Amazon notified vendors in Europe that it was going to begin sourcing brands directly from brand owners, leaving vendors (distributors) in a pickle.
Unlike third-party sellers, vendors sell to Amazon directly at wholesale prices, and Amazon resells the items and controls retail prices. The former use Seller Central, the latter use Vendor Central.
Amazon told CNBC it regularly reviews its approach to product sourcing to control costs and keep prices low for customers. “With this in mind, we’ve decided to focus on sourcing certain products for our European stores directly from brand owners,” Amazon told the news outlet.
Here’s a copy of the letter vendors reported receiving this week:
Dear Vendor,
As part of a procurement policy implemented at a European level, Amazon has decided to focus on sourcing brands directly from brand owners.
As a result, we hereby inform you that we will stop sourcing all products from you, starting on 15 January 2024.
We remain at your disposal to discuss the above with you, and if you have any questions, please reach out to Vendor Support through Vendor Central.
You still have the opportunity to sell these products to customers directly on our store through Amazon Marketplace, as a third-party seller. If you do not already have a Seller Central account you can get started by speaking to a team member directly here.
Sincerely,
Amazon EU SARL
Luxembourg, February 15, 2023
Despite the change in Europe, it appears Amazon will be holding a Vendor Summit in the US in March.
