So I just got back from a Menards run and I've noticed something fascinating:
Menards has always had a lot of store brands. But they're really pushing a new food brand called Marcella. Stuff like coffee, jams and jellies, prepared foods, sodas, etc. A lot of it is fairly unique - I bought a maraschino cherry cola on a whim and it was pretty great!
The weird part? They're pricing this in-house stuff higher than name brands. The soda was a tad more expensive than the Sprecher's next to it!
@TechConnectify Over here in Europe, it's done all the time, with weird multiple in-store brands. Lidl, Aldi and Tesco do it all the time. Sometimes they'll even invent a brand just for one temporary product line , others they'll keep around for longer and for a much bigger product range, like Parkside Tools (Lidl)
Some point after the ‘generic’ 80s, Chains realized their store brands actually sold better and at a higher margin, if they asked the contract manufacturer (usually 2nd or 3rd in sales with their own brand) to create a higher quality product, a -premium- brand. Which became the new ‘store’ brand.
@TechConnectify
I'm reminded of when Kroger (or maybe then it was just Fred Meyer) had their "President's" house brand that was positioned as a premium brand. I do remember that their big cookies were awesome. Not sure if they were more expensive that traditional brands though. Long time ago.
@TechConnectify I thought Menards was a hardware store (Canadian, never been there)
For American chains I'm used to Lowe's and Home Depot which are pretty similar. Is Menards more like Canadian Tire which is technically a hardware store but sells a bit of everything?
@beeoproblem@BalooUriza ah, well that's how Menards got started! And that's why they have actual lumber yards.
Actually, it's extremely handy because you can drive back there and pick stuff up. Pretty much all bulky building supplies are kept out there (even, for instance, rolls of insulation) so you can just order it in the store, they give you a printout, and you go and get it after you pay at the registers.
@TechConnectify@beeoproblem@BalooUriza I love Menards. I know of a few people who drive from Pennsylvania to Ohio just to visit Menards. They have a huge selection of electrical, plumbing, paint, lumber, garden, storage, and pool supplies with a smaller selection of automotive, grocery, kitchen, pets, and seasonal items.
@TechConnectify
They had a really good price on Sprecher's too last time I was there, with Menards co-branding. I wonder if there's some additional business connection there as well?
This is a very Menards thing to do. They're... crafty.
They've got so many weird but well-presented brands that you're not going to know are theirs unless you look closely and find "distributed by Menard inc" on there somewhere. It's almost impressive!
And I mean... so long as it's actually good (we'll see what that apple pie jam is like later) I suppose why not? But it's very weird and very Menards.
@TechConnectify i only really noticed how much store brand stuff they have after being away from the menards part of the country for a decade. it's weird how it's both stealthy and yet way more on the surface than similar things that must happen at e.g. home depot or lowes?
@brennen yeah I know! It's almost a weird combination.
I know I bought some flavored coffee of theirs some time ago on a whim. I wasn't expecting it to be very good and truthfully it wasn't very good, and I only noticed on this trip that that was the same brand as this jam.
And then I realized it was the same brand as that soda!
@TechConnectify That's a bit of a thing these days. Every time a new brand suddenly appears at a store I just assume it's a store brand until proven otherwise.
@TechConnectify what a weird jar shape. It's almost like one of those round bottom shot glasses that you have to finish in one go because it'll fall over. Hope it's good if it turns out you need to chug it
@TechConnectify
Target seems to be asymptotically approaching this without the tenacity of making the subtle Target more expensive than the brand name.
@TechConnectify as a European used to seeing all sorts of information on food products (ingredients, nutritional content, energy etc.), that jar just looks wrong!
@TechConnectify Can you get away with not listing the actual ingredients in the US? Just handwave and say 'oooh, it's all simple and wholesome, don't worry'?
@TechConnectify That's actually really fascinating. If it's unique, and the price is higher, I'd reckon they're not even using a white label brand for that.
Happy to see it honestly, but I hope they can keep it up - sometimes margins in such things can be punishingly low. Especially hurtful if consumers aren't willing to absorb the extra cost.
Linus (from TechTips) had a story when he was a product manager, and sometimes sourced weird things because he found a deal for it or thought it was unique. I'm kind of imagining someone from Menard's just having fun in the back-office.
@silvenga@scien I am almost entirely certain this happens. They even have a whole lineup as you enter the store of special deals that changes all the time.
They've got a little bit of Big Lots in them for sure, but how they're using their store brands is an extra layer of complexity, which I would love to get the inside scoop on