September/October 2016

Retailers see plenty of opportunity for small-format stores, particularly in densely populated urban environments, but winning with smaller stores means overcoming challenges that have proven daunting for even some of the most successful operators.

On one side, workers want more hours, and more predictable ones. On the other, demands for labor are shifting, in both the short and long term, requiring extra flexibility. Employers are being pressured to give workers more stable hours—but not too many of them.

"When you look at this trend it is not unique to the United States," says Todd Hale, a consultant with Nielsen. For example, Hale notes that in Europe, where private label is more established, market share last year dipped slightly to 30.5 percent, compared to 30.6 percent in 2014.