I had the impression that Amazon’s house brand was about getting more margin by cutting out some layers of middlemen, not actually starting their own factories.

From what I understand, that's how most house brands work.

But it’s a great time to recover initial startup cost in starting a sanitizer factory...

The famously nimble NY Department of Corrections did so in like a week. So I'm guessing the startup costs are not too onerous.

https://qz.com/1815496/ny-forces-prisoners-to-make-hand-sani...

The headline is funny...

"Incarcerated people tasked to make hand sanitizer to fight coronavirus are banned from using it themselves"

I mean, it's basically 120 proof ethyl alcohol. Of course they aren't allowed to have it. I'm very sympathetic to better prison conditions, but soap should be fine.

they've got a house brand, Solimo, that sells sanitizer. it's sold out like all the rest.

> Perhaps Amazon should manufacture masks/sanitizer/etc via its house brand, and churn them out by the billion.

Where would they do that? China is still pretty locked down, and I think they're still struggling to supply domestic needs of those items.

It's recovering. In my hometown (Shandong province), no more restrictions on manufacturing and transportation since yesterday, aside from body temp checkpoints.

It is basically contained in China outside Wuhan already. Wuhan will join in a few weeks.

In my albeit limited exposure (PCB manufacture), production in some areas seems to have recovered about a week ago.

The only online stores where I see hand sanitizer or masks in stock & for sale are banggood and ali express. FWIW.