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Amazon Says Basics, Private Label Lines Aren't Going Away

A report says Amazon has slashed the number of goods sold under brands it owns, motivated by falling sales and regulatory pressure.

Imad Khan Senior Reporter
Imad is a senior reporter covering Google and internet culture. Hailing from Texas, Imad started his journalism career in 2013 and has amassed bylines with The New York Times, The Washington Post, ESPN, Tom's Guide and Wired, among others.
Expertise Google, Internet Culture
Laura Hautala Former Senior Writer
Laura wrote about e-commerce and Amazon, and she occasionally covered cool science topics. Previously, she broke down cybersecurity and privacy issues for CNET readers. Laura is based in Tacoma, Washington, and was into sourdough before the pandemic.
Expertise E-commerce, Amazon, earned wage access, online marketplaces, direct to consumer, unions, labor and employment, supply chain, cybersecurity, privacy, stalkerware, hacking. Credentials
  • 2022 Eddie Award for a single article in consumer technology
Imad Khan
Laura Hautala
Close-up of the connectors on the Amazon Basics 6ft USB-C charging cable

Amazon Basics logo on USB cable. 

Stephen Shankland/CNET

Amazon says it's not going to shutter in-house brands. The statement comes in response to a report from the Wall Street Journal Friday that the e-commerce giant ordered its private label business to cut back on the number of goods it sells, potentially by as much as half. The e-commerce giant has already reduced the number of items it sells under its own in-house brands due to low sales, the report said.

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.