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Amazon Cuts Dozens of House Brands as It Battles Costs, Regulators

105 points by type4 3y ago

djoldman 3y ago
Alternate link: https://www.msn.com/en-ca/money/companies/amazon-cuts-dozens-of-house-brands/ar-AA1f5QaC https://www.msn.com/en-ca/money/companies/amazon-cuts-dozens...
- Scoundreller 3y ago
  > No new products are being ordered for the brands being phased out, which will cease to exist once their inventory is sold. Strong-selling items in brands that have been discontinued are being rebranded under Amazon Essentials or other remaining labels. Sounds like the usual whittling of unsuccessful products and a consolidation of branding. Unsure how much this actually impacts end users (except those thinking they’re being anti-Amazon by buying a non-Amazon product that’s aktually an Amazon product)
  - cstejerean 3y ago
    I think it's good from transparency point of view. It's one thing when a retailer has one or two house brands, like Kirkland brand at Costco. Then the consumer can know that's the retailers house brand. Amazon on the other hand had 30 clothing brands with names like Lark & Ro, Daily Ritual and Goodthreads with just a tiny "An Amazon brand" buried in the product description bullets. I'm not sure if it was designed this way to be misleading, but I can see how it wouldn't be interpreted kindly during any kind of antitrust scrutiny.
    - blincoln 3y ago
      Costco actually pioneered that approach. The traditional corporate strategy had always been to have a bunch of different house brands fpr different product categories.
      - codeTired 3y ago
        Costco is generally cheaper and top shelf products. Not my experience with Amazon basics.
        sokoloff 3y ago
        My experience is that Costco is cheaper and entirely adequate/sufficient quality products, but rarely/never "top shelf" products (assuming that's meant to mean "the best"). This makes sense, as Costco is trying to move a lot of units and you can move a lot more units into the market that's looking for "perfectly adequate" than the ones looking for "the best". Honda outsells Porsche, Ferrari, and Lamborghini combined and all that...
        jacobr1 3y ago
        That was the intent though. How can I buy cheap Chinese mass-produced products (usually low on the quality scale) but still have some basic quality bar that the products are not fraudulent? That they wouldn't fail basic safety standards or cause a fire or contain highly toxic ingredients. If I cared about higher quality for a given purchase, I wouldn't be choosing Amazon Basics. But for plenty of products (garbage bags, whiteboard markers, shop towels, etc ...) I just want the cheapest thing thing that actually will do the bare the minimum job.
    - duskwuff 3y ago
      It's not uncommon for big-box retailers to have multiple house brands. Walmart and Target both have dozens, for instance: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Walmart_brands https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Walmart_brands https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Target_Corporation#Private-label_brands https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Target_Corporation#Private-lab...
      - olyjohn 3y ago
        Home Depot has tons of brands too. I didn't realize how many brands were theirs until I did a kitchen remodel, and got a bunch of cheaply built crap that started having problems after installation. Fuckin anything with "Bay" in the name is theirs. Hampton Bay, Glacier Bay, etc. Most of the stuff in their stores is their own brand. Most of it is trash too. Their doors have all been sagging on me, the stainless steel sink I bought keeps needing me to scrub off corrosion, their wood countertops have some shitty UV coating that just peels off.
- howinteresting 3y ago
  The "continue reading in the app" with a down arrow next to it is one of the darker patterns I've seen today.
- lazycouchpotato 3y ago
  > Some companies have accused Amazon of selling copycats under its own brands. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbxWGjQ2szQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbxWGjQ2szQ Here's a fun video for those looking for a ripoff by Amazon.
qingcharles 3y ago
I found the quality of Amazon-brand products to be inconsistent. I hoped Amazon would be able to use its scale to produce some items at lower costs and higher quality than competitors, but it just didn't work out. Often I find Amazon Basics goods at much higher prices than other retailers on their sites. And Amazon's own-brand instant coffee is truly, truly awful, FYI. (Although their filter coffee is good)
karaterobot 3y ago
Not much of a concession to regulators. They could just expand the breadth of offerings from their remaining brands if they wanted to, until they were selling the exact same products. I am not an FTC regulator, but to me it seems like the shadiest thing Amazon does with its brands is to give them increased prominence in search results. They cannot tell me they don't juice the results to bubble their brands up to the top.
