Amazon Is Selling Designs of Its Own

September 18, 2009 at 1:00 am PT

Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) is quietly expanding its private-label business in a bid to diversify away from its online bookstore roots and become more like a general retailer.

The latest sign: The Seattle-based e-commerce giant–known for high-tech innovations like one-click checkout and the Kindle e-reader–last month received a U.S. design patent for a wooden chopping block.

The $24.99 Pinzon bamboo cutting board is being sold as part of a line of Amazon’s own kitchen products on its Web site. It features two surfaces, one flat and the other curved. A curved blade, designed for chopping herbs, is stored inside the block.

In June Amazon launched a new collection of private-label kitchen utensils, designed by Seattle Chef Tom Douglas and sold under his name.

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Tagged with: Amazon, digital, economy, frontpage, Geoffrey A. Fowler, hardware, Kindle, Pinzon, Seattle, The Wall Street Journal, Tom Douglas

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