If you have any questions or topics you are hoping we will explore, please email ella@jd.com. 

Earnings

JD.com reported fourth quarter and full year 2020 earnings on Mar. 11. Among the financial highlights, the company saw accelerated user and topline growth. Accelerated user and topline growth: Annual active customers of 471.9 million, an increase of 30.3% from FY2019. Full-year net revenue of RMB745.8 billion (US$114.3 billion), an increase of 29.3% from FY2019. Net service revenues for the full year of RMB93.9 billion (US$14.4 billion) an increase of 42% from FY2019. Read the full release: https://ir.jd.com/news-releases/news-release-details/jdcom-announces-fourth-quarter-and-full-year-2020-results

Below is a quick snapshot of highlights:

JD Retail will continue focusing on the enhancement of its integrated supply chain and technology capabilities, ominichannel and online market ecosystem expansion, CEO Lei Xu shared during the call to discuss the earnings results. “What JD aspires to is a middle platform ability that can be applied in more diverse use cases and channels. With this goal in mind, we have been investing unswervingly in supply chain and technologies to help merchants – both online and offline, big and small, including brands and factories – to improve their operations efficiency, to enhance their customers’ experience, and to improve their risk-resistance capacity,” said Xu. Read more: https://jdcorporateblog.com/jd-retail-ceo-supply-chain-omni-channel-and-ecosystem-are-three-key-strategies/ 

BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS

Retail

JD Super, JD’s online supermarket, is going to build an end-to-end, integrated supply chain for agricultural products from the initial planting stage, through transportation and sales.

JD’s third E-Space store will open in Xi’an, following the opening of the Chongqing store in 2019 and the Hefei store planned to open this year. The store’s claim to fame is the ability to experience virtually every product or service, making it not only a socializing destination but also a “third place” of sorts.

JD continues to build out its roster of brands on the platform. Recently APEDE MOD, a New York fashion brand which has gained traction in China recently, opened a flagship store on JD.

Health

JD Pharmacy, the pharmaceutical business under JD Health, has started providing O2O services for a new rare disease medication under Novartis, MAYZNT, which treats multiple sclerosis (MS). JD is the first online partner of the medicine. The news comes after JD Health launched its rare disease center at the end of February. The center provides rare disease patients all over China with access to a wide range of resources, including being able to consult medical professionals online thanks to telemedicine. This is an area JD Health will continue to develop.

Tech

JD welcomed two respected IEEE Fellows to its roster of tech talent. Dr. He Tian joins JD has vice president and the head of JD Logistics AI and Data Science, in charge of smart logistics algorithms, data products and map services. Dr. He’s team will build dedicated, intelligent algorithms and systems for supply chain and logistics scenarios. In addition, Dr. Dacheng Tao has been appointed the director of JD Explore Academy where he will lead the team to explore innovative AI applications which might drive JD’s business in the future. Dr. Tao is an internationally-recognized scholar in the field of AI and information sciences with a focus on machine learning, deep learning, computer vision and image processing. His papers have been cited nearly 60,000 times – a demonstration of how essential his research is to the field of AI. The addition of these Dr. He and Dr. Tao adds to JD’s growing list of IEEE fellows and reinforces the company’s commitment to tech innovation.

JD has launched a test run of DCEP, or the e-CNY, in Chengdu – the third city the company has participated in the rollout of the digital RMB for. Over 4.2 million customers participated in the lottery, of which there were over 203,060 lucky winners who received either RMB 178 yuan or RMB 238 yuan.

Logistics

Located in the southeast of Shenyang, Maizitun (literally means Village of Wheat) is a fast-growing logistics hub. After JD.com launched one of its “Asia No.1” logistics parks in 2010, a project aiming to build the largest scale and most advanced network of e-commerce logistics centers in Asia, more and more logistics companies have established their businesses in Maizitun. The area has become the logistics hub for the southern Shenyang area. Read more: https://jdcorporateblog.com/jds-asia-no-1-boosts-economic-development-of-rural-area/

As China’s homegrown COVID-19 vaccines require two to three doses per person, the country has seen a demand for transporting 2.8 to 4.2 billion doses on the market. The enormous demand for the vaccine is accelerating the development of global cold chain logistics, especially in China where the infrastructure has relatively lagged behind developed countries. Read about JD’s work to transport the vaccine leveraging its cold chain logistics infrastructure: https://jdcorporateblog.com/in-depth-report-the-developing-cold-chain-capabilities-of-jd-logistics/

