Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com reported a 22.4% increase in second-quarter sales, highlighting its push to expand in both online retail and food delivery despite intense competition from rivals Alibaba and Meituan.
JD.com second-quarter results were released on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange – Shuttestock
Based in Beijing, JD.com has struggled in recent years with slowing domestic consumption and the growing dominance of Alibaba. In the three months to June 30, the group recorded sales of 356.7 billion yuan ($49.8 billion), representing a 22.4% increase from the same period in the previous year, according to results published in Hong Kong.
Net profit, however, nearly halved to 6.2 billion yuan ($900 million), compared with 12.6 billion yuan a year earlier. CEO Sandy Xu said the platform saw “sustained momentum” in its core retail business and its new food delivery service.
“In Q2, we saw strong growth in user traffic, quarterly active customers, and user purchase frequency on the JD platform,” Xu said.
JD.com entered the meal delivery market in February, aiming to challenge the dominant provider, Meituan. To gain traction, the company waived delivery fees for restaurants registered before May 1, aiming to capture share from both Meituan and Alibaba’s Ele.me.
The move comes as Beijing increasingly supports online service platforms as a driver of jobs and consumer demand, even as regulators call for greater compliance with e-commerce laws. Authorities have urged JD.com, Meituan, and Ele.me to refrain from unfair practices in the rapidly growing food delivery market.
At the end of July, JD.com announced an agreement to acquire German retail group Ceconomy for €2.2 billion ($2.4 billion), strengthening its European presence. Ceconomy owns MediaMarkt and Saturn, two major electronics retailers with more than 1,000 stores in Germany and across Europe.
