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Blush
With Success: RAANI's Rise is Rapid
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Most
businesses started in a garage don't go much further.
But Rashid Chaudary not only built his once garage-bound
private label cosmetics manufacturing business into
multi-million dollar operation in a Bedford Park
factory, he's also wooed over ten billion dollar
corporations into the RAANI corner.
RAANI Corporation, of which Chaudary is president,
develops, manufactures and packages health and beauty
products for other companies that don't have the
manufacturing capability.
RAANI Corporation's list of accounts is growing
because the private label business is a profitable
line for retailers and service companies to get
into.
"They claim it's very profitable for them because
of the margins involved," said Dr. Eugene Frank,
Vice President of Research and Development
at RAANI. "There's a lot of business out there."
"The trend more and more is to shy away from
the manufacturing business. They'd rather keep their
capital on the marketing side."
So RAANI manufactures the health and beauty aids
for retailers like Kmart, which advertise and market
the products themselves. "They are matching
the national brands with their own products,"
said Chaudary.
Southtown Economist
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Retailers
Turning To Private Labels
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As
private label manufacturers have become more sophisticated,
product quality and packaging appearance have
improved dramatically in the last few years, bettering
the industry's image in consumers minds.
Shoppers at Kmart and other discount stores increasingly
pass by rows of national brand deodorant sticks
and pick up one made by Bedford Park based RAANI
Corporation, one of a growing legion of private
label manufacturers.
The once misunderstood industry, made up of more
than 1,000 companies, is thriving as more mass
merchandisers, grocery chains and discount stores
discover the benefits of touting products bearing
their own names instead of someone else's.
"Our business has been very good," said
Eugene Frank, Vice President of Research and Development
at RAANI, which manufactures deodorants and antiperspirants
for Kmart, toiletries for Jovan, and hair-care
products for Johnson Publishing, among hundreds
of other products.
Southtown Economist
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Keeping
Pace With The Brands-Private Label Sales Gain
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Private
Label Dollar Volume grew at the same rate as all
supermarket dollar volume in 1994, increasing
3.1% to $30.2 billion.
Private Label Magazine
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Making
A Name For Themselves, Retailers Find Private
Label Goods Boost Profits, Customer Loyalty
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In
1994, private label goods accounted for $31 billion
in sales, 3.1% jump from $30 billion in 1993. Manufacturers
of private label products are also reaping the rewards
of a growing industry, quickly introducing new products
as retailers try to increase their market share.
At Bedford Park based RAANI Corporation, a company
that private labels health and beauty aid products,
annual sales jumped from $6 million in 1988 to more
than $10 million in 1994. RAANI also has nearly
doubled its manufacturing and warehouse space to
275,000 sq. ft. since 1988, and has increased its
employee ranks from 50 to 150.
The company manufactures hair-care products, lotions,
sunscreens, deodorants and antiperspirants for companies
and government agencies, including
Kmart Corp., American Drug Stores, which carries
the Osco brand, the Army Air Force Exchange Service,
which sells private label products at U.S. Army
and Air Force commissaries throughout the world.
"We offer companies regulatory guidance, packaging
guidance, blending and filling capabilities, and
research and development of products," said
Eugene Frank, Sr. Vice President of Sales and Marketing
for RAANI. "Its common sense that private
labels
have caught on because people are looking for perceived
value."
Daily Southtown
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RAANI
Corporation offers flexible, cost effective single
source programs. This means valuable customer cost
and time savings in product development,
formulation, purchase
and inventory of raw materials, filling, package design,
packaging and shipping materials, procurements and
warehousing
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