by Martin Li

A cosmetics merchant has been requested by a court in Beijing last week to pay JD.com RMB one million yuan as a default penalty.

In a regular sampling check by JD, the merchant was found to be selling counterfeit products of a renowned cosmetic brand.

JD informed the merchant that it had broken the law by selling counterfeits, but received no reply. Then JD removed counterfeit products and closed the online store

However, the merchant brought JD to court and asked for return of fees including those charged for its use of JD’s e-commerce platform.

This led to a countercharge by JD. The e-commerce giant asked for RMB 2 million yuan from the merchant as a default penalty for its selling of counterfeit products, which is against the agreement between the merchant and JD to only sell authentic products.

The court in Daxing District, Beijing, said JD proved the merchant’s counterfeit selling and all the measures it took complied with related rules. The case is the first default case involving an online counterfeit seller handled by a court in Beijing.

(bjlihao3@jd.com)

by Ling Cao

On the night of July 31^st, Mo Yan, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2012 and China’s first author to do so, joined JD Livestream with his new book, A Late Bloomer. This marks his first livestream. By partnering with Tencent Wesee and JD Book during the livestream, Mo was able to share the new book with audience together with Ning Wang, a host from Chinese National TV, and Jingze Li and Feiyu Bi, two famous writers.

It has been ten years since Mo published his previous book. A Late Bloomer is akin to Mo’s postscript after winning the Nobel Prize. He has written himself into the novel, and opens up to readers in a humorous way about the ins and outs of life after winning the Nobel Prize. There are 12 colorful stories in all; a mix of joyful and sorrowful, absurd and real.

During the livestream Mo spoke with an onsite audience about a variety of themes, and viewers had the chance to win his new book for free.

Mo Yan was asked during the livestream why he decided to write this book. “This book has spread the traditional plot of people going back to their hometown in countryside. I think it’s always the character who drives an author to write. Many characters in this book are my friends, even my best friends. Only by focusing on this kind of story can I fully express my emotions,” he shared.

Applying livestream promotions to the book industry is one of JD Book’s key directives for the second half of the year. JD Book has started a new channel for such initiatives, aiming to provide young customers with vivid and interesting new book launch events.

(ling.cao@jd.com)

by Martin Li

JD is planning to open three home appliance flagship stores in three cities in China this September. The three stores will be located in Bengbu in Anhui province, Jiaozuo in Henan province and Deyang in Sichuan province.

Each new store will have an area of 10,000 square meters, and customers will be able to buy over 10,000 varieties of products in-store. They will also be able to place online orders for more than 200,000 products.

The stores will include experience zones for large brands such as Apple, Huawei and Xiaomi. In addition, consumers will be able to experience innovative tech products like drones, cleaning robots, and VR devices.

“I want to buy a DJI drone, but I need to try it out first. It would be nice to experience it in a store in my city,” said a man surnamed Liu in Bengshan district of Bengbu.

Liu made a reservation to visit the flagship store right after he learnt it was opening.

The three stores will bring the total number up to four—the first one opened in Ma’anshan, Anhui province on June 18^th this year. It’s opening day saw a sales volume of RMB 50 million yuan. More than 46,000 people watched the livestream of the store that same day.

“When consumers scan a price tag with their mobile phones, they will see a detailed product page including buyer comments and discount information. They can expect the same price as online buyers, as well as free delivery,” said Wang Zhaojun, the store’s manager.

JD eventually plans to open such a home appliance flagship store in each tier-1 to tier-3 city in an effort to bring offline experiences directly to consumers.

“Traditional home appliance chain stores are all the same. It’s a waste to open an excessive amount of stores. JD’s home appliance business will be able to connect cities across China using its one-city-one-store strategy,” said Wu Xianjian, deputy secretary general of China’s Home Appliance Business Association.

(bjlihao3@jd.com)

by Rachel Liu

JD announced today to launch JD E-Sports Plan with partners including Tencent, Black Shark, Red Magic, ROG, Lenovo, telecoms, and several mobile phone supply chain manufacturers. The announcement was made at ChinaJoy, the largest gaming convention in China.

The initiative aims to accelerate the development of the gaming phone industry. This will be achieved by focusing on gaming devices and e-sports competitions and providing a better gaming experience to players. JD was the first company to create the concept of a “gaming phone” back in 2017, and quickly started to work with mobile phone brands to develop gaming phone products using the C2M model.

The mobile gaming industry is growing rapidly. According to industry data, there were 630 million mobile phone gamers in China in 2019. Demand for gaming products is increasing. During JD’s 618 sale this year, the transaction volume of gaming phones increased 150% year-on-year.

“With the launch of JD E-Sports Plan, we hope to leverage JD’s advantages in user traffic, technology, supply chain, and payments to help industry partners amplify the value of their businesses. This could happen through holding gaming competitions, building marketing platforms, empowering supply chain manufacturers, or exploring innovative technologies.” said Daniel Tan, president of JD Mobile Devices.

For marketing programs, JD will hold themed marketing campaigns based on big data and customer behaviors to precisely target at game lovers.

For hardware and device development, JD will co-develop standards for gaming phones with Tencent, as well as gaming phone brands and manufacturers, ultimately providing better C2M gaming phone products. JD has also launched a series of services including trade-ins and 30-day trials, both targeting gaming phone customers.

JD will work with its partners to hold exciting e-sports competitions, the organization of which has been recognized by the industry. JD Cup, an e-sports competition sponsored by JD, has been the organizer Honor of Kings (one of the top mobile games in China) tournaments for two consecutive years. JD was also the exclusive e-commerce partner for KPL Spring, KPL Fall, and the Honor of Kings Anniversary in 2019. Moving forward, JD plans to work in close conjunction with Tencent Games on e-sports clubs and competitions.

JD will also promote mobile gaming in universities and build a player ecosystem among college students. In an upcoming JD livestreaming project held for them, over 10,000 teams are expected to join over 50,000 live broadcasts.

(liuchang61@jd.com)

by Yuchuan Wang

JD Business, JD.com’s enterprise procurement division, has teamed up with 10 Chinese enterprise solution brands including Inspur, Lenovo, Sugon, H3C, PANTUM, and Tsinghua Tongfang to form the “Domestic Brands Alliance”. In addition, JD will invest RMB 60 million yuan including financial supports and resources to provide customized supportive measures to domestic enterprise solution providers.

The alliance is committed to lowering barriers to enterprise procurement by connecting products, services, and professional knowhow from various brands to offer one-stop category-tailored enterprise solutions. The categories in the first phase will be smart offices, smart meetings, staff canteens, and staff dormitories.

Meanwhile, JD will open its 8 million enterprise client base to large enterprise solution brands, and accurately match demand with supply using big data technology. For SME brands, JD will leverage its marketing resources to help them gain more exposure and increase brand awareness.

Kailei Li, general manager of JD Enterprise Solutions at JD Business says, “As the largest digital enterprise procurement platform in China, we will leverage our technology and resources to help more domestic brands succeed in the market.”

(yuchuan.wang@jd.com)