Amazon Elements: Amazon Unveils Its Own Diapers and Baby Wipes

Jason Del Ray, reporting for Recode:

Called Amazon Elements, the line of diapers and baby wipes will only be available to customers who belong to the Amazon Prime membership program, adding another item to the growing list of membership perks. By working directly with a manufacturer, Amazon will be able to price the brand aggressively, with a 40-count package of diapers starting at $7.99. That works out to about 19 cents a diaper, compared to competitor prices that mostly range from 24 cents to 34 cents.

As a result, some people will view the launch as a shot across the bow at the big diaper brands, Huggies and Pampers, that sell their products on Amazon. Sellers on Amazon already gripe that Amazon sells the same products as they do. Now it is building a direct relationship with a supplier that allows it to undercut some of its own partners in a more significant way.

“Some people”? Who doesn’t think this is a “shot across the bow at the big diaper brands”?

★ Saturday, 6 December 2014