by Ella Kidron

JD will open a home appliance flagship store in Suzhou, a major city in southeastern Jiangsu province, this month. The store, which is located at Phoenix Square in Suzhou, is a 10,000 square-meter experience space. It further strengthens JD’s omnichannel presence in Jiangsu province, and builds on the company’s overall omnichannel electronics strategy.

The store aims to appeal to Suzhou consumers’ tendency to buy new, high-end and tech-forward products. During the trial period (which overlapped with the 12.12 Shopping Festival), the average price of mobile phones has been RMB 4,000 yuan, with the Huawei Mate RS Porsche Design and iPhone 12 being very popular. Smart home solutions, specialized laundry machines, refrigerators and sweeping robots among other household appliances focused on improving livelihood are all top sellers.

With a large e-sports experience area on the first floor, there has been a steady flow of young consumers looking to “play another round.” Xili Tang, manager of the store, said: “A lot of young people come in. In addition to e-sports equipment and Xbox and other gaming decides, trendy digital products that can’t be found elsewhere such as DJI drones, NineBot go-karts and smart wearables are particularly popular.” Consumers can receive professional guidance on products such as curling irons, and have their hair permed on the spot, according to Tang.

E-Sports experience zone in JD Home Appliance Flagship in Suzhou

JD Home Appliance stores are based on the idea that there are some products consumers prefer to look at, touch and test before purchasing. Consumers are able to try nearly everything in store and can either take purchases home or have them delivered to their address of choice, thanks to JD’s strong supply chain and logistics network. In the Suzhou store, 30 experience zones allow consumers to experience the latest technology. There are 8K TV, advanced air conditioner and air freshener, whole house smart home solution and laundry experience areas among others. Providing such experiences allows consumers to get fully-acquainted with all aspects of products before making a purchase decision.

JD has opened several home appliance flagship stores this year, including one in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, Jiaozuo, Henan province, and most recently, Kunming, Yunnan province on Singles Day (Nov. 11). Earlier this year, the retail giant announced a plan to open 20 JD E-Space Experience Stores (large scale, around 50,000 square meters) in first tier cities, as well as 300 home appliance flagship stores in second and third tier cities on a “one-city-one-store basis”, and 5,000 stores in towns and villages by 2025.

(ella@jd.com)

by Hui Zhang

JD.com announced plans to sign a cooperation agreement with XDS Shenzhen Xidesheng Bicycles, a leading Chinese bicycle company, on Dec. 11, promising to sponsor 100 mountain bike and road bike races to be held by Xidesheng in 2021 and to explore omnichannel cooperation in various areas.

According to data from China Bicycle Association, there are nearly 20 million cycling enthusiasts in China, with cycling becoming increasingly popular among Chinese people. Through the cooperation, consumers who want to participate in offline bike races organized by Xidesheng can easily complete registration through JD’s online event registration system.

“At present, cycling races in China, especially events for the mass public, are developing rapidly and people are enthusiastic about such racing events,” said Weilong Tan, chairman of XDS Shenzhen Xidesheng Bicycles.

“The cooperation with JD for the 2021 events also aims to inspire people to actively participate through the integration of online and offline experiences,” he said.

In addition to cooperation on racing events, both sides also participated in a trial to provide one-stop service online in Shenzhen. Now offering bicycle purchase and application of license plates online, consumers in Shenzhen can receive a brand new electronic bicycle at home with a single click on the JD app. Xidesheng also launched a new bicycle exclusively on JD.

Xidesheng opened a flagship store on JD in 2015, and has witnessed strong sales since then. On Nov. 1 this year, sales of Xidesheng increased by 24% compared with the same day last year, putting the brand at the top of the ranking in the bicycle category on JD.

“We will continue working together with the Xidesheng omnichannel cooperation, thus providing a more convenient shopping experience for consumers interested in sports products,” said Xiaowei Che, general manager of JD Sports.

(zhanghui36@jd.com)

by Ling Cao

JD Fresh launched a premium alliance with cherry merchants who have opened third party stores on JD. Speaking at a press conference held in Shanghai today, Xiaozhou Zhou, head of fruits division at JD Fresh said, “By integrating JD’s high quality resources in supply chain, logistics and talent for first party fruits, we hope to empower our third party merchants with services, in order to provide a superior fruit shopping experience for customers.”

In the first phase, the alliance will target the cherry category, with merchants in the alliance benefiting from JD’s integrated supply chain starting from Chile. Additionally, the products from the alliance will have the JD High Quality authorization.

Signees at the ceremony, front row from left to right: Kunpeng Du, head of JD’s Daiyang flagship store, Xiaoyan Chen, representative from Shanghai Yuqian supply chain management corporation, Yuhang Hu, representative of e-commerce department at Dalian Yidu, Lilin Han, head of JD’s Tongcheng Guoxian fresh produce store.

Witnesses, second row from left to right: Tian Yuan, head of imported fruits in B2B at JD Fresh, Liang Yu, deputy GM of Shanghai Yuqian supply chain management corporation, Xiaozhou Zhou, head of fruits at JD Fresh, Kai Zhao, deputy GM at Dalian Yidu.

To address the industry pain points for nonstandard supply chain resources for imported fruits, JD Fresh has formed a special team to optimize the supply chain, starting with the cherry category. Later JD plans to expand the services to other categories, including durian, mangosteen and blueberry. JD also provides other resources to help merchants expand their imported fruits sales, including traffic flow, marketing and quality control training.

During the conference, JD announced plans to launch a C2M tailored cherry gift box decorated in red and featuring the zodiac cow, which aims to appeal to Chinese customers purchasing new year gifts.

The C2M tailored cherry gift box

Zhou added, “We hope the program will truly help our merchants improve their supply chain efficiency and lower down the cost, resulting in an industry upgrade to high quality and integrated supply chain.”

(ling.cao@jd.com)