E-RETAILERS TURN TO PRIVATE LABELS FOR EARNINGS.(BUSINESS)

Byline: RACHEL BECK Associated Press

NEW YORK -- Private-label products have long been a staple of traditional retailing but now many e-retailers, hoping to boost earnings and name recognition, are trying them too.

``We can offer something that we can't find the competition doing at all or doing well, and get to improve our margins in the meantime,'' said Julie Wainwright, chairwoman and chief executive of Pets.com, which recently began selling private-label products on its Web site.

With Wall Street growing impatient about the huge losses cybershops are incurring, e-retailers are seeking new ways to become profitable.

Traditional retailers …