JD.com turns to Google, Walmart to build global e-commerce empire
JD.com ranks behind only Alibaba when it comes to e-commerce in China and has started pushing into physical stores in the country, although its incursions overseas have mostly been limited to Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam.
Richard Liu Qiangdong built an e-commerce giant in China by tapping into the nation’s appetite for technology. As his JD.com sets its sights on global expansion, he’s turning to others for help: Google and Walmart.
Just a few months after Google bought a US$550 million stake in JD.com, Liu said he was in the early stages of strategic planning with the search giant to win customers outside its home market. Walmart will work with JD to expand operations in China, the US and Southeast Asia, Liu said.
JD.com ranks behind only Alibaba Group Holding when it comes to e-commerce in China and has started pushing into physical stores in the country, although its incursions overseas have mostly been limited to Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam. But Liu has his eyes on the affluent consumers of Europe and the US. as he makes substantial investments in the infrastructure needed to supply millions of customers around the world.
“Our ambition is to expand our supply chain ability to the whole world – to connect any brand, any goods and any consumer globally,” Liu said in an interview at a business event in Aspen, Colorado last month.
Walmart and JD.com have already teamed up in China as Liu agreed to buy the U.S. company’s online operations in the country. In return, the Bentonville, Arkansas retailer bought a stake in the business. Walmart also co-led a US$500 million fundraising in August for JD.com affiliate Dada-JD Daojia, which connects fleets of motorbike delivery staff with merchants in hundreds of Chinese towns and cities.