JD.com in Hands with Diplomats in Beijing to Share Lifestyle to Consumers

Posted on by Doris Liu

by Doris Liu

JD Worldwide, JD.com’s comprehensive imported products business, joined hands with ambassadors from Georgia, Moldova, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and business counselors from Austria and Cyprus to share their lifestyle with specialties in a program broadcasted on BRTV (Beijing Radio & Television Station) on November 25, synchronizing the good life of the world with viewers in China.

H.E. Archil Kalandia, Ambassador of Georgia to China (second from right)

Generally considered the “cradle of wine”, Georgia has a history of 8,000 years culture of wine. H.E. Archil Kalandia, Ambassador of Georgia to China, introduced the tradition of Qvevri wine-making method, which was recognized by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage, by showing photos of clay vessels buried underground.

“The process is very natural, and it’s linked with the ground. For us, wine is in life rather than just a drink,” said the ambassador, demonstrating a traditional Georgian drinking horn which is used in ritual toasting. He also presented Borjomi carbonated mineral water from one of the world’s four most recognized longevity places, Caucasus of Georgia.

H.E. Dumitru Braghis, Ambassador of Moldova to China (second from right)

H.E. Dumitru Braghis, Ambassador of Moldova to China, first showed audience organic products such as nuts, cosmetics, walnut oil and honey. Since wine is also cornerstone of Moldova’s cultural identity, Ambassador Braghis brought ten bottles to stage with profound introduction of the world’s Top 2 largest wine cellars, Mileștii Mici and Cricova which are underground.

“I’m sure that next year we (China and Moldova) will have more, better and bigger results and we will be able to show to everybody that this friendship is already mature like Moldova wine,” said the ambassador.

H.E. Moin ul Haque, Ambassador of Pakistan to China (second from right)

The textile industry is the largest manufacturing industry in Pakistan, contributing a majority of the country’s exports. H.E. Moin ul Haque, Ambassador of Pakistan to China, displayed both traditional Chitrali hat and hand-made scarfs to unfold the exquisite dying and weaving techniques, as well as Pakistani gem and rice.

H.E. Palitha T. B. Kohona, Ambassador of Sri Lanka to China

The well-known Ceylon tea, ginger cookies and coconut-based products from Sri Lanka impressed Chinese audience with Ambassador Palitha T. B. Kohona’s intriguing presentation. “For various reasons, Ceylon tea is considered to be one of the best black tea in the world,” said Ambassador Kohona, adding that the climate, the soil and the way of tea plucking and processing might be the reasons why the tea is special in color, aroma, taste and intensity.

Dr. Michael Berger, Commercial Counselor of the Austrian Embassy in China (second from right)

Dr. Michael Berger, Commercial Counselor of the Austrian Embassy in Beijing, was delighted to see a variety of products such as Red Bull, wafer, milk and wine are popular in China. He highlighted that cows drink natural water and eat grass in meadow in Austria, which is one of the most advanced countries in biological agriculture, and some listen to classical music by Austrian composers Mozart and Haydn to help boost milk quality.

Petros Petrou, Commercial Counselor of the Cypriot Embassy in China (right)

By sharing a story about Venus, the Queen of Cyprus, and her son Cupid, Mr. Petros Petrou, Commercial Counselor of the Cypriot Embassy in Beijing kicked off his demonstration with an array of specialties including traditional Halloumi cheese, blue wine and stuffed toys of Talking Tom.

JD.com had reported RMB 500 billion yuan in the procurement of imported products over the past three years, higher than its goal of RMB 400 billion set in 2019, according to the company’s Report on Consumption of Imported Products 2022 released earlier this month.

With authorization support from embassies in China, JD.com has seen a prosperity in national pavilion program, in which the total number of national pavilions is expected to surpass 100 by the end of 2022, serving as a broader bridge to bring high quality imported products to Chinese market.

 

(liujun215@jd.com)

JD.com Sees Soccer-Related Sales Spike as World Cup Opens

Posted on by Vivian Yang

Vivian Yang

Even without a home team to cheer for, Chinese soccer fans have not hesitated to invest in their passion for FIFA World Cup since the 2022 games raised their curtains in Qatar on November 21st.

