Amazon May Launch Apparel Brands, Already On Path to Be Largest Apparel Retailer

by | Oct 28, 2015 | Blog

On-AMZN: ย We launched the Amazon apparel category in October, 2002. ย This was the first launch of the “Merchants@” platform at Amazon and the category opened with purely third party sellers such as Gap, Nordstrom and Macy’s. ย Since then, Amazon has added hundreds of thousands of sellers in the apparel category, and become a major retailer (not just a marketplace) for apparel category. ย It has been forecasted that Amazon will overtake Macy’s as the largest apparel retailer in 2017 (read HERE). ย Now comes news that Amazon Fashion may launch apparel brands and enter the private label business. ย With the high gross margin in fashion (40-50% or more), it’s always been an attractive category for Amazon. ย Remember — Amazon was originally named “RELENTLESS”…

Buzz Feed
Sapna Maheshwari

Amazon, which has been working hard for years to build up Amazon Fashion, anticipates selling its own private-label clothing brands, an executive said at a conference Tuesday.

โ€œFor Amazon, we know our customers love brands, many of the brands in this roomโ€ฆand thatโ€™s where the lionโ€™s share of our business comes from,โ€ Jeff Yurcisin, vice president of clothing at Amazon Fashion and CEO of Amazonโ€™s Shopbop unit, said at the WWD Apparel and Retail CEO Summit on Tuesday. โ€œWhen we see gaps, when certain brands have actually decided for their own reasons not to sell with us, our customer still wants a product like that.โ€ Amazon may get into private-label for those kinds of goods, he added.

The remark is significant given Amazon Fashionโ€™s efforts have centered around convincing clothing brands to sell their goods on a website better known for its low prices and efficiency over, say, presentation and curation. Amazonโ€™s willingness to manufacture its own version of products that it canโ€™t get from actual fashion brands might be a new negotiating chip for the company, not to mention more profitable.

Read complete article on Buzzfeed HERE

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