Report: Top 30 North American grocers to generate $209B in private-label sales by 2014

London A report released late Tuesday by Planet Retail found that private-label sales at the Top 30 grocers are set to increase 40% to $209 billion by 2014, accounting for 24.1% of total grocery sales.

Topping Planet Retail’s Private Labeling in North America: Fertile Ground for Growth report was Walmart, whose private-label grocery business is larger than Kroger’s and Costco’s private-label sales combined. While it’s no surprise that Walmart tends to dominate most categories, said Planet Retail, in grocery it has traditionally been the national brands that featured heavily on Walmart’s shelves.

“The relaunch of Great Value combined with the effects of its SKU rationalization program has led to improved visibility of private label, resulting in an increase in category sales,” said Natalie Berg, global research director, Planet Retail. “In the United States, the Great Value line alone generates $12.5 billion in sales. We expect this to increase 60% by 2014, making it a $20 billion brand.”

A key player in the rankings is Aldi, which, although 19th in overall sales, holds third place in terms of private-label sales. The retailer, which includes the Aldi and Trader Joe’s banners, places a much stronger emphasis on private label than its peers, according to Planet Retail, leaving national brands to make up just 15% of sales. As a result of aggressive expansion plans, Planet Retail predicts that by 2014 Aldi will generate $15 billion in private-label sales, approximately the size of H-E-B’s entire business today.

Placing in the Top 10 spots of Planet Retail’s private-label ranking were: Walmart, Kroger, Aldi, Costco, Safeway (U.S.), Loblaw, Target, SuperValu, Publix and Ahold.