JD’s data showed that in the lead-up to the game, soccer shoes, balls, and jerseys have been the most popular items on the J Shop, the omni-channel fashion and lifestyle business of JD.com, sales of which account for 40, 28, and 25 percent respectively among soccer-related categories.

Consumers can order customized jerseys on JD.com

The sales volume of various national team jerseys tripled YoY since the start of the game this Monday, with more than 40 percent of the jerseys of Germany and Spain being bought by female customers, as they consider these teams to have more handsome players.

In the past week, sales of World Cup-related ornaments increased 80 percent YoY, and glasses and wine sets grew over 30 percent YoY. Sales of commemorative soccer balls and coins increased more than 100 percent month over month.

Geographically, Guangdong, Beijing, Sichuan and Jiangsu are the Top 5 highest-spending regions on soccer products. Adidas’ official match ball for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ became the best-selling in Guangzhou, while soccer gloves topped the list in Beijing as fans here keep the game heat outdoors. This is the first time the event is held during winter in the Northern hemisphere.

To heighten the atmosphere while watching games at home – mostly at midnight and early morning due to a five-hour time difference between China and Doha, purchases of relevant gears are on the rise. Take JD Mall in Xi’an for example. This offline store has seen the sales of TV sets measuring over 80 inches rise 50 percent YoY in the past week. On the first day of the game, online transaction volume of projectors increased 240 percent, and that of VR glasses is up by 430 percent.

JD’s trade-in program is also taking the chance to spread a friendly reminder that in case the game gets so intense that you accidentally break the TV, this service is here to offer a 10 percent discount and an array of subsidies during the World Cup period toward trading in items for a new TV and other home appliances.

 

(vivian.yang@jd.com)

JD Logistics Airlines Launches Shenzhen–Hangzhou Route

Posted on by Yuchuan Wang

by Yuchuan Wang

JD Logistics announced on Nov. 22 that the company’s airlines affiliate JD Logistics Airlines (formerly known as JD Airlines) has launched a self-owned all-cargo route between Shenzhen, Guangdong province and Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. The first flight took off from Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport to Hangzhou International Airport at 1:30 AM on Nov. 22, and then flew back to Shenzhen and landed at 7:50 AM.

JD Logistics Airlines will operate the route six times a week to mainly carry fresh produce, fashion and apparel products, medicine and medical products, and more categories which need timely delivery or are of high value.

The new route will further improve air logistics efficiency in the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta, and will strengthen next-day delivery capabilities. It will join JD Logistics Airlines’ previous launched all-cargo route between Nantong, Jiangsu province and Beijing to promote the highly efficient goods circulation among Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and the two deltas.

On August 31, JD Logistics received the Operation Certification of Public Air Carriers of Large Aircraft from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), marking the official commencement of the operation of JD Logistics Airlines. According to the company’s plan, it will first develop domestic air cargo around China’s major hubs to cover major cities nationwide and gradually develop in the international market.

 

(yuchuan.wang@jd.com)

 

JD.com: Highlights of Q3 2022 Earnings Call

Posted on by Doris Liu

by Doris Liu

Facing complex dynamics, JD.com continued to maintain a steady and healthy business growth, helped build certainty for real economy in China and ensured best possible service to its customers, as demonstrated by the company’s earnings of the third quarter of 2022, released on November 18.

In the third quarter, JD.com saw net revenues increase by 11.4 percent from the third quarter of 2021, reaching RMB243.5 billion (US$34.2 billion) amid challenges brought by the macro economy, supply chain disruptions and more. Net service revenues were RMB46.5 billion (US$6.5 billion), an increase of 42.2 percent year-on-year. Net income attributable to ordinary shareholders for Q3 was RMB6.0 billion (US$0.8 billion), compared with a net loss of RMB2.8 billion YOY.

“We are delighted to see substantial improvement in our growth quality this year,” shared Lei Xu, CEO of JD.com, during a conference call to discuss Q3 2022 earnings. “Given the evolving economic and industry environment, JD made a pre-emptive decision to focus on our core businesses since the beginning of the year, while reinforcing quality operations and management, and attaching high importance to business health.”

