JD.com sets out ambitious growth plan on anniversary day in the face of brutal e-commerce competition
- The e-commerce giant said over the next 20 years it intends to build three enterprises with over 1 trillion yuan in revenue
- JD.com will seek growth from lower-tier markets, advancements in technology and services, and expansion of its international business
Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com, founded by Richard Liu Qiandong exactly 20 years ago, has set an ambitious vision for itself in the next two decades amid rising competition and the current economic slowdown.
On its anniversary day on Sunday, the e-commerce giant said over the next 20 years it intends to build three enterprises with over 1 trillion yuan (US$140 billion) in revenue and 70 billion yuan in net profit each, five enterprises in the Fortune Global 500 list, and seven listed companies each with at least 100 billion yuan market cap, known together as its “35711 Vision”.
This ambitious plan comes at a time when China’s e-commerce market is losing growth momentum as the economy slows and as its population ages. JD.com, the main listed vehicle, saw its first-quarter revenue rise 1.4 per cent year-on-year to 243 billion yuan, with a profit of 6.3 billion yuan.
JD.com’s new vision was announced in an open letter sent to its 560,000 employees on Sunday. Competitors are also rejigging long-term plans, with Alibaba Group Holding, which owns the South China Morning Post, in the midst of a restructuring that will carve its operations into six independent entities.
Liu, who began to reassert control at the firm late last year after a low profile period, attended a ceremony celebrating the group’s 20th anniversary on June 18, according to local media reports. This day was turned into another annual online shopping festival in China by JD.com to counter the November 11 “festival” initiated by Alibaba.