International Business

JD CENTRAL is developing its business by adhering to three core characteristics: quality, price and service (QPS). Its recently announced QPS benchmark will help merchants on the platform continue to leverage JDC resources to improve their level of service, and contribute to the rising prominence of e-commerce in China. Read more here: https://jdcorporateblog.com/jd-central-in-thailand-sticks-to-doing-the-right-things/

Have a bit more time? Check out some of these reads:

The secret ingredient behind JD supermarket SEVEN FRESH’s menu? A world-class chef who previously cooked for Queen Elizabeth herself. Read his story here: https://jdcorporateblog.com/in-depth-report-seven-freshs-secret-ingredient-a-chef-with-royal-experience/

Periods should not be a financial burden. JD’s social e-commerce platform Jingxi plans to work with manufacturers to provide an economical feminine hygiene option without sacrificing quality. https://jdcorporateblog.com/periods-shouldnt-be-a-financial-burden-heres-how-one-retailer-is-helping/

When Qinran Liang joined JD Logistics 13 years ago, he was brand new to the industry. Since then, he’s grown a lot—and so has the company, which at the time was a traditional logistics player in service of JD’s retail business. “The company has transformed, step by step, day by day,” he said. Read his story here: https://jdcorporateblog.com/in-depth-report-the-meaning-of-a-jder-in-the-eyes-of-a-long-serving-employee/

(ella@jd.com)

Read past JD News Roundups below

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COVID-19: Tech to the Rescue: JD has rolled out a smart delivery vehicle in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, one of the latest epicenters of the COVID-19 outbreak. Last year, when COVID-19 first broke out in Wuhan, JD used a smart delivery vehicle to ensure safe delivery to the hospitals. The vehicle is a demonstration of JD’s level-4 autonomous driving technology on public roads without human interference.

The Busy Chinese New Year Holiday Season

Similarly, JD Health is gearing up for the upcoming Chinese New Year to ensure consumers can access doctors and buy medicine during the week-long holiday. Leveraging its supply chain advantages, JD Health has prepared sufficient pandemic prevention supplies to ensure uninterrupted medical supply during this holiday season. Meanwhile, the company will continue offering 24/7 online consultation services, which will include free consultation, providing patients with access to medical professionals via telephone and video calls at their conveniences. In addition, JD Health has upgraded its “family doctor” telemedicine service program with medical services that are tailored for easy use by elderly consumers.

JD Logistics will keep its promise to deliver during Chinese New Year for the ninth consecutive year. As such, JD as upgraded the subsidies it will provide to employees to RMB 200 million, doubling the amount previously announced in January. With an expanded delivery scope for CNY this year, customers in 30 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, nearly 300 cities and 1,500 counties and districts can receive orders at the fast speed they’ve become accustomed to from JD.com.

Consumers who don’t want to or are unable to prepare their own Chinese New Year dinners can get everything they need from SEVEN FRESH, JD’s omnichannel supermarket. The company is providing ready-made meals, which are cooked by SEVEN FRESH chefs and then delivered directly to customers’ doors. This is particularly relevant this year as many consumers won’t be heading to their hometowns for the holiday, and thus will be left to fend for themselves.

Other Business Updates

JD will support the second DCEP (Digital Currency Electronic Payment) test program in Suzhou, partnering with the Suzhou Municipal Government from Feb. 5-26 to jointly launch the DECP X Suzhou’s Chinese New Year Promotion of JD Event. Local residents will be issued 150,000 DCEP red envelops with RMB 200 yuan each. Lottery winners can purchase selected products on the JD app, Jingxi app and the JD Finance app. This is the second time for Suzhou to test the DCEP program on a large scale. Last Double 12 Grand Promotion, the Suzhou government issued RMB 20 million in DCEP red envelopes, becoming the first city to test using DCEP for online consumption scenarios.

A new JD Mini Storage solution will allow skiers to store and ship bulky and heavy skiing and snowboarding equipment. Through a partnership with the Jiangshan Lihong (江山力宏) group, the service will initially be available to seven ski resorts across China. In the future, JD will look to other ways to enhance the skiing experience. For example, the development of a special bracelet can provide warnings related to the conditions on different ski slopes. JD Mini Storage offers a hassle free solution for consumers to store their items in JD’s warehouses, short or long-term.

International Business

PG Mall, a leading Malaysian online retailer, joined JD worldwide on Jan. 27. Over 10,000 sellers and over one million products, such as bird’s nest and durian, will be launched on JD Worldwide in the next few years. According to meta-search website iPrice, PG Mall is the third most visited online marketplace among foreign-owned online marketplaces in Malaysia. The partnership follows JD’s efforts last November to directly source products from popular platforms including Rakuten, Kintetsu, AUTOBACS, SOLETRADER and more.

