $688.62 on back-to-school items this year, compared with $603.63 last year. Total spending is expected to reach $30.3 billion.

NRF cited an increased number of children entering elementary and middle school this fall, as well as necessary back-to-school replenishments after last year’s cutbacks, for the predicted improvements.

MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. — Vera Wang, famous for her sought-after wedding gowns, knows that many women dream of looking like a princess on that big day, so it makes sense that the designer would bring the "princess" concept to a younger set.

The designer has teamed up wth Kohl’s Department Stores to launch Princess Vera Wang, a juniors contemporary, premium lifestyle collection now available exclusively at Kohl’s stores nationwide and Kohls.com.

MINNEAPOLIS — Supervalu's Essential Everyday private-label line will include 2,700 products across more than 100 categories by 2013.

Essential Everyday products, which are available at approximately 3,300 stores nationwide — including Supervalu's family of stores — currently features more than 1,200 items across more than 40 categories. The expanded Essential Everyday brand lineup was introduced in New York last week by chef and cookbook author Antonia Lofaso.

The Eco-Me brand of unique dog grooming products is the newest arrival to the pet department at Target.

The brand said it secured placement in 450 Target stores for its line of all-natural pet cleaning and grooming products that are Ph-balanced specifically for pets.

NEW YORK — New research that will appear in the upcoming issue of the Journal of Marketing Research explores consumer sentiment over the extension of a premium brand outside of its typical category.

NEW YORK — Millennial shoppers (consumers ages 18 to 34 years) now represent the highest percentage of Americans who do not have enough money to cover their basic needs, according to WSL/Strategic Retail, a leading authority on shopper behavior and retail trends.

WAYNE, N.J. — Babies“R”Us is partnering with mom and fashion icon, Heidi Klum, for an exclusive collection of affordable luxuries for little ones, adding to its growing assortment of differentiated product offerings. This new collection, Truly Scrumptious by Heidi Klum, will be available at Babies“R”Us stores across North America and online at Babiesrus.com beginning this fall. 

San Francisco -- A new study released Thursday by MarketTools found that 63% of shoppers say they have changed their shopping habits in the past six months, with the majority reporting changes to seek more value.

According to the study, to save money on grocery bills, respondents reported that they buy items with coupons (80%); buy store brands instead of name brands (62%); use store loyalty cards that offer discounts (62%); buy items only when they are on sale (58%); and buy more large-sized products (43%).

Is Walmart’s private brand White Cloud toilet tissue too good? That’s the question the company has to be asking itself about the product’s specifications after seeing recent test results from Consumer Reports.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Mass merchandise chain Meijer has acquired a Michigan-based dairy, the company said.

Meijer announced the purchase of Bareman's Dairy, a family-owned company based in Holland, Mich., and the intention of investing more than $8 million into expansion of the plant.