Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

At the end of 2008, Arla concluded agreements with several supermarkets in southern Sweden. The agreement with the supermarkets excluded Skånemejerier from the stores. This meant that Skånemejerier lost approximately 7% of sales volume. Arla Foods showed a strong desire to compete for market share in southern Sweden. Skånemejerier tried to keep the settlement prices high for the farmers which would help the economy. However Skånemejerier realized early on that there was very little chance of survival and that a bankruptcy would be inevitable. Then it happened, something unexpected, a consumer rebellion arose. A local salesman, named Mats Genberg, created Facebook group, "Coop sucks fat! Sell Scanian milk in Sweden." The Facebook group quickly gained many members. The complaint eventually leads Arla to backing down, and soon Skånemejerier’s brand was back in the Skåne’s markets shelves.

The theory selected in this paper is brand theories, which largely deals with consumer behavior theories. Brand theories include concepts and models, which are suitable for producing and distributing companies. Frans Melin and David Aaker created theories based on studies of brands and its importance to businesses. Within the fire equity as David Aaker has studied, there are four different points: 1, Brand Awareness 2, Perceived Quality 3, Brand association and finally 4, Brand Loyalty. According to Melin customers either buy a product or a brand. According to him, the customer buys a "branded product."

The conclusion that has emerged is that there are emotional factors that have been the largest contributor to the consumer rebellion, in connection with Arla's attempt to take over the Skåne dairy market. Skånemejerier has been around Skåne for a long time, it is a proud traditional company with few changes over the years. This has made Skånemejerier products easy to recognize. In Skåne, the bands created a very strong connection between Skånemejerier and its consumers. Which is shown in the Facebook groups numbers. Skånemejerier’s great strength lies in strong consumer support for the brand and locally produced products.