The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
SAN FRANCISCO, United States — Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba Group Holding Ltd would launch a product mimicking Amazon.com Inc's "Echo" next week, according to a source familiar with the matter.
"Amazon Echo", launched in 2014, is a speaker which one can leave on all day and give voice commands to, similar to Siri on an Apple Inc iPhone.
Alibaba's new product would be made available only in China and speak only Mandarin, the source told Reuters.
Apple and Google, a unit of Alphabet Inc, have unveiled products similar to Echo with the HomePod and Google Home.
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The Information, a technology website, was the first to report the news on Thursday.
Alibaba did not immediately respond to a request for comment, outside business hours.
By Aishwarya Venugopal and Peter Henderson; editor: Shounak Dasgupta.
Designer brands including Gucci and Anya Hindmarch have been left millions of pounds out of pocket and some customers will not get refunds after the online fashion site collapsed owing more than £210m last month.
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