Amazon has been in talks with a former Marks & Spencer womenswear boss as rumours circulate about its own-label clothing brand.
Frances Russell, who left M&S last year, has supposedly held talks about joining Amazon in a senior role.
This is purely rumour and speculation at this point, Amazon told Retail Gazette, though evidence of the company forming its own clothing brand is not lacking. Earlier this month it began advertising for positions such as “fit specialist” on its job site. An advertisement for a software development engineer in fashion technology position asked, “When you think of buying new clothing, shoes, watches and jewellery, do you think of Amazon? Not yet? Well, we are going to change that.”
Amazon also offers a number of own brand products already, including electronic goods under the name AmazonBasics, not to mention its plan to open its own physical book store chain.
The company also sells a number of outside clothing labels: It is becoming one of the largest fashion retailers in the US, and its presence in UK fashion extends to items from the likes of New Look and Tommy Hilfiger. Amazon even opened its own photography studio last year to help promote its clothing range.
“When we see gaps, when certain brans have decided for their own reasons not to sell with us, our customer still wants a product like that,” said Jeff Yurcisin, Vice President of Clothing at Amazon, at a conference in October last year.
Exactly what stage the range‘s development may be at remains to be seen.
