Slashdot Mirror
Secret Amazon Brands Are Quietly Taking Over Amazon.com (qz.com)
An anonymous reader shares a report: Arabella. Lark & Roe. Mae. NuPro. Small Parts. You might not know it from their names, but these brands all belong to Amazon. Amazon's private label business is booming, on pace to generate $7.5 billion this year and $25 billion by 2022, according to estimates from investment firm SunTrust Robinson Humphrey. To accelerate that growth, the company is inviting manufacturers to create products exclusively for its collection of private brands. The "Amazon Accelerator Program" is hiring a senior product manager for private brands, CNBC reported. The job listing invites applicants to "invent and Think Big to take an idea from concept to reality for Amazon customers." Duties include managing and planning inventory, identifying business opportunities, and working across a wide swath of Amazon divisions, including consumables, Prime Pantry, Prime Fresh, Prime Now, and Amazon Go. Another job listing spotted by CNBC, for a private brands program leader, notes that the "Private Brands team is rapidly expanding and is looking for an exceptional product leader to grow the business." Brands created through the accelerator will be exclusive to Amazon, but not owned by it, the company said. Further reading: Amazon is Stuffing Its Search Results Pages With Ads.
Good little drones! Keep working towards making a real dystopia! One giant mega-corp that supplies you with everything. That'll work out well. Keep giving them your money, dummies. Keep on, keepin' on.
I don't respond to AC's.
They have knowledge of what sells from other parties, what's popular.
They then manufacture those products and directly compete on their sales platform, with full knowledge of sales and pricing of their competitors.
What's that smell? Federal intervention.
BlameBillCosby.com
Having a store brand or products produced for a store by wholly owned subsidiaries is indeed pretty common. It will be worth keeping an eye on though as Amazon continues to grow and integrates more into its ecosystem.
Costco got into a fine mess last year when a South Korean golf ball supplier sold them surplus golf balls and Costco resold them under the Kirkland label at $29 for two dozen. The golf industry got turned upside when golfers realizaed that the Costco golf balls were better than the more expensive premium golf balls.
.
If it's immoral to do the best you can with what you have for your family, well...it gets complex fast, doesn't it. I'm sure some of the outfits who'd go out of business fast if they didn't have Amazon to re-sell their stuff for them, now that local is doing dead (due to Amazon and Walmart) - have to be selling below cost - if not, they've been really ripping us off the whole time, and just deserts is what I say. So it won't go on for long, but for now...smart people who pay attention always have an edge.
And no, I'm no fan of Bezos or his politics. What I'm suggesting is taking advantage of the outfit when they play the loss-leader game.
Why guess when you can know? Measure!
They have knowledge of what sells from other parties, what's popular. They then manufacture those products and directly compete on their sales platform, with full knowledge of sales and pricing of their competitors.
So do grocery stores, retail stores, etc and they all sell private label goods too. I don't really see this as a problem. Kroger sells Kroger branded milk right next the other dairy brands and usually for less money. Walmart sells all sorts of private label goods at discounted prices. Amazon is doing nothing different here at all.
What's that smell? Federal intervention.
Not unless you can prove that Amazon is a monopoly first and then that they are abusing that monopoly. Good luck with that. The branded product makers are welcome to drop their prices to compete if they like. If they aren't providing enough value to justify their brand then why should I as a customer care?
Big Marketplace creates huge opportunities for Suppliers.
Suppliers suddenly put 80% of their eggs into Big Marketplace baskets.
Big Marketplace changes rules, squeeze Suppliers.
Suppliers can't afford to leave.
Suppliers cut corners to cut costs.
Big Marketplace takes more dollars.
Suppliers innovate to create crappier crap.
Consumers lose options, forced to buy crap.
Winner: Big Marketplace.
Losers: everyone else
Enjoy.
I don't really see that....this is a common thing for many retailers. You see it in every day grocery stores, hell, you REALLY see this in places like Costco, and even Sam's Club.
Hell, I often buy the Costco (Kirkland brand) stuff, and it is as good, or even slightly superior to the major brands. I too believe Costo gets major labels to make them special stuff, I could swear the Costco Kirkland brand vodka is made by Grey Goose....etc.
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
How many of these labels are existing companies that were bought by Amazon? Small Parts, for example, was bought by Amazon a couple years ago. (I remember ordering from them before they were part of Amazon.) At one level, it doesn't make a difference, the profits got to Bezos. But it seems to me a legitimate business strategy for Amazon to buy successful companies that add to their portfolio of things they sell directly.
There is a legitimate concern -if- these acquisitions and private labels have an impact on competition.
I won't bother listing the prices because from what I've heard not everyone will see the same prices anyway.
Yes, some kits come with different accessories, but look at the pot and pan. Apart from colour, they're all exactly the same. The first one, "AmazonBasics", is clearly Amazon's brand, nothing deceptive there. But when you look at most of the other brands, you start questioning wether they're real companies or not.
AmazonBasics Outdoor Camping Cookware Set
MalloMe Camping Cookware Mess Kit
Gold Armour 17Pcs Camping Cookware Mess Kit
Terra Hiker Camping Cookware
gear4U Camping Cookware
HONEST OUTFITTERS Portable camping cookware mess kit
Bisgear 12 Pcs Camping Cookware
EcoCamp OUTDOOR GEAR Mess Kit (14 Pcs)
Born to Venture Camping Cookware Mess Kit
#DeleteFacebook
"House brands" are common, but some companies such as Walmart and Amazon use them in anti-competitive ways.
If a product is tweaked and rebranded, it makes it harder to comparison shop.
A store can have a low price guarantee, and offer to match any advertised offer by a competitor or even an additional 10% off. But that is meaningless because they can insist that it is a different product due to the rebranding. Even for products sold under the original brand, Walmart often has unique model numbers that are sold no where else.
That's the entire point of Amazon Basics IMO: cheap Chinese stuff that you at least know are sold by a real company that accepts returns, and that has some sort of quality bar above fraud. I'm a big fan of Amazon Basics A/V cables: they're cheap, but never too cheap.
Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.