Dec 11, 2017

How Amazon took over the apparel market with no-name clothes

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Photo: Ted S. Warren / AP

Amazon has quietly become the second-largest seller of apparel in the United States, investing heavily in its own private-label offerings, which customers have flocked to for their value. As designer Jackie Wilson tells Bloomberg:

They are not concerned at all about how many units they sell, and they’re not focused on margins. They’re concerned about customer satisfaction. They want five-star reviews.

Why it matters: Younger shoppers have become much less loyal to name brands, and retailers like Amazon, Walmart, and Kohls have capitalized by recruting designers and Asian manufacturers to create their own lines of apparel. Amazon's clothes are so popular that 40% of all e-commerce clothing sales go through the platform.

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Scott Rosenberg

9 mins ago - Technology

Trump forces fateful choices on Twitter and Facebook

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

President Trump's war with Twitter is confronting social media platforms with a hard dilemma: whether to take fuller responsibility for what people say on their services, or to step back and assume a more quasi-governmental role.

The big picture: Facebook is trying to be more like a government — committing to impartiality and protecting free speech and building mechanisms for arbitration. Twitter, pushed by Trump's inflammatory messages, is opting to more aggressively enforce conduct rules on its private property, like a mall owner enforcing rules inside the gates.

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Axios

Updated 16 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Global: Total confirmed cases as of 1 p.m. ET: 5,851,494 — Total deaths: 362,238 — Total recoveries — 2,445,181 — Map.
U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 1 p.m. ET: 1,729,185 — Total deaths: 101,706 — Total recoveries: 399,991 — Total tested: 15,646,041 — Map.
2020: North Carolina asks RNC if convention will honor Trump's wish for no masks or social distancing.
Public health: Hydroxychloroquine prescription fills exploded in March —How the U.S. might distribute a vaccine.
Transportation: National mobility keeps rising as more states reopen economies.
🎧 Podcast: Saying goodbye to U.S. megacities.

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Marisa Fernandez

34 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Obama on George Floyd's death: "This shouldn't be 'normal'"

Photo: Getty Images/Getty Images for EIF & XQ

Former President Obama said in a statement Friday that the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who was killed by a white Minneapolis police officer, "shouldn't be 'normal' in 2020 America."

What he's saying: "[W]e have to remember that for millions of Americans being treated differently on account of race is tragically, painfully, maddeningly 'normal' — whether it’s while dealing with the health care system, or interacting with the criminal justice system, or jogging down the street, or watching birds in a park."

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