Amazon Says Basics, Private Label Lines Aren’t Going Away – CNET [CNET]
Amazon said in a statement it has no plans to shutter the private label business.
“We never seriously considered closing our private label business and we continue to invest in this area,” a spokesperson said, “just as our many retail competitors have done for decades and continue to do today.”
Regulators and lawmakers have looked critically at Amazon’s private label business. Because Amazon owns its marketplace, it can unfairly elevate its own products over those of private sellers, some antitrust experts have said.
Some sellers that had been doing well on Amazon suddenly found themselves ranking lower as soon as Amazon Basics introduced a similar product, according to a report from The Markup last year. In 2020, then CEO Jeff Bezos testified in front of Congress and was made to answer for kicking a textbook seller off Amazon without notice. Bezos was surprised to hear the story, but said he believes it isn’t a systemic issue.
Last year, Amazon hit an all-time high of nearly 60% of all online retail purchases in the US.