Remember back in January when we analyzed whether or not you should be worried about Amazon’s apparel takeover? Back then, it looked like Amazon was on the verge of becoming an apparel competitor, but now, the company is truly becoming an apparel powerhouse.
Just in this past week alone, Amazon has been making headlines for its latest fashion and apparel news. In case you missed out on the latest, we wanted to get you up to speed on what the e-commerce giant is working on.
1. Amazon’s Artificial Intelligence
It’s probably no surprise that Amazon has every analytics platform and algorithm at its fingertips to determine what consumers are looking for in their shopping experience. But, to use AI to predict fashion trends? That’s game-changing for sure.
Basically, the algorithm learns what’s in style by looking at images, and then creates original fashion items based off those images. There’s no telling whether this technology will be successful for Amazon, but it certainly looks like Amazon is doubling down on the fashion game.
2. Amazon’s New Fashion Collection
Although it only launched in Europe, Amazon’s new fashion collection, Find, is already making waves. The collection is composed of 500 pieces of fall/winter womenswear, as well as 200 pieces of menswear. According to The Fashion Law, Amazon is drawing inspiration for its new collection from trending brands, like Vetements, Balenciaga and Celine.
“The opportunity to build a new business is exciting,” Frances Russell, vice president of Amazon’s own label, told the Telegraph. “We don’t have the hangover of physical retail or have history, so we have to make our own history. The brand’s not going to happen overnight, not every piece is going to be absolutely perfect but we will just keep listening to customers.”
“We are used to taking catwalk or street-style inspiration, and the beauty of Amazon is that we can mine customer feedback for what customers like and don’t like and what they buy,” said Glen George, a former buyer for Primark, who helped work on the womenswear collection.
The surprising thing about this new collection is that the items aren’t undercutting its major rivals in terms of price. Patent boots cost £56 ($72) and a checked blazer is priced at £40 ($52). Instead, the company is hoping it will actually catch on for fashion, not price.
There’s no word on whether a similar collection will launch in the U.S., but you can bet we’re keeping an eye out for it.
3. Amazon Removes Private Label
It looks like for Amazon, it’s out with the old and in with the new. Perhaps to make room for Find, the company had to shutter its Paris Sunday dress and top line.
“While I can’t comment on rumors or speculation, what I can tell you is that, as a company, we’re always listening to our customers, learning, and innovating on their behalf and to bring them products we think they will love,” an Amazon spokeswoman told WWD.
While this might seem like a move that indicates struggling apparel sales, we can’t help but think it just means something bigger is on the horizon.
