Two new books can fill you in.
From CMM, a Miller Freeman (New York, NY) company, comes the premiere issue of "Directory of North American Converters." This 489-page book is a compendium of all types of paper, film, foil and paperboard converters, as well as supplier paper and paperboard mills in the U.S. and Canada. Converters and supplier paper/paperboard mills are presented in geographical state and province sequence, followed by a list of plant officials, lists of products and services of each mill and plant. Also included is an index to the mills and plants listed in the geographical section. Next is a Buyers' Guide to machinery and equipment, chemicals, and suppliers of technical and consulting services to the manufacturing and converting segments.
The Directory of North American Converters is available for $159. In CD format, it's $725.
Published by the Private Label Manufacturers Assn. is the eighth edition of PLMA's Private Label Yearbook. Since 1992, the Yearbook has been the industry's most comprehensive source of market share trends in America, says PLMA. Now covering more than 650 product categories in the three major channels--supermarkets, drug chains and mass merchandisers--the Yearbook traces private-label unit and dollar share trends on a year-to-year basis. It also profiles the top private-label leaders and gainers.
As in years past, Information Resources Inc. of Northbrook, IL, assisted PLMA in preparing the report. IRI tracks private-label sales in U.S. supermarkets, drug chains, and mass merchandisers. Year-end data is based on IRI InfoScan® reports for the 52 weeks ending January 1999.
The latest IRI numbers show that store brands are now a $43.3 billion industry, an increase of $2 billion, or 5%, compared to a year ago.
The Private Label Yearbook is free to PLMA member companies and retailers. It's available to others for $750.
