II Privel Private Label Congress by Alimarket

Much like the Privel Exhibition that hosts it, the Private Label Congress by Alimarket aims to become an essential event for understanding current developments in the world of private-label brands—a prime vantage point from which to glimpse their future evolution, both in Europe and globally.

This year’s edition will kick off on November 4 with a presentation by Nuno Brito Afonso, President of Daymon International, one of the world’s leading authorities on private label development. Nuno Afonso will offer key insights into building a successful private label brand amid growing competition between manufacturer and retailer brands. This first session will be rounded out by Jesús López, Head of Supplier Management at Lidl Spain—a champion of the narrow product assortment—who will explain how the chain’s supplier selection and management processes have evolved. This process has highlighted the strength of the Spanish fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector in meeting growing demand, both in terms of volume and complexity.

José Antonio Latre is a Senior Advisor and Board Member at Aecoc and Zelnova Zeltia. Throughout his extensive professional career, he has developed numerous strategic plans for FMCG companies and will share with the audience how private label has evolved over the past 30 years from a complementary offering to a key element for companies in the food, beverage, personal care, and home care sectors.

At the conference, we will have the opportunity to learn about Shopadvizor from Diego Chorny, its CEO and co-founder. With over a million verified consumers, Shopadvizor has assessed 35,000 private-label and manufacturer-branded product launches to promote products with potential and get the product range right, drawing on insights and certified reviews.

The morning session will conclude with a look at Latin America. We’ll explore this topic with one of the leading experts on the Central and South American markets, Alberto Moriana, a Senior Advisor to companies such as McKinsey and a Board Member at In Retail. Also participating will be Nicolás Brown, General Manager of La Anónima, which in just a few years has gone from being a regional operator in its homeland of Patagonia to a distributor with a nationwide presence throughout the Argentine market.

This first day will conclude, during the afternoon session, with a segment dedicated to the Italian market. Italy is a leader in the internationalization of its cuisine, to the point where many of its products—from pasta to cheese, sauces, and wine—are stocked on a daily basis by supermarkets around the world. But what is the retail landscape like there? What opportunities does it offer foreign manufacturers? And what best business practices can be exported to other countries? Letizia Berciotti, Director of Operations at GDO News, will lead a roundtable discussion featuring Roberto Romboli, Private Label Manager at DIT – Distribuzione Italiana; Danilo Ronsivalle, Purchasing Director at ARD Discount – Ergon S.p.A.; and Michele Sgaramella, Purchasing Director at Apulia Distribuzione.

The second day—a morning-only session—will begin with an examination of the current geopolitical landscape: a set of factors whose significance to the day-to-day operations of a business cannot be ignored. To help us navigate the turbulent waters of international affairs, we will be joined by Juan Carlos Martínez Lázaro, a professor in the Economics Department at IE Business School.

The second presentation will allow us to delve deeper into Aldi’s business model in Spain—one of the chains experiencing the greatest expansion nationwide, to the point of having secured a spot in the top ten by retail space. We’ll explore this with Silvia Segarra, Director of Communications and Institutional Relations at Aldi Spain.

We often make the mistake of thinking of Latin America as a single entity, when in fact these are countries with significant differences across all areas. Within the retail sector, Colombia is one of the countries where hard discount has achieved the greatest growth, unlike what is happening in many other countries in the region. To learn about the unique characteristics of the Colombian market, we’ll be joined by Andrés Escobar, General Manager of Tiendas Ísimo.

In short, this is an opportunity to update your knowledge, discover new insights, and network at the leading private label event in Spanish-speaking countries. The Private Label Congress is organized by Publicaciones Alimarket and Ifema Madrid, with sponsorship from Tosca, LPR, and Grupo La Plana.