JD.com’s European push pits Chinese retailer against Amazon

Published Mon, Mar 16, 2026 · 09:08 AM

[LONDON] JD.com is launching in the UK and other European countries, part of an overseas expansion as China’s answer to Amazon faces intense competition in its home market.

The online retailer founded by billionaire Richard Liu aims to draw customers to its Joybuy.com with a promise of fast delivery of products, ranging from Chinese food, fridges and televisions to toys and cosmetics.

Using its own website represents a strategic shift for JD.com in the UK, where it had considered a takeover of electronics retailer Currys and was in talks to buy general merchandiser Argos from J Sainsbury before the deal fell apart.

The push into foreign markets comes at a time when Chinese companies are competing for share at home. JD’s move into the meal delivery and fast-commerce sectors has forced its rivals into a fierce battle of discounts that is eroding industry-wide margins.

JD’s European pitch is based on delivery speed. In London and other selected cities in the UK, Germany, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, Joybuy’s key selling point will be its “double 11” pledge to deliver orders made before 11 am by 11 pm on the same day.

But the offer is postcode dependent. Otherwise, it will be next-day delivery or a pickup at lockers. In the UK, Joybuy deliveries will be processed at three partly-automated warehouses near London by JD’s logistics firm JoyExpress.

By contrast, Amazon.com has more than 30 fulfilment centres across the UK, where just as in other markets, it dominates online retail.

Chinese online retailers Shein and Temu are also winning customers, often importing products under a tax exemption on shipping low-value items.

Joybuy is taking on Amazon and it won’t be easy, according to independent retail analyst Richard Hyman. “They are not going to have exclusive offerings and they are going to have to be very, very low-price in order to make a bit of noise,” he said, predicting Joybuy would be loss-making for a while.

On Friday, a pair of Apple AirPods 4 headphones, which officially retail at £119 (S$202) in the UK, were priced at £89 by Joybuy and £99 by Amazon.

“We don’t mind being compared with Amazon, it’s fine,” said Matthew Nobbs, managing director of Joybuy in the UK. On its website, which has been running ahead of the official launch, Joybuy displays branded goods prominently. “We have got our own unique proposition,” Nobbs said.

JD said that it’s planning to expand its logistics network, which will enable faster delivery times in more cities. The company also took a majority stake last year in Germany’s Ceconomy, Europe’s largest consumer electronics retailer, giving it access to a vast European retail network. BLOOMBERG