Amazon reportedly scrapping 27 of 30 private clothing labels

US retail giant Amazon is reigning in its own-label fashion business as it looks to cut costs and tackle mounting regulatory pressure, according to a report.

The company, which has been rapidly expanding its presence in the fashion industry in recent years, is winding down dozens of its own-label brands, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing sources familiar with the matter.

In fact, Amazon will scrap all but three of its 30 private fashion labels, according to the report, leaving it with just Amazon Essentials, Amazon Collection, and Amazon Aware. In an email to Reuters, Matt Taddy, the vice president of Amazon Private Brands, said: “If there are products that aren't resonating with customers we deprecate those items and look for other opportunities to better meet their needs.”

It follows a report by The Wall Street Journal last summer that Amazon was reducing the number of own-label products on offer amid falling sales, and that the company was considering exiting the private-label business altogether to alleviate regulatory pressure.

Amazon has been criticised in the past for its business practices, including the way it uses its size, power, and data to give it an unfair advantage over smaller merchants that sell on its online platform.

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is currently in the process of finalising a long-awaited antitrust lawsuit against the retailer.