Amazon is abandoning dozens of its own brands in response to anti-monopoly scrutiny.

Zhitong
2023.08.11 00:56
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According to sources familiar with the matter, Amazon is reportedly abandoning dozens of its own brands in order to address antitrust scrutiny and boost profits.

According to Dolphin Research, it has been learned from informed sources on Thursday that in order to cope with antitrust scrutiny and boost profits, Amazon (AMZN.US) is abandoning dozens of its own brands. According to the source, Amazon has decided to cancel 27 out of 30 clothing brands in the past year, such as Lark & Ro, Daily Ritual, and Goodthreads. Amazon is selling off the remaining inventory, with some brands still available on the Amazon website, but after completion, its own brand clothing department will only have three brands: Amazon Essentials, Amazon Collection, and Amazon Aware.

Some insiders said that Amazon is also giving up its own furniture brands, and after clearing the product inventory, it will gradually phase out the Rivet and Stone & Beam brands. It is currently unclear the exact number of brands being reduced in other business areas of Amazon, but Amazon Basics, which sells a range of home goods and tech accessories, will still be the company's focus.

In response, Matt Taddy, Vice President of Amazon's own brand, said, "If some products do not resonate with customers, we will abandon them and look for other opportunities to better meet their needs."

It is understood that after years of efforts to build its own brand business, Amazon began to reduce its own brand business last year due to disappointing sales and criticism from the government and others that Amazon's own brand business may conflict with the company's sales of other brands.

These critics argue that Amazon abuses its gatekeeper power by refusing to allow large competitors to advertise their products on the Amazon platform and by using below-cost prices on goods and services to retain customers, including Prime members.

Amazon stated that its own brands account for only 1% of the company's total retail sales. Earlier reports suggested that given the relatively small scale of the business compared to the regulatory issues it generates, the company had discussed last year the possibility of exiting the business if the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) continued to file lawsuits, as a concession to the FTC.

The report pointed out that as of 2020, Amazon's own brand business had 243,000 products from 45 brands. The FTC has been investigating Amazon's practices and is preparing to file an antitrust lawsuit. Amazon representatives are scheduled to meet with FTC commissioners next week as part of what is usually referred to as the "final ritual" before the FTC withdraws the lawsuit next month.