Amazon.com Inc. has considered abandoning its private-label business as a peace offering to regulators, according to a person familiar with the matter. The company’s growing set of house brands is at the core of investigations launched by US and European regulators into whether the world’s largest e-commerce company is abusing its market power. Regulators have accused Amazon of using in-house sales data to select best-selling products sold by third-party merchants and then copy them.

Exiting the private-label business could help appease regulators without jeopardizing Amazon’s overall business, said the person, who requested anonymity to discuss an internal matter. The company has said house brand products account for about 1% of its revenue.

“We never seriously considered closing our private-label business and we continue to invest in this area, just as our many retail competitors have done for decades and continue to do today,” the company said in an emailed statement. The Wall Street Journal and Vox reported earlier that Amazon had considered exiting its private-label operation.

Source: Amazon (AMZN) Considered Ending Private-Label Sales to Appease Regulators – Bloomberg