Union takes step to represent Amazon warehouse workers in Laval, Que.

A Quebec-based union is trying to represent hundreds of Amazon.com Inc. workers at a warehouse in Laval, Que., a first of its kind in Canada if they succeed. The Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN) says it filed an application with Quebec’s Administrative Labour Tribunal on Friday to represent some 200 employees at the DXT4 warehouse. … Read more

Alibaba’s Taobao launches 3D-capable shopping app ahead of Apple’s mainland release of Vision Pro mixed-reality headset

The app was rolled out last Friday for use on the US$3,499 mixed-reality headset, which the US tech giant released in February in the United States, the only market where the wearable device is currently available. Apple chief executive Tim Cook has said that the Vision Pro is expected to be available in China this … Read more

Alibaba’s AliExpress pushes ‘10 billion yuan of subsidies’ campaign to entice more Chinese brands and merchants to sell in overseas markets

The campaign called “10 billion yuan of subsidies” – a typical mainland marketing phrase used to tout large online allotments – will be given to an initial batch of 1,000 Chinese brands and merchants, including those who have already opened a store on Alibaba’s domestic retail platform Tmall, according to an AliExpress statement on Monday. … Read more

ByteDance profit jumps 60% to US$40 billion, taking TikTok’s owner past arch-rival Tencent

ByteDance’s profit surged roughly 60 per cent in 2023, outpacing the growth of online peers Tencent Holdings and Alibaba Group Holding, in a sign of the TikTok owner’s resilience in the face of an economic downturn. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation jumped to more than US$40 billion from about US$25 billion in 2022, … Read more

Alibaba, navigating sea change, reorients business towards bread-and-butter e-commerce and AI, pares down overhaul

By March 2023, Alibaba had lost three quarters of its value from the peak in October 2020, as the e-commerce giant, once seen as China’s answer to Amazon.com, faces questions on whether it can recapture its former glory while dealing with China’s economic slowdown, regulatory scrutiny and fierce competition from old and new rivals. The … Read more

China’s Suzhou city plans supercharged cross-border e-commerce business after Shein and Temu success

The hi-tech manufacturing hub of Suzhou has unveiled a plan to double the city’s cross-border e-commerce annually for the next three years, as it looks to tap into the growing influence of Chinese platforms such as Shein and PPD Holdings’ Temu. The municipal government of the city in eastern Jiangsu province has issued a policy … Read more

Jack Ma steps into ‘mistakes’ brouhaha to boost Alibaba’s morale, urges staff to embrace change and prepare for AI to upend e-commerce

Alibaba Group Holding has fundamentally changed its corporate culture to put customers first in its adaptation of technology, its co-founder Jack Ma wrote, as he stepped into a social media hubbub over the hubris that caused what was once the world’s largest e-commerce platform to lose ground to competitors. “We hacked away at the big-company … Read more

Facebook Marketplace ranks last on anti-scam rating system; accounts for nearly 50% of cases

User authentication such as verifying accounts and secure payment options like escrow, are deemed critical safeguards on e-commerce platforms.  These safety features have proven to be effective in combatting scams and platforms that implement these, have seen a “significant reduction” in cases. MHA strongly urges all e-commerce marketplaces to put in place these features, to … Read more

Alibaba connects Taobao and 1688 to tap new users as fierce e-commerce competition ratchets higher

Alibaba Group Holding is integrating the services of its online wholesale marketplace 1688 with its flagship consumer shopping platform Taobao, as the e-commerce giant continues to consolidate assets amid internal restructuring and rising competition. Taobao has recently featured three online stores under the 1688 name as it pushes to win over new users, according to … Read more

Chinese tech giant Lenovo targets US$16 billion in sales of new AI-powered computers, smartphones via e-commerce partner JD.com

The two Hong Kong-listed partners are targeting 120 billion yuan (US$16.6 billion) in sales over the 2024-2026 period via JD.com’s online and offline channels, covering Lenovo’s next-generation AI PCs, AI-powered smartphones, tablets and other “AI-oriented infrastructure such as servers”, according to a statement published on Sunday by both companies on their respective WeChat accounts. That … Read more