Amazon is considering producing its own range of clothes, it has admitted.
The online retail giant seems to sell every brand of every item under the sun. Occasionally, the company will step in and try its hand at making its own products.
This is most notably the case with tablets and smartphones, but it also applies to things like charger cables, laptop bags, and other peripherals. Back in May, it emerged that Amazon was looking into selling its own private label groceries.
Now the retailer could be moving deeper into the world of fashion. The company has been working to establish Amazon Fashion for years now, but it anticipates having to step in and fill in some of the gaps in its range.
“For Amazon, we know our customers love brands, many of the brands in this room…and that’s where the lion’s share of our business comes from,” said Amazon’s clothing VP Jeff Yurcisin, speaking at the WWD Apparel and Retail CEO Summit (via BuzzFeed).
“When 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.”
To that end, Yurcisin added that Amazon is considering getting into the private label clothing business.
Not only would selling its own brand of clothes be more profitable for Amazon, it could also be used as a bargaining chip with reluctant fashion brands. If they don’t sell to Amazon, the retailer can threaten to make its own equivalent lines and sweep up all the profits.
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Of course, there’s a reason many fashion brands won’t sell to Amazon. The company is seen more as a budget shopping destination than a desirable boutique, and it seems to be in favour of aggressive price cuts.
In defending the company on that front, Yurcisin said “We work just like any other retailer — we buy at full price, try super-hard to sell at full-price… then we follow a traditional markdown cadence.”
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
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We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