- wise_young_man 3y ago
  Why should they not be able to do that since it’s their platform and store front? Should Walmart not be able to position Sam’s Choice before other brands?
- fauigerzigerk 3y ago
  It seems rather plausible to me what the article has to say on this exact question: After that 2020 article, Amazon curbed a yearslong practice in which its own brands were given a boost in the search results on its site in special placements—the kind of edge other sellers could only gain by buying ads—according to the people familiar with the recent changes. That change caused many of Amazon’s brands to be buried in search results, making it harder for items to sell. The cost of warehousing all that inventory was significant for Amazon, making it a target during the cost cutting. Doesn't mean they stopped the practice completely, but apparently it was enough to make most of their own brands unprofitable.
glonq 3y ago
Once upon a time you could choose to buy good products from good brands on Amazon, or import cheap crap from China via Aliexpress or whatnot. But now that nearly every category on Amazon is dominated by cheap crap from dodgy brands in China, I'm feeling less reason to buy things from them (unless I need it tomorrow). I suppose that's what's fuelling the popularity of new marketplaces like Temu?
- jareklupinski 3y ago
  my last hack before i completely jump platforms is to make sure that when im buying something, I click into the link right below the item name itself so i get to the brand's actual amazon page, then i click the item again 50% of the time it'll be cheaper and have a better prime ship date (and say Sold By BrandName or Amazon instead of a random seller name), and no counterfeits at all this way yet
  - sokoloff 3y ago
    Do you have an example originally searched for ASIN* and brand-linked ASIN that this works on? I've not seen this personally, and checking my last 10 ordered items (some 6-7 character made up brand imported items and some recognizable brand items), following this process landed me on the same ASIN/same PDP each time, but it's definitely intriguing enough for me to want to find out more. * The alphanumeric Amazon Stock ID Number, for physical goods it's usually (always?) a B followed by 9 alphanumeric digits.
    - jareklupinski 3y ago
      i'll take a look next time i go, but if it helps for now I've specifically done this two-step with success for Tide and Charmin goods
- vasco 3y ago
  To be honest Temu sounds like someone was watching the Wish.com saga and decided it was a great idea to burn a bunch of billions. It can grow a lot while it's new but I have my doubts about longevity of this type "we only sell crap" platforms.
Drblessing 3y ago
This is so sad. I live off of Amazon brands, because they're so cheap, convenient, and relatively good quality. I've NEVER had a quality issue from them. Call me a corporate stooge if you want, but their mattresses, clothing, drugs, etc. have been a lifesaver.
- reaperducer 3y ago
  Amazon trash bags are great. Formerly branded Solomio. Now branded Amazon Basics. I tried Amazon pants to see what they were like. You get what you pay for. Avoid.
  - esafak 3y ago
    Solimo. Solomio sounds like an ice cream brand. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VZ1fUmtw9I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VZ1fUmtw9I
- treprinum 3y ago
  I bought their paper shredder and it shredded itself during the first use.
  - loloquwowndueo 3y ago
    Was it made of paper? :)
- nerdjon 3y ago
  I find that generally I go for Amazon brands whenever possible. Honestly they are one of the few shorts I wear because it is so hard to find good cargo shorts for tall guys. Paper Towels, TP, vitamins, ibuprofen, etc. Much of it is solid quality, does what I need, and far cheaper than the alternatives even local ones. Looking at what is mentioned it is the staples like this that will be fine. The things that will be going away will be the fancier things or things like furniture.
  - jodrellblank 3y ago
azemetre 3y ago
Is there an actual list of what is being cut? It seems like it's mostly clothing and furniture (sans the Amazon Basics and Amazon Essentials brands).
metadat 3y ago
https://archive.today/GCrRZ https://archive.today/GCrRZ
clpm4j 3y ago
Ironically I'm back to using amazon.com solely for it's original use case - buying books.
- Tarball10 3y ago
  Except it's terrible for that (if you care about the condition of your books) because they did away with their book-specific packaging, and now just toss books in a box or bubble mailer with no protection. The majority of the time they arrive banged up. You may as well buy them second-hand for cheaper.
ThatMedicIsASpy 3y ago
The only amazon basics I bought is two monitor arms. I bought them because they are made by Ergotron and have a logo applied to them. They were on sale for 65€ each while the original (Ergotron LX) costs 160€ I only bought them because they are Ergotrons.

