Amazon has discontinued thirty of its clothing brands in recent months, according to Marketplace Pulse research. Clothing brands account for more than half of Amazon’s hundreds of private label brands; however, they rarely succeed. Amazon Essentials, Goodthreads, Daily Ritual, and Lark & Ro brands have performed well, and yet most other brands haven’t. Thus, the company is starting to trim the portfolio of owned brands.
Thirty-two brands are no longer in stock on Amazon. One of them, North Eleven, focused on cold-weather gear for women, was one of the seven first private label fashion brands the company launched in February 2016. Franklin & Freeman, Franklin Tailored, James & Erin, Lark & Ro, Scout + Ro, and Society New York are still available.
| Brand | Category |
|---|---|
| Camp Moonlight | women's clothing |
| Charming Dove | women's clothing |
| Cotton Addiction | women's clothing |
| Cozymetters.Co | men's and women's sweaters |
| Denim Crush | women's jeans |
| Denim Garage Classics | men's jeans |
| First Stop | women's outdoors clothing |
| HAEOF | women's swimwear |
| Hayden Rose | women's clothing |
| Hifive Carny | children's clothing |
| Indigo Society | women's jeans |
| Jump Club | men's athletic clothing |
| Kailee Athletics | women's athletic clothing |
| Kissmee for Ladies | women's dresses |
| Mariella Bella | women's clothing |
| MG Twelve | men's outdoors clothing |
| North Eleven | women's clothing accessories |
| Proform Apparel | men's athletic clothing |
| Red Wagon | children's clothing |
| Retro Shoes | men's shoes |
| Rugged Mile Denim | men's jeans |
| Savoir Faire Dresses | women's dresses |
| Seanami Dazzling | women's swimwear |
| Smart is Beautiful. | women's clothing |
| Smitten Legging | women's leggings |
| Staraxy | safety jackets / raincoats |
| Sunset City | women's swimwear |
| The Cambridge Collection | women's formal clothing |
| The Casual Grey | women's outdoors clothing |
| Toes In A Blanket | men's and women's socks |
| Velvet Rope | women's dresses |
| Wild Meadow | women's dresses |
The clothing brands Amazon has launched all suffer from limited discovery on the platform. The same platform trait which affects other brands as well. To combat that, Amazon has mostly relied on the “Top rated from our brands” section in search results to highlight its brands. However, unlike established brands, Amazon’s brands have no brand recognition, nor do they indicate to shoppers that Amazon owns them. They are left competing with the rest of unknown brands mostly on price, although they are rarely the most affordable. That leaves them among thousands upon thousands of other brands in the category without a clear differentiator. Unsurprisingly, that most often results in them flopping.
“The fact that Amazon’s buying behavior is so search-led and weak on discovery makes it harder for them to drive private label sales. They can’t make you walk past stuff you didn’t come in for.”
– Benedict Evans, Partner at Andreessen Horowitz
Retailers like Target have been more successful in launching brands because of brick-and-mortar stores. The environment of a store - limited selection and better discovery - is better suited for introducing new brands. Amazon has tried to replace that by featuring its brands in search results, but that isn’t enough.
Amazon is throwing a lot at the wall to see what sticks. In clothing, however, most of it doesn’t. Amazon has been successful in basics - like the affordable Amazon Essentials line. However, its ability to utilize data to spot underserved niches and launch products hasn’t made it a disruptor in fashion.