Thanks to JD’s continuous emphasis on user experience with refined operation, the consumer mindshare, structure, as well as supply chain efficiency have dramatically improved. JD’s annual active user base in Q3 climbed 6.5 percent to 588.3 million, mainly driven by the net addition of over 10 million active users from the core retail business. In particular, the scale of JD Retail’s consumers who repurchase and Plus members were growing faster, accounting for a higher proportion in the total user base. The Plus members had kept a high degree of loyalty, engagement and purchasing power, with the average annual spending of each member eight times higher than a non-Plus consumer.

“JD.com’s relentless focus on user experience, cost and efficiency has allowed us to continuously expand our user base while delivering profitable growth,” said Sandy Xu, Chief Financial Officer of JD.com.

As a new type of real economy-based enterprise, JD.com continues to invest in the marketplace ecosystem construction, omni-channel business layout, and well-established supply chain infrastructure to invigorate and empower the real economy.

In Q3, the number of third-party merchants within JD Retail’s online marketplace ecosystem achieved an over 20 percent increase for the 7th consecutive quarter. In addition, with the launch of the FENDI flagship store, JD.com became the first company to partner with LVMH for nine top fashion brands. Besides the over 70 national pavilions, which bring consumers a variety of specialty products from around the world, JD.com newly opened pavilions from nearly 20 countries during the 2022 Singles’ Day Grand Promotion.

JD’s intra-city business also indicated momentum of rapid development, benefiting both brands and offline merchants. As the only on-demand retail platform selected for Apple’s pre-sale, JD Daojia (JDDJ) joined hands with Shop Now, JD.com’s one-hour delivery service, as well as Apple authorized resellers, to secure inventory of iPhone14 models, promptly open and process pre-sale orders, and provide instant delivery services to customers, boosting sales to RMB200 million within the first six hours of the opening day of this year’s Singles’ Day Grand Promotion.

“JD’s involvement in intra-city business is based on user demand, not purely business growth opportunities,” said Lei Xu, expressing that the company is willing to open up its capabilities of supply chain and services to drive the digitally intelligent transformation of up- and down-stream partners.

“We know very well the difficulty of offline business of SMEs, that’s why we never tried to carve up their profits but work together in synergy to reduce costs and gain reasonable profits from cooperation.”

By exploring in-depth with key clients in the fields of FMCG, home appliance, clothing among others, JD Logistics’ (JDL) capabilities are gaining more recognition, with the revenue from external clients growing to nearly 70 percent of its total revenue in Q3. By the end of Q3, JDL (incl. Deppon) operated more than 1,500 warehouses and managed logistics infrastructure that had exceeded 30 million square meters.

 

(liujun215@jd.com)

JD.com Announces Third Quarter 2022 Results

Posted on by Yuchuan Wang

On November 18th, JD.com released its unaudited financial results for the three months ended September 30, 2022. Below is an infographic with the key highlights. The full release can be found here.

 

JD Singles’ Day: Appliance Trade-in Reduces Carbon Emissions

Posted on by Doris Liu

by Doris Liu

Sales of home appliances on JD.com saw an increase of 7 times year-on-year (YOY) in the value of trade-in orders during JD Singles’ Day Grand Promotion (SDGP) this year, in which new products with a Grade 1 energy label purchased through trade-in services are expected to help reduce 80,000 tons of carbon emissions each year.

As a green consumption supporter and promoter, JD.com has consolidated its position in the home appliance sales industry by dint of its supply chain advantages accumulated over 20 years, as well as China’s preferential policies and continuous efforts of brand manufacturers and channels. During the 2022 SDGP, 20 percent of orders for home appliances on JD.com were made through trade-in solutions, marking a delightful result of moving towards a sustainable and low-carbon world.

In 2020, China pledged to achieve a peak in carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and carbon neutrality before 2060, with all industries advancing their pace of low-carbon transformation, especially the home appliance industry. According to the National Development and Reform Commission, China’s household appliances ownership has exceeded 2.1 billion items, and the scrappage volume in 2022 is estimated at 200 million items. Trading in one major household appliance reduces carbon emissions by 9,763 grams, equivalent to planting a tree, according to the China Beijing Environment Exchange.

As early as 2016, JD.com launched a trade-in service for home appliances, covering more than 95 percent of cities, counties and towns for over 45 recycling categories. In addition, the service can be completed on the same day of order placement to save customers’ time, while also accelerating the penetration of energy-efficient products.

To further optimize customers’ experiences, JD.com offers special subsidies for new purchases made under the trade-in scheme, free dismantling services and free transportation of the old appliances to reduce consumers’ costs and simplify the whole process of upgrading to new green and intelligent home appliances.