105 points by type4 3y ago

Alternate link: https://www.msn.com/en-ca/money/companies/amazon-cuts-dozens-of-house-brands/ar-AA1f5QaC https://www.msn.com/en-ca/money/companies/amazon-cuts-dozens...

Scoundreller 3y ago
> No new products are being ordered for the brands being phased out, which will cease to exist once their inventory is sold. Strong-selling items in brands that have been discontinued are being rebranded under Amazon Essentials or other remaining labels. Sounds like the usual whittling of unsuccessful products and a consolidation of branding. Unsure how much this actually impacts end users (except those thinking they’re being anti-Amazon by buying a non-Amazon product that’s aktually an Amazon product)
- cstejerean 3y ago
  I think it's good from transparency point of view. It's one thing when a retailer has one or two house brands, like Kirkland brand at Costco. Then the consumer can know that's the retailers house brand. Amazon on the other hand had 30 clothing brands with names like Lark & Ro, Daily Ritual and Goodthreads with just a tiny "An Amazon brand" buried in the product description bullets. I'm not sure if it was designed this way to be misleading, but I can see how it wouldn't be interpreted kindly during any kind of antitrust scrutiny.
  - blincoln 3y ago
    Costco actually pioneered that approach. The traditional corporate strategy had always been to have a bunch of different house brands fpr different product categories.
    - codeTired 3y ago
      Costco is generally cheaper and top shelf products. Not my experience with Amazon basics.
      - sokoloff 3y ago
        My experience is that Costco is cheaper and entirely adequate/sufficient quality products, but rarely/never "top shelf" products (assuming that's meant to mean "the best"). This makes sense, as Costco is trying to move a lot of units and you can move a lot more units into the market that's looking for "perfectly adequate" than the ones looking for "the best". Honda outsells Porsche, Ferrari, and Lamborghini combined and all that...
      - jacobr1 3y ago
        That was the intent though. How can I buy cheap Chinese mass-produced products (usually low on the quality scale) but still have some basic quality bar that the products are not fraudulent? That they wouldn't fail basic safety standards or cause a fire or contain highly toxic ingredients. If I cared about higher quality for a given purchase, I wouldn't be choosing Amazon Basics. But for plenty of products (garbage bags, whiteboard markers, shop towels, etc ...) I just want the cheapest thing thing that actually will do the bare the minimum job.
  - duskwuff 3y ago
    It's not uncommon for big-box retailers to have multiple house brands. Walmart and Target both have dozens, for instance: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Walmart_brands https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Walmart_brands https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Target_Corporation#Private-label_brands https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Target_Corporation#Private-lab...
    - olyjohn 3y ago
      Home Depot has tons of brands too. I didn't realize how many brands were theirs until I did a kitchen remodel, and got a bunch of cheaply built crap that started having problems after installation. Fuckin anything with "Bay" in the name is theirs. Hampton Bay, Glacier Bay, etc. Most of the stuff in their stores is their own brand. Most of it is trash too. Their doors have all been sagging on me, the stainless steel sink I bought keeps needing me to scrub off corrosion, their wood countertops have some shitty UV coating that just peels off.
howinteresting 3y ago
The "continue reading in the app" with a down arrow next to it is one of the darker patterns I've seen today.
lazycouchpotato 3y ago
> Some companies have accused Amazon of selling copycats under its own brands. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbxWGjQ2szQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbxWGjQ2szQ Here's a fun video for those looking for a ripoff by Amazon.

qingcharles 3y ago

I found the quality of Amazon-brand products to be inconsistent. I hoped Amazon would be able to use its scale to produce some items at lower costs and higher quality than competitors, but it just didn't work out. Often I find Amazon Basics goods at much higher prices than other retailers on their sites. And Amazon's own-brand instant coffee is truly, truly awful, FYI. (Although their filter coffee is good)

karaterobot 3y ago

Not much of a concession to regulators. They could just expand the breadth of offerings from their remaining brands if they wanted to, until they were selling the exact same products. I am not an FTC regulator, but to me it seems like the shadiest thing Amazon does with its brands is to give them increased prominence in search results. They cannot tell me they don't juice the results to bubble their brands up to the top.

