Amazon launches its own fashion sale

Amazon will hold its first fashion sale at the end of the month: 22 June will mark the kick-off for its “Biggest Summer Sale”, just when several countries have postponed their summer sales due to Covid-19.

Fashion Summer Sale Event

Amazon says it wants to help retailers facing large unsold stocks after the coronavirus crisis to organise their own end-of-season sale: at the end of this month, the online retail giant will launch an event called ‘Fashion Summer Sale Event’, aimed at “both established and smaller fashion brands“.

22 June will mark the start of a week-long sales period, although some sources say it may last up to ten days. However, retailers will only be able to participate by invitation, CNBC says. Amazon’s invited partners will be asked to participate, in an attempt to encourage customers to get sales back on track and rebuild enthusiasm after the lockdown.

Prime Day in September

The coronavirus crisis also imposed restrictions on merchants operating on the Amazon platform: in order to meet the sharp increase in online demand, Amazon had decided to reserve its warehouses as much as possible for urgent and essential products. As a result, sellers were only able to send limited quantities to distribution centres.

These restrictions were lifted last month, but delivery times might still be longer than normal and coronavirus-related measures still prevent the warehouses from running at full capacity. As a result, Amazon is forced to postpone its annual Prime Day to September. As such, the fashion sale event can be considered a sort of “appetiser”.

Amazon’s decision to organise its own clothing sale at the end of June is another thorn in the side of Belgian and French fashion retailers. Belgium had already decided to postpone the start of its yearly summer sales period until 1 August this year, while France just announced the postponement of its end-of-season sale to mid-July.