• Los Angeles Times/Financial Times, Monday, March 26, 2007 11:30 AM

Private labels--whether offered by deep discounters, supermarkets or fast-fashion stores--are increasingly menacing the once-comfortable world of the premium-brand owners, according to "Private Label Strategy," a new book by Professors Nirmalya Kumar of London Business School and Jan-Benedict Steenkamp of the University of North Carolina.

Private labels can compete effectively in almost any product category. The authors identify four types of private labels: generic, "value" category; the copycat brand, which apes the qualities of a premium brand; the premium store brand, which may be sold at the same or even a higher price than those of other manufacturers; the "value innovators"--IKEA is a good example--that offer their own value-for-money brand.

Brands are not dead, the authors say. But premium-brand manufacturers must fight to justify any price gap and perceived quality advantage. They must "innovate brilliantly, partner effectively, fight selectively and create winning value propositions."

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