White label
The terms White Label ( Engl. For white label ') and white Product designate products that no label offered or with different labels.
Manufacturing
White label products are products from one manufacturer that are not sold under its own brand , but as an (apparent) product from another manufacturer or retailer under a different brand.
The production of white label products can be useful for manufacturers who neither want to set up their own sales nor are they dependent on a single sales service provider.
Some manufacturers only sell part of their products under their own brand name, but another part as a white label (or secondary brand ). This is done in order to sell the product to different customer groups; namely both those who value a brand name and those who value a low price. Because of the different names and sales channels (e.g. specialty store / discounter), there is speculation that the customer groups are so different that they do not perceive the equality of the products.
It is often possible to purchase certain products under the manufacturer's brand as well as under a no-name brand (as "house brand" or "trade mark"), which often means significantly lower prices without any loss of quality .
Blank CDs and DVDs are a typical example of a white label product; Blanks from different manufacturers (the code of the actual manufacturer can be read out using software) are sold by different retail chains under their own brand names.
While the quality of white label products does not necessarily have to be inferior to the quality of other products, losses in service are conceivable, the design of which is not decided by the manufacturer, but by the “namesake” or distributor, who often differs from it. Examples of this are the available product versions for hardware components that are sold with sales packaging , description and accessories ( retail version) or as a "bare" product ( bulk version). In the case of software in the OEM version, support is often not offered by the software manufacturer, but only by the hardware manufacturer.
Importance in the music industry
In the music industry z. B. Records with a white label provided, which is mostly unauthorized publications such. B. Bootlegs , pure test pressings or publications in extremely small numbers.
As white labels denote especially DJs promo vinyl records and CDs, on which no label name is printed. This can be useful if a label wants to bring out a new record but is unsure whether it will go down with the audience. That's why sometimes new releases are first brought to the DJs without specifying the labels behind them. If the release turns out to be a flop, the label has not suffered any image damage. In the event of success, the record will subsequently be put on the market together with the artist and label names.
Importance on the Internet
In the Internet, the term white label stands for a product or service in which a website provider can incorporate a product or service from a partner website into the layout of his own homepage. The website visitors perceive the white label as a separate product of the site. For transactions generated via the white label , the website provider usually receives a commission from the provider of the product or service. The required technical support is provided entirely by the provider. An important part of a white label on the Internet is the functionality provided and not the content displayed.