Amazon Ditches Private Label Clothing Brands — Retail Bum

Amazon is scraping most of its private-label clothing brands as it looks to cut costs and sidestep antitrust scrutiny.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Amazon plans to eliminate 27 of its 30 private-label clothing brands, leaving the company with just Amazon Essentials, Amazon Collection, and Amazon Aware.

In addition, the eCommerce giant will be phasing out its private-label furniture brand, Rivet and Stone & Beam, once it runs out of its stock.

“If there are products that aren’t resonating with customers, we deprecate those and look for other opportunities to better meet their needs,” Matt Taddy, vice president of Amazon Private Brands, told Reuters.

While the company is publicly basing its decision on better aligning with customers’ needs, it was reportedly contemplating plans to exit its private label business as it sought to seek concessions in a long-awaited antitrust lawsuit the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is expected to file against the company.

The company has long been criticized for prioritizing its own products over those offered by sellers on its marketplace and for choking off competition by disfavoring outside sellers. These accusations have led the company to gradually reduce the number of products provided by its…