Amazon in 2009 launched a private label brand called AmazonBasics which the Seattle-based e-commerce giant initially used to peddle generic versions of electronic accessories like USB cables and batteries. Since that time, however, Amazon has developed the house brand into an all-encompassing offering that lends its name to hundreds of products.
Amazon is rather secretive when it comes to in-house brands so in order to gain any perspective into the matter, Quartz had to do some digging of its own. Using the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine, the site searched to see how many products Amazon has offered on its AmazonBasics landing page.
On June 8, 2013 (the earliest archived result), the landing page featured 252 products. That figure has since swelled to 1,506 products.
The publication reached out to Amazon in hopes of determining if that was an accurate figure. Unsurprisingly, Amazon remained tight-lipped on the subject.
A spokesperson told Quartz that AmazonBasics started as a private label collection of consumer electronic "basics" for customers who want exceptional value but has since expanded to include more than a dozen categories such as sporting goods and household supplies. The goal, the spokesperson said, is to offer customers a wide selection of products to choose from. Private brands like AmazonBasics add to their assortment, the person concluded.
AmazonBasics is one of several house brands the company operates, most of which were not even publicly known to be associated with Amazon until earlier this year.