wise_young_man 3y ago
Why should they not be able to do that since it’s their platform and store front? Should Walmart not be able to position Sam’s Choice before other brands?
fauigerzigerk 3y ago
It seems rather plausible to me what the article has to say on this exact question: After that 2020 article, Amazon curbed a yearslong practice in which its own brands were given a boost in the search results on its site in special placements—the kind of edge other sellers could only gain by buying ads—according to the people familiar with the recent changes. That change caused many of Amazon’s brands to be buried in search results, making it harder for items to sell. The cost of warehousing all that inventory was significant for Amazon, making it a target during the cost cutting. Doesn't mean they stopped the practice completely, but apparently it was enough to make most of their own brands unprofitable.

glonq 3y ago

Once upon a time you could choose to buy good products from good brands on Amazon, or import cheap crap from China via Aliexpress or whatnot. But now that nearly every category on Amazon is dominated by cheap crap from dodgy brands in China, I'm feeling less reason to buy things from them (unless I need it tomorrow). I suppose that's what's fuelling the popularity of new marketplaces like Temu?

jareklupinski 3y ago
my last hack before i completely jump platforms is to make sure that when im buying something, I click into the link right below the item name itself so i get to the brand's actual amazon page, then i click the item again 50% of the time it'll be cheaper and have a better prime ship date (and say Sold By BrandName or Amazon instead of a random seller name), and no counterfeits at all this way yet
- sokoloff 3y ago
  Do you have an example originally searched for ASIN* and brand-linked ASIN that this works on? I've not seen this personally, and checking my last 10 ordered items (some 6-7 character made up brand imported items and some recognizable brand items), following this process landed me on the same ASIN/same PDP each time, but it's definitely intriguing enough for me to want to find out more. * The alphanumeric Amazon Stock ID Number, for physical goods it's usually (always?) a B followed by 9 alphanumeric digits.
  - jareklupinski 3y ago
    i'll take a look next time i go, but if it helps for now I've specifically done this two-step with success for Tide and Charmin goods
vasco 3y ago
To be honest Temu sounds like someone was watching the Wish.com saga and decided it was a great idea to burn a bunch of billions. It can grow a lot while it's new but I have my doubts about longevity of this type "we only sell crap" platforms.

Drblessing 3y ago

This is so sad. I live off of Amazon brands, because they're so cheap, convenient, and relatively good quality. I've NEVER had a quality issue from them. Call me a corporate stooge if you want, but their mattresses, clothing, drugs, etc. have been a lifesaver.

reaperducer 3y ago
Amazon trash bags are great. Formerly branded Solomio. Now branded Amazon Basics. I tried Amazon pants to see what they were like. You get what you pay for. Avoid.
- esafak 3y ago
  Solimo. Solomio sounds like an ice cream brand. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VZ1fUmtw9I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VZ1fUmtw9I
treprinum 3y ago
I bought their paper shredder and it shredded itself during the first use.
- loloquwowndueo 3y ago
  Was it made of paper? :)
nerdjon 3y ago
I find that generally I go for Amazon brands whenever possible. Honestly they are one of the few shorts I wear because it is so hard to find good cargo shorts for tall guys. Paper Towels, TP, vitamins, ibuprofen, etc. Much of it is solid quality, does what I need, and far cheaper than the alternatives even local ones. Looking at what is mentioned it is the staples like this that will be fine. The things that will be going away will be the fancier things or things like furniture.
- jodrellblank 3y ago

azemetre 3y ago

Is there an actual list of what is being cut? It seems like it's mostly clothing and furniture (sans the Amazon Basics and Amazon Essentials brands).

metadat 3y ago

https://archive.today/GCrRZ https://archive.today/GCrRZ

clpm4j 3y ago

Ironically I'm back to using amazon.com solely for it's original use case - buying books.

Tarball10 3y ago
Except it's terrible for that (if you care about the condition of your books) because they did away with their book-specific packaging, and now just toss books in a box or bubble mailer with no protection. The majority of the time they arrive banged up. You may as well buy them second-hand for cheaper.

ThatMedicIsASpy 3y ago

The only amazon basics I bought is two monitor arms. I bought them because they are made by Ergotron and have a logo applied to them. They were on sale for 65€ each while the original (Ergotron LX) costs 160€ I only bought them because they are Ergotrons.