Will Amazon's New Clothing Label Shake Up the Athletic Apparel Market?

Credit: f-trend

While analysts might have predicted athleisure's demise, it looks like Amazon is betting big on athletic apparel. According to Bloomberg, the e-commerce giant announced it will launch its own sportswear brand, and perhaps this is the exact jolt the athletic apparel market is looking for.

Amazon's new athletic apparel private label will source from two Taiwanese suppliers that produce clothing for Nike, Under Armour and Lululemon.

This looks like a major power move on Amazon's part. Athletic apparel is already under tremendous pressure, thanks to an oversaturated market. As soon as Amazon announced the news, both Under Armour and Lululemon saw a drop in stock prices, although Nike remained mostly unaffected.

Some analysts seem to think this move won't be a threat to these established athleisure leaders.

"Amazon does great with basics, not so much with fashion," Matt Powell, industry analyst with the NPD Group, said on Twitter. "I do not see this as a major event."

However, Amazon is predicted to reach $60 billion in apparel sales by 2020, so it seems unlikely this move isn't going to cause some waves.

It will be interesting to see how Nike and Under Armour respond to this news, seeing as both companies have partnerships with Amazon. We're also very curious to see what these new Amazon sportswear items will look like. Amazon has been getting a lot of good press for its new fashion items, so we're expecting the apparel will be met with the same praise.