آیا تصویر فروشگاه بر تقاضا برای نام های تجاری (برند) فروشگاه ارگانیک تاثیر می گذارد ؟

This research examines the effects of store image on the demand for store brand organic brands. We conduct an empirical study using a unique dataset that combines households' organic product purchases and their ratings of the same stores' images. We find that the type of images consumers develop about a store influences the demand for organic products from that store. In addition, the influence of store image on the demand for store-brand organic products depends on the store brand branding strategy. Although own brands are accepted in stores with quality produce and with quality store brands, they are less likely to be adopted in stores with varied selections. Furthermore, the own-brand strategy (the use of the retailer's own name) is not always an effective branding strategy for organic products, except in some stores.

One of the recent developments in the organic product market has been the introduction of store brand organic brands. This is not surprising per se given the fact that store brands now account for a large of part of items sold in the US and Europe, but also because mainstream retail chains like Carrefour, Tesco and Walmart are the primary outlets for organic products. In France, organic store brands have been pioneers in many product categories and contributed to the development of demand for organic products through supermarkets/hypermarkets. Generally speaking, these products have generated tremendous interest in various academic disciplines. Researchers have addressed a wide variety of issues, such as the reasons for buying organic products (e.g. Huang, 1996 and Roddy et al., 1996), the factors that inhibit the purchase of organic products (see e.g. Byrne et al., 1992 and Tregear et al., 1994), the profile of organic product buyers (e.g. Govindasamy et al., 2000 and Schifferstein and Ophuis, 1998), and the role of marketing mix variables (e.g. Ngobo (2011a)). Despite extensive research on store brands, our knowledge of how these brands fare in the organic product domain remains very limited. The majority of the studies have concerned (i) the characteristics of store brand buyers (e.g. Richardson et al. (1996)), (ii) the drivers of the retailer's store brand share (Dhar and Hoch, 1997 and Quelch and Harding, 1996), (iii) the influence of store brand entry (Pauwels and Shubash, 2004; Bonfer and Chintagunta, 2004), (iv) the moderating role of the category's store brand share (e.g. Srinivasan et al. (2004)) and more recently (v) the effects of store brand usage in households (Ailawadi and Harman, 2004 and Ailawadi et al., 2008). There are two problems with store brand organic brands. First, organic products are unique in that they are systematically more expensive than conventional products. Even organic store brands are more expensive than conventional products. One survey conducted in 2009 by UFC-Que Choisir, a French consumer activist organization, reveals that a shopping basket containing organic store brand products is 22 percent more expensive than one with only conventional products. Prior research shows that price is the most important driver of the demand for organic products (see e.g. Byrne et al., 1992 and Ngobo, 2011a). This raises a second question: why do buyers who tend to have a poor image of store brands, on average, buy organic store brands, specifically from grocery supermarkets and hypermarkets? This question is important because even though in 2007 Walmart failed with its “Walmart price” program, designed to reduce the price premium to just 10 percent more than conventional products,1 in France organic store brands have been faring quite well compared to some national brands. Second, store brands might suffer from a lack of legitimacy, as organic products imply a different type of relationship between consumers and producers. Regular consumers tend to prefer organic products which are produced by easily identifiable local farmers. They buy organics not only because of (1) health concerns (e.g. Huang (1996)), (2) their better taste (e.g. Roddy et al. (1996)), (3) their concern for the environment (Schlegelmilch et al. (1996)) or (4) food safety concerns (e.g. Baker et al. (2004)), but also for (5) their concern over animal welfare (e.g. Hill and Lynchehaun (2002)) or to support local farmers (e.g. Fotopoulos and Krystallis (2002)). Yet many organic store brands are extensions of the retailers' existing brands. Therefore, given that store brands tend to have a poorer image than national brands, this could discourage organic consumers from buying organic food from conventional supermarkets (Ngobo (2011b)). This raises the following question: does store image matter when consumers decide to buy organic store products in grocery retail stores? In this paper, we study the effects of store image on the demand for store brand organic brands. We use a dataset that combines household organic product purchase data, brand marketing mix data, household demographics and consumer perceptions of store image. We begin by providing some theoretical background to our research before going on to describe the dataset. Next, we develop the econometric model and present our projected findings. The paper concludes with some research implications.

This study presents two findings. First, the type of images that consumers develop about a store influence the demand for organic store products from that store. For example, on average, households will buy more organic store brand products in stores that provide a high-quality service. We believe that this is consistent with the notion that stores offering high-quality service tend to charge higher prices given that they mostly target service seekers (Galata et al., 1999). Second, the influence of store image on the demand for organic store brand products depends on the store brand branding strategy. While own-name store brands are accepted in stores with quality produce and with quality store brands, they are less likely to be adopted in stores with a varied assortment. We make two theoretical contributions. The first concerns the distribution of organic products. Prior research has focused primarily on aspects of physical distribution such as product availability (Zanoly and Naspetti, 2002) and location (e.g. Hill and Lynchehaun (2002)). We have shown that the quality of the outlet is also important in terms of demand for organic products. The second contribution relates to the demand for store brands. Compared to earlier studies, this paper shows that the demand for store brands is also influenced by a retailer's image specifically in the organic private segment (Semeijn et al., 2004 and Collins-Dodd and Lindley, 2003). The third contribution is to point out that the own-name branding strategy is not as effective as suggested by Dhar and Hoch (1997). We find that when it comes to organic products, consumers are more likely to buy few units except in specific stores (for instance those with quality products). Retail managers looking to increase demand for their store brands need to know that store image does not matter to consumers. They also should understand that a corporate brand strategy is not as effective as the house of brands strategy. Our research has some limitations that could be addressed by future research. First, our analysis relates to two test markets in France. Therefore, we need replications in other countries. Second, some variables need to be considered in future research such as advertising. Despite these limitations, our research contributes to a better understanding of the drivers of demand for organic products.