Relationship marketing management: Its importance in private label extension

Relationship marketing aims to generate long-term profitable relationships between partners. In the context of the convenience goods market, the present study considers private labels in traditional categories as a tool to develop effective relationships. The main contribution of the study is the use of the relationship approach to explain private label loyalty and the success of store brand extension strategies. Drawing upon a sample of 434 individual and using EQS software, this study shows that customer experience, satisfaction, trust, and commitment to private labels play an important role in customer loyalty toward private labels in convenience goods, increasing consumers' propensity to buy private labels in new categories such as durable goods. Generating trust and commitment, which ultimately result in loyalty, is therefore a strategic goal and a source of long-term profitability for retailers. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.