May 08, 2015.
Amazon.com Inc. is getting into the diaper business with a private label brand that pits it against Procter & Gamble Co. and other suppliers who increasingly rely on the online retail giant for sales.
The generic brand, called Elements, will start with two baby products, diapers and wipes, and Amazon has plans to later expand into other household products. With Elements, Amazon isn’t going for the lowest price, rather it is trying to reach a consumer who is willing to pay more to get detailed information about a product’s origins and the materials used
The move adds a formidable rival into the $5.8 billion diaper market at a time when P&G has been raising prices on its Pampers brand and Kimberly Clark is struggling with declining Huggies sales.
It also threatens to disrupt Amazon’s close relationship with consumer product makers. The online giant has set up distribution operations inside the warehouses of manufacturers like P&G that allows it to ship products more quickly