During the 2022 SDGP, a service that integrates delivery with installation was chosen 160 percent more than the mid-year 618 Grand Promotion, indicating the growing importance consumers attach to service. To ensure this service, JD.com trained its in-house delivery personnel to become appliance engineers to standardize both delivery and installation services, providing an experience that exceeds consumers’ expectations.

Nearly 10,000 of JD’s engineers have obtained qualification for instant delivery and installation, saving about 6 million hours of consumers’ waiting time for appliance installation.

This year, JD.com also joined hands with the China Green Foundation to launch the “RMB 1 yuan green action with trade-in” public welfare project, gathering all parties in the industry to participate in environmental protection projects. Every time consumers complete one trade-in order, JD will donate RMB 1 yuan for public welfare tree-planting activities. Data shows that JD.com has funded the planting of more than 100,000 trees.

 

(liujun215@jd.com)

 

 

Beer Products See Burgeoning Growth with JD Super

Posted on by Mengyang He

by Mengyang He

JD.com’s omni-channel supermarket, JD Super, recently released its 2022 Singles’ Day Grand Promotion report for beer products, revealing over 50 percent year-on-year growth.

According to the report, craft beer and fruit beer both experienced burgeoning growth, as their transaction volumes rose by over 120 percent and 250 percent year-on-year respectively.

“By providing quality products and leading services in the industry, JD Super has already become the preferable channel for beer and wine lovers,” noted Da Lu, general manager of liquor and alcoholic beverages for JD FMCG omni-channel.

During the Singles’ Day Grand Promotion, sales of the American beer brand Budweiser led other brands, followed by Chinese brands Tsingtao from Shandong and Wusu from Xinjiang.

Tsingtao beer

In addition, JD Super provides consumers with different beer products based on sales data and consumption trends. Craft beer, in comparison with industrial beer, is fresher and has a richer taste, and it now represents the high-end beer market in China.

The report also indicates that fruit beer is often favored by female consumers, and Hoegaarden from Belgium showed a strong performance among all fruit beer products.

 

(hemengyang5@jd.com)

JD Cloud Ranks No.1 in World’s Top Dataset for Task-Oriented Dialogue Modeling

Posted on by Doris Liu

by Doris Liu

The model proposed by the team of JD Cloud’s intelligent customer service system, Yanxi (言犀), which provides users with 24/7 service in all scenarios, ranked first among models of MultiWOZ, the world’s top dataset for end-to-end task-oriented dialogue modelling.

Mars, an end-to-end task-oriented dialogue system proposed by the Yanxi team, innovatively models the relationship between dialogue context and dialogue/action state through semantic-aware contrastive learning strategies to ensure a better performance of the system. Empirical results show the proposed Mars system maintains state-of-the-art performance on the MultiWOZ 2.0, CamRest676, and CrossWOZ.

Proposed by the University of Cambridge, MultiWOZ, which is short for the Multi-Domain Wizard-of-Oz dataset, is a fully-labeled collection of human-human written conversations spanning over multiple domains and topics. It is one of the most influential task-based dialogue datasets, containing highly natural conversations between tourists and staff obtained from information centers of tourist cities, in which 70 percent of the dialogue is from 2-5 domains in multiple scenarios, and it is becoming one of the most classic and challenging datasets in the field of natural language processing.

Many prestigious universities and research institutions across the world have participated in the competitive challenge since the release of MultiWOZ, including research groups from Tsinghua University, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Microsoft Research, Amazon, DeepMind, and Salesforce.

An example of end-to-end task-oriented dialogue generation

As part of the challenge, Yanxi participated in end-to-end task-oriented dialogue generation, which needs to first identify the user’s intention through the user dialogue and generate dialogue states, query the database based on the generated dialogue states for entity matching, and then provide natural language responses that meet the user’s goals according to the dialogue policies based on the query database results.As the industry’s first large-scale commercial intelligent customer service system, Yanxi has accumulated rich practices in task-based dialogue generation through support of the entire chain and lifecycle of JD.com’s customer service, with a generation of 10 million dialogues per day on average, serving JD’s over 580 million customers and 178,000 merchants with a smooth experience.

 

(liujun215@jd.com)