Amazon Pledges Full Price To Make Itself Into Fashion Hub

Many fashion brands are selling their products on Amazon, but others are concerned about its approach

Amazon has defeated competitors by providing cut-rate prices on products, from electronics to books to diapers. The company has employed a new strategy: pledging full price.

With that promise, the American e-commerce company is making headway enticing masses that for years had rebuffed its strategies. Many companies directly now deliver to Amazon. These include Levi Strauss, Lacoste, Kate Spade, Calvin Klein and Nicole Miller.

CEO of Lacoste North America, Joëlle Grünberg, said, “Amazon understands fashion is different from its core business, they discount when products aren’t selling, but they don’t mark down at crazy rates.” Lacoste North America started delivering select goods on the organization in 2015.

Forrester Research revealed that fashion has continued to be amongst the last e-commerce holdouts because of the importance of fit and feel of clothing to buyers. 65% of computers and 15% of clothing were bought online in 2015 .But just as such many other conventional buying habits, clothing shopping is yielding to the comfort of the web.

Whereas the change provides more convenience and choices for buyers, it is still another blow to conventional departmental stores and shopping centers they anchor. While buyers yet are interested in visiting conventional shops to try garments, the membership of Amazon Prime, which includes free 2-day shipping, helps make delivering clothes across the internet a less risky proposition.

44 years old real estate agent, Karen Gestwicki, bought dresses from Amazon “because Amazon has the biggest selection.” For brands, the company provides growth now when sales by departmental stores are sluggish. Its North American total sales in 2015 grew by approximately one-fourth to $63.7 billion, while Kohl’s Corporation sales grew by 1% and Macy’s sales decreased by 3.7%.

The two departmental chains are cutting staff and shutting down stores. Brands believed to be choosy regarding their distributions are tiptoeing at Amazon, including Ralph Lauren Corporation, which directly sells shoes to the web retailer.

There are yet holdouts, nevertheless, including Rag & Bone, Tory Burch, Nike and a large number of European luxury goods sellers, which are turned off by the down-scale image of the company and concerned regarding third-party merchants registering merchandise at a price lower than suggested pricing.

Spokesman of Amazon refused to share views. Amazon has tried to enter the fashion industry for a long time. 10 years ago, CEO Jeff Bezos had a visit to Seventh Avenue showrooms to try to create interest, but clothing executives were hesitant to entrust their companies to an organization called for cutthroat prices and utilitarian ways to show products, according to people aware of the meetings.