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COWEN
COLLABORATIVE INSIGHTS February 25, 2019
Competition From AMZN Private Label Could Be A LT Concern, Offset By CBD’s
Established Brands
Should the market for CBD products expand rapidly over the next several years, one
source for increased competition could be Amazon's own first party (private label)
business. Amazon offers private label goods across the gamut of product verticals,
including consumables and vitamins.
Per industry participants that have discussed AMZN’s private label business with us,
Amazon's approach is similar across most new product lines, most notably that the
company is now focusing less on heavy discounting to take share from competition. By
contrast, we believe that while any foray into CBD could start with a big push by AMZN
to gain share, if sales and reviews aren't working, AMZN would likely reduce resources
quickly. Additionally, Amazon Private Label tends to replicate top sellers for goods that
are high replenishment, commodity-type products with undifferentiated branding, then
add secondary brands over time. Amazon private label has in some cases captured huge
market share early (anywhere from 25-40% market share by SKU within the first six
months).
AMZN also tends to have the most success in verticals where branding is less important
(a fact that could provide an advantage to more established CBD companies). The
widespread availability and acceptance by a retailer such as Amazon could also help to
drive mainstream adoption of CBD products and thus provide a benefit for the industry
as a whole.
Other Potential Platforms: EBAY Has The Reach To Make An Impact
There are other platforms that may be easier to break into than Amazon that would also
provide an avenue to reach a wide array of consumers. Ebay could be an alternative for
CBD companies to tap into. EBAY has been losing share in eCommerce over the last
several years, and developing a leading marketplace in a new product vertical such as
CBD products could be an incentive to become an early adopter. Ebay currently has
179MM active buyers on the platform worldwide, and the company generated over
S90BN in GMV in 2018.
Our survey indicates that unlike Amazon, EBAY has had less success in driving
consistent purchasing in areas like personal care and beauty as well as in vitamins and
supplements. Our data suggests that unlike Amazon, these two key verticals are
purchased at about the same rate as any other category, which suggests that there is an
opportunity for these verticals to grow meaningfully, in our view.
Figure 113 EBAY Purchaser % By Vertical, 2Q17-4Q18
10%
8%
6%
4%
2%
0%
2017 3Q17 4Q17 1018 2Q18 3Q18 4018
Personal Care Products mVitamins & Supplements Average Across All Categories
Source: Cowen proprietary Consumer Internet Survey, n=~2500, Dec ‘18
68 COWEN.COM
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