ИСТИНА

This paper examines the role of green marketing approach as a possible way to develop private labels of retail chains. The authors first discuss theoretical approaches to understanding the phenomenon of private labels and highlight the new trends that boost the development of smart and sustainable private labels. Then they present and discuss the empirical data obtained through a series of expert interviews with retail chain managers, and through online survey conducted in March 2023. The used questionnaire consists of both questions based on the relevant literature, and questions elaborated by authors based on the insights gained by means of expert interviews. This allowed to adapt the questionnaire to the social and cultural characteristics of the Russian retail market. The main findings from expert interviews show that business ethics, social responsibility, sustainable development and environmental issues have become important strategic objectives for Russian retail chains. The analysis of survey results leads to the conclusion that there is a segment of sustainability-driven consumers who intend to buy retail chain PLs due to their green characteristics. Therefore, retail chains should change their strategy concerning PLs and balance different segments’ needs by offering both improved PLs that meet special needs and PLs as low-cost products.