JD welcomed two jewelry brands, Rosantica by Michela Penero and COLLEC from France, to its platform. The partnership will empower the two niche brands to reach more Chinese consumers, taking advantage of JD’s technology-based e-commerce solutions, from marketing to logistics.

Have a bit more time? Check out some of our recent long reads and data reports, here:

• In-Depth: JD C2M: Supply Chain’s Journey from Mass Market to Niche Market: There are countless definitions and ways of positioning Consumer-to-Manufacturer (C2M). The term has become a buzzword in China, but there are many misconceptions about it. JD’s head of supply chain innovation Hu Hao discusses how C2M is driving supply chain transformation and what’s coming next for the model.
• In-Depth: JD’s Commitment to 100% Authentic Products: JD has been about 100% authentic products since day one. Today the company’s approach to ensuring a counterfeit-free platform is not only extensive, but also technologically advanced.
• In-Depth: The Intelligent Facets of JD Health: Health tech is getting more sophisticated by the day. JD Health is one of the companies reinventing and digitalizing the healthcare industry in China for all participants in the supply chain.

In photos, this week at JD: https://jdcorporateblog.com/photo-gallery-this-week-at-jd-january-30-february-5/

JD News Roundup Vol. 2
(Jan. 9-22)

If you have any questions or topics you are hoping we will explore, please email ella@jd.com.

by Ella Kidron

COVID-19: Steadfast Commitment to Society

With a handful of COVID-19 cases cropping up in different parts of China, JD has wasted no time gearing up to provide aid, starting with a special channel for the transportation of aid to Shijiazhuang, Hebei province (300 km south of Beijing) on Jan. 16. JD Fresh also announced a plan to at least triple its inventory of daily necessities for residents in Beijing and Hebei, ensuring sufficient supplies. With classes migrating online, JD Logistics quickly mobilized to deliver teaching materials to 650 kids in Shijiazhuang who were under quarantine last week.

JD Health has also taken a series of measures to ensure the supply chain of medication and offer free medical consultations. The company also announced it will offer door-to-door nucleic acid testing services in 21 cities across China, including Beijing, Tianjin, Shijiazhuang, and Hangzhou, available for both group and individual reservations.

JD Logistics will keep its promise to deliver during Chinese New Year for the ninth consecutive year. For employees working during the holiday, JD Logistics will provide nearly RMB 100 million yuan in subsidies, ensuring benefits for employees that are higher than the national standard. With an expanded delivery scope for CNY this year, customers in 30 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, nearly 300 cities and 1,500 counties and districts can receive orders at the fast speed they’ve become accustomed to from JD.com.

Digital Transformation

Luohu district in Shenzhen signed a partnership with JD Logistics in which JD will support the district in building and developing smart logistics parks, warehouses and city infrastructure, among other aspects. In other news, Henan Xinhua Bookstores Publishing Group will work with JD Logistics to establish a dedicated warehousing and distribution network for the book industry in Henan province in three years.

Business Updates

The Chinese New Year Grand Promotion is now underway. Kicked off on Jan. 20, the promotion offers not only a huge variety of products reflecting changing consumer preferences for gifts around the new year, but also interactive activities to help consumers enjoy an abundant holiday season. JD will provide RMB 10 billion yuan each in subsidies and coupons respectively. Read more about what’s in store for this year’s CNY promotion: https://jdcorporateblog.com/jds-2021-cny-promotion-is-around-the-corner/

JD has been selected as a finalist for the 50^th annual Franz Edelman Awards, the most prestigious honor for achievements in analytics and operations research. The project that clinched the honor? JD’s research and application of analytics in automated or unmanned warehouses. Over 5,000 robots have been deployed in 100 of JD’s total 800 warehouses, with plans to increase the robot fleet to 100,000 in the next five years. The final winner of the award will be announced at a later date.

JD has opened 14 SEVEN FRESH (omnichannel supermarkets) stores in one month beginning Dec. 18. The newly opened stores include the standard SEVEN FRESH model and the smaller community store version, SEVEN FRESH LIFE, which provides a wide range of essentials for consumers within a set radius.

