Amazon planning own fashion label in UK - reports

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Feb 15, 2017

Amazon could be about to launch an own-brand fashion label in the UK as it targets explosive growth in the $3trn international fashion sector. A launch could happen as early as this spring, according to reports.

The e-tail leader has carved out a large and growing fashion business since first entering the fashion sector and buying companies such as Shopbop and Zappos. In 2015 it opened a giant Shoreditch, London studio-cum-creative hub that underlined its ambitions in the fashion sector. And only last month Amazon Fashion Europe announced that it had sold 60m items after adding a raft of new brands to its offer.

The news of its own-label ambitions was first reported in Drapers on Wednesday, which said the company has been recruiting major name fashion executives in the UK. These include former Primark menswear buying chief Glen George, and ex-M&S womenswear head Frances Russell, as well as the chain’s former head of design, Karen Peacock.

If the own-label move does happen, the company’s massive buying power and customer reach will put pressure on rivals across the board from youth-focused e-tail pure plays like Asos and Boohoo, to multi-age-group chains such as M&S and Next, trend-led retailers like Arcadia and the budget-conscious supermarket ranges.