How unique are local brands ? An empirical comparison of local and international brands in the food industry

In the current context of strong globalization, firms have concentrated their efforts in developing international and global brands. As a result, many local brands have been eliminated from companies' brand portfolios. However, local brands often represent franchises that are very successful in local markets. The objective of this article is to better understand what the strengths of local brands are in comparison to international brands. To achieve this, the authors have analyzed a database of 9,739 people and examined more than 500 brands across the four largest countries in Europe, that is UK, Germany, France and Italy. The results show that local brands present a number of strong equity advantages, and also that they are different structurally from their international variety. The authors offer an interpretation and discuss the implications and limitations of their findings. They also make recommendations concerning the appropriate responses for both international and local companies.