Household: discounters clean up

Own label is wiping the floor with brands in the household sector right now, as sales of all five sub-categories continue to slide. Toilet and surface care, hand and automatic dishwash products and air fresheners have lost £31.5m (2.2%) combined. Volumes fell by 3%. 

“The biggest winner is own label,” says Nielsen analyst Elena Onischenko, pointing to own label’s £17.5m (6.4%) gain on volumes up 5.1%. Brands are down £49m (4.3%) on volumes down 6.8%. “Household is declining due to the reduced number of household cleaners and aircare lines on shelf.”

Of household’s big three manufacturers, Reckitt Benckiser lost the most, a whopping £46.8m (4.2%). RB’s Airwick and Finish had the biggest losses, down £20.6m combined, despite Airwick VIPoo being household’s biggest launch, racking up £2.2m. Unilever lost £14.4m (12.3%); P&G £8.9m (2.6%). P&G sales director Ian Morley says shoppers’ migration to the discounters is a major factor. “We continue to see changes in the way people shop, with trips segmenting and volume proliferating across all retailer channels.”

Aldi corporate buying MD Julie Ashfield confirms: “We’ve expanded in household due to the success of our own-brand everyday items, alongside growing demand for premium products in fragrance and aircare.”

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Dettol 3x Power range by Reckitt Benckiser

With anti-drip gel sprays for tough-to-clean vertical surfaces, and cleaning wipes to remove burnt-on food, soap scum, limescale and dirt, the 3X Power range destroys 99.9% of bacteria including e-coli and cold and flu viruses. Without this launch Dettol could have lost its place as Britain’s bestselling surface care brand to P&G’s Flash. Reckitt will need to drive sales of such premium products in the coming year if it is going to be able to recoup some of the nearly £50m it’s lost this year.