Amazon.com turns to 'Basics'

Is Amazon.com developing a new product category? The company on June 5 applied for a series of trademarks for "Amazon Basics," covering such items as furniture, household appliances, and pillows. Many of the products mirror Amazon's private label offerings, which have been getting some attention lately. Is Amazon organizing its private label products into an Amazon Basics online store? Company spokeswoman Patty Smith declined to comment.

Private label refers to goods that are made by one company to sell under another company's brand. Amazon has been developing private label brands Pinzon (bath towels, sheets, furniture and kitchen gadgets) and Strathwood (patio furniture and outdoor lighting) since 2005 and is continuing to add products to the brands. As ZDNet noted recently, Amazon's embrace of private label goods, which have the potential for higher margins, mirrors the strategy of big brick-and-mortar retailers like Target and Kohl's.

Or perhaps Amazon has something else in mind for Basics.

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About Eric Engleman

ERIC ENGLEMAN is senior technology staff writer for TechFlash and the Puget Sound Business Journal, covering online retail giant Amazon.com. Engleman tracks Amazon's increasingly complex business, spanning ecommerce, Kindle, cloud computing, and more. He's been covering technology and other industries for the Business Journal since 2003.

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