Amazon first launched seven private labels on its US website in 2016, including men’s suiting and accessories label Franklin Tailored and casual womenswear line James & Erin. It has since expanded its offering to 30 private labels.
However, the company has decided to scrap a number of these labels as part of Amazon’s wider cost-cutting initiatives. The company said it was because some in-house products didn’t resonate with customers.
Matt Taddy, vice president of Amazon Private Brands, said: “We always make decisions based on what our customers want, and we’ve learned that customers seek out our biggest brands – like Amazon Basics and Amazon Essentials – for great value with high quality products at great price points.
“We’re thoughtful about our private brand selection, and if there are products that aren’t resonating with customers we deprecate those items and look for other opportunities to better meet their needs.”
The company didn’t specify how many brands it plans to eliminate, but 27 of the brands are expected to be cut, leaving Amazon with just Amazon Essentials, Amazon Collection and Amazon Aware, according to The Wall Street Journal which first reported the news.
Last week, Amazon recorded an 11% rise in net sales to $134.4bn (£105.7bn) in the three months to 30 June, driven by growth in both North America and international divisions.
Operating profit more than doubled to $7.7bn (£6.1bn) in the second quarter, compared with $3.3bn (£2.6bn) in the same period in 2022. Amazon said it was driven by cost-saving in its fulfillment network as it provided Prime customers with “the fastest delivery speeds ever recorded”.