Amazon has never hesitated to compete with traditional brick-and-mortar outfits (no pun intended) and its latest endeavor is certainly no exception. The e-commerce giant has quietly launched its own in-house fashion lines comprised of more than 1,800 individual fashion products across seven different brand names.
According to WWD, KeyBanc Capital analyst Ed Yruma disclosed the launch in a recent note to investors. Amazon's "house" brands include Franklin & Freeman, Franklin Tailored, James & Erin, Lark & Ro, North Eleven, Scout + Ro and Society New York. The brands sell a range of products including men's dress shoes, suiting and accessories and a variety of women's clothing.
The majority of products are said to be in the women's dress and handbags line, Society New York, which makes up 911 of the roughly 1,800 SKUs. Men's accessories line Franklin Tailored features around 250 unique SKUs, we're told.
Those in the fashion industry aren't entirely surprised by the move. WWD reports that in recent weeks, the e-commerce powerhouse has posted job listings looking for marketing and senior brand managers, a head of marketing, a senior sourcing manager and a senior merchandiser to staff its private label unit.
Pricing on some of the private label brand products indicates Amazon is content to tackle the cheaper end of the price spectrum. While that approach may not bring in the most profit per sale, it's likely that Amazon generate more sales overall to make up for the difference.