"Amazon Unveils Its Own Line of Diapers, Confirming Partners’ Biggest Fears" (AMZN)

In most cities in America around a quarter of the Victorian-era mansions were built by wholesalers of one type or another, hardware, dry goods etc., it was a good way to make a living.
No more. They are being disintermediated out of existance.

From recode:

For years, Amazon naysayers have warned that the e-commerce giant’s ambition would drive it to compete ever more directly with the merchants who sell goods on Amazon’s popular online marketplace. On Wednesday, the company is introducing its own line of diapers and baby wipes that will only raise these fears.

Called Amazon Elements, the 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 have gripes 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.

Elements product pages will also include information about the materials used in the diapers and wipes and from where they are sourced. This level of transparency seems to be aimed at appealing to customers of the fast-growing diaper brand Honest, co-founded by the actress Jessica Alba, which prides itself on making safe, eco-friendly baby products. Honest does not sell its goods on Amazon, instead opting this summer for a distribution agreement with Target. Now it finds itself with a target on its back.

The launch comes a year after I reported that Amazon was recruiting people to help create its own brand of products in the larger category known as consumables. Private-label brands such as Elements can allow retailers to keep prices low since there is no intermediary between itself and the manufacturer....MORE

Now imagine Amazon comes up with something similar to the Huggies Internet-of-Things app that notifies you when your kid pees but instead notifies AMZN's giant cloud computers which drone-ship a load of nappies for the robo-nanny...

Possibly also of interest:
The Internet of Things: Huggies App Sends You a Tweet Whenever Your Kid Pees...