JD Worldwide hosted Mr. Nick Coyle, CEO and Executive Director of the China-Australia Chamber of Commerce, on Jan. 20, to support the trade and e-commerce development between China and Australia and introduce Australian products to JD customers ahead of Chinese New Year. The livestream on JD Worldwide was Coyle’s first ever. Chilean Ambassador to China, Mr. Luis Schmidt Montes, Commercial Counsellor Ms. Natalia Cortés and Ms. Clare Fearnley, New Zealand ambassador to China, have also been guests on JD Live.

Mr. Nick Coyle on JD Live

International Business

JD Central (JDC) will be one of the major players to lead online retail in Thailand, according to leading English-language newspaper Bangkok Post. Online will become a major channel for shopping in Thailand in 2021, with e-commerce giants JD, Shopee and Lazada dominating the segment, according to the report. JDC achieved a 550% growth in the gross merchandise value (GMV) of its e-commerce platform in its first two years in Thailand, after starting operations on September 28, 2018.

Have a bit more time? Check out some of our recent long reads and data reports, here:

• In-Depth: JD’s Foray into Duty Free: Bring in More Players, Add Categories, Sell O2O: JD made its move into the duty free industry by opening a store in Sanya, Hainan province on Dec. 30, 2020. What is attracting e-commerce players to China’s RMB 150 million “blue ocean” and what is JD doing to set itself apart from the pack?
• In-Depth: “Too Old” is Simply a Myth: Tech Companies Narrow the Digital Gap for the Elderly: Many young people have embraced the convenience of digital technologies, but many elderly without a grasp of the latest knowledge are at risk of being left behind. Read more in our article, originally published on the World Economic Forum’s Agenda Blog.
• More Orders to and from afar as Consumers Gear up for CNY: With the uptick in COVID-19 cases, many people working in China’s tier-1 cities, namely Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen (colloquially known as Bei-Shang-Guang-Shen), will spend their Chinese New Year holiday in the city where they work, rather than traveling elsewhere, such as to their hometowns. As JD Data indicates, however, this safety precaution has not precluded these people, from appreciating family and friends from afar and vice versa.

In photos, this week at JD: https://jdcorporateblog.com/photo-gallery-this-week-at-jd-january-16-january-22/

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JD News Roundup Vol. 1
(Jan. 1-8, 2021)

by Ella Kidron

Happy New Year from JD.com! After a brief three-day reprise last weekend, we are back at it, bringing you the latest company news. Here are a few quick updates from the first week of 2021.

Business Updates

JD PLUS Day Promotion: JD PLUS, JD’s premium membership program, held its annual grand promotion on Jan. 8. Benefits include the opportunity to use RMB 1.8 yuan to purchase cosmetics and handbags, as well as discounts to purchase a wide range of other products. JD PLUS has already cooperated with over 800 brands, including Unilever, Siemens and Yili, with 720 brands providing 5% discounts for members purchasing products on JD. Members can also enjoy special prices for millions of products on JD.

JD enters the duty free market: Ahead of New Year’s, JD Worldwide opened a duty free store in Sanya, the popular tourist destination in China’s Hainan province. By joining the duty free business, JD can benefit brands and traditional industry players with supply chain capabilities and digital tools. Unlike traditional duty free stores, which tend to focus on cosmetics, luxury, fashion, alcohol and more, JD has leveraged its advantages in the consumer electronics area to focus on sourcing these types of products for the store. This move also expands the benefits of duty free to a wider customer base. We recently spoke to a few regular duty free customers about their views on the industry. Hear from them here: https://jdcorporateblog.com/in-customers-eyes-jds-differentiated-duty-free-shopping-experience/

JD Logistics upgrades its Tibet infrastructure: JD Logistics unveiled its updated logistics system in Tibet in collaboration with the local government. An integrated warehousing and distribution center was opened in Lhasa on the first day of the New Year, and will serve as an important logistics infrastructure to drive up supply chain efficiency for the local economy, with priority on the promotion of local agricultural products. The move signifies a milestone for Tibet’s logistics development and is designed to provide a comprehensive network in Tibet.

Have a bit more time? Check out some of our recent long reads, data reports and lighter reads here:

In-Depth: Providing One More Reliable Choice for Customers with Private Label Brands: A look into JD’s private label brands, and the overall state of the private label industry

With the coldest winter in over 60 years coming over Beijing this week, any guesses as to what people are stocking up on? JD data has some insights here: https://jdcorporateblog.com/in-high-demand-on-jd-four-must-haves-for-beijings-blistering-winter-commute/

In photos, this week at JD: https://jdcorporateblog.com/photo-gallery-this-week-at-jd-january-1-january-8/

(ella@jd.com)