JD.com takes on Amazon in Europe as China’s e-commerce titans expand globally

JD.com launched its long-anticipated European online shopping platform on Monday, as the Chinese e-commerce giant looks to challenge Amazon as well as domestic rivals that have already expanded internationally.

Joybuy, JD.com’s international online shopping brand, launches in six new markets, including the U.K. and Germany, with the company banking on fast deliveries and high-quality products to get an edge on rivals.

While peers like AliExpress and Temu operate an asset-light model and ship goods directly from China, JD.com has its own local warehouses and logistics networks that enable it to minimize delivery times.

The approach has been successful in China, where JD has developed an extensive logistics network for super-fast deliveries and established itself as a destination for domestic consumers to buy global brands such as Apple.

The Chinese tech giant said customers in Europe can get same-day delivery on orders placed before 11 a.m. For orders over £29 in the U.K., there’s no extra cost.

Joybuy will also feature brand stores from companies including L’Oréal Paris and De’Longhi. These are effectively a branded space in the Joybuy app where companies can showcase their official goods.

JD.com is stepping into a highly-competitive European e-commerce market, which features heavyweights like Amazon, as well as smaller local players and rival services from Alibaba‘s AliExpress and Temu-owner PDD.

Both AliExpress and Temu have sought to bring competitively-priced products to the European market, but have relied on a marketplace model of third-party merchants who sell through their platforms.

While Temu and AliExpress have been operating internationally for the past few years, JD is hoping to catch up.

Joybuy emphasizes its ownership of much of the inventory that it sells.

“We’re at first party retailer, we’re completely different to every other retailer based on our customer proposition,” Matthew Nobbs, U.K. managing director of Joybuy, told CNBC in an interview.

“So we don’t do any de minimus business. We’re a retailer, first, and foremost for brands, and that’s our core.”

“De minimis” refers to a rule in various countries that gives customs duties exemptions for low-value goods.

Nobbs said that Joybuy has been in a “beta” testing phase for more than six months and the platform is now ready for a full launch.

While Joybuy is offering free same-day delivery for orders worth over £29, the company has also launched a monthly membership service called JoyPlus. This will cost £3.99 and give users unlimited free delivery. In comparison, Amazon Prime in the U.K. costs £8.99.

“Supply chain is the strength of the core of everything that we do,” Nobbs said.

Same-day delivery will not be available to all customers in countries where Joybuy is launching, but the group plans to expand its warehouse footprint eventually.

The Joybuy executive said the company will expand its warehousing presence across the U.K. and other markets “step-by-step.”