Amazon Exclusives Provides New Product Access

Amazon has launched a new online store for up-and-coming brands, including some that have had their 15 minutes of fame on the television show “Shark Tank.”

The new Amazon Exclusives store will feature merchandise that’s only available there or in the online or brick-and-mortar stores of the brands themselves. The store falls within Amazon’s Marketplace group, but the e-commerce giant will handle fulfillment, so merchandise is eligible for Amazon Prime benefits such as free two-day shipping.

The goal is to position Amazon Exclusives as a destination site for early access to hot new products, Amazon Marketplace VP Peter Faricy said in a prepared statement. “We understand that helping brands gain exposure for their award-winning new products is beneficial to customers that desire to be the first to have the hot new item,” he added.

The online store, which launched on Wednesday (March 11), initially features power banks from Jackery, paddle boards and accessories from Tower Paddle Boards, shoes from Hot Chocolate Design, phone camera lenses from Olloclip, and cycling gloves from Zackees.

Amazon Exclusives appears to be Amazon’s attempt at a curated brand collection similar to what subscription fashion services like JustFab, ShoeDazzle and BeachMint offer, but not limited to fashion. At the same time, it also appears to be a promotional hook-up with the fund-my-company reality TV show “Shark Tank,” where some of the brands providing products for Amazon’s new site have pitched their companies for investment by Mark Cuban and other venture capitalists.

Then again, it may primarily be a way for Amazon to get more mileage out of Amazon Prime, the membership delivery service that was largely responsible for Amazon’s return to profitability at the end of 2014.

Over the past few years, Amazon has launched a series of attempts at bringing in new product categories and providing new ways for customers to look at what it offers, including a wine store, an art marketplace and a gourmet food store. It also launched an ill-fated “Amazon Elements” line of its own branded products, beginning with diapers and baby wipes. But it had to pull the diapers from the site, and the product offerings haven’t been expanded since then, according to CNET.