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HANGZHOU, China (Reuters) – Robots roar, moving fabrics and clothing, the day before Singles Day at the Hangzhou site for Xunxi, Alibaba’s first wholly-owned smart factory.
The site is one of three factories that Alibaba has launched as part of its manufacturing division, marking the company’s latest foray into the offline world as it seeks to branch out from e-commerce.
Speaking at a press conference at Alibaba’s annual shopping festival, CEO Alain Wu said that Alibaba created Xunxi to help small Chinese traders respond to consumer demand faster.
The division will grow, not by opening more factories, but by inspiring more companies to use its services and discovering which parts of its technology can be extended, said Alain Wu, CEO of Xunxi.
Along with Taobao, one of Alibaba’s leading e-commerce sites, Xunwi will serve as the ‘long tail’ of the garment industry – which is made up of brands that are flourishing online but lack access to manufacturing services. advanced, Wu said.
“Many of these small and medium brands have the advantage of being able to adapt to changes in the market and meet consumer demand, but their downside is in manufacturing because their technology and skills are limited,” he said. -he declares.
As part of its diversification, Alibaba also operates a supermarket chain called Freshippo, launched in January 2016, which has grown to operate more than 100 storefronts.
In addition, it runs a program to help small convenience stores with product sourcing and data analysis services and has opened a shopping mall and hotel in Hangzhou, both of which serve as pilot projects to test its new retail technology.
Reporting by Josh Horwitz; edited by Barbara Lewis
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