Industry

JD.com to Attempt Food Delivery Business

Jun 10, 2022, 12:57pm2022/06/10 19:34:40 Pandaily

LatePost reported on Wednesday that Chinese e-commerce company JD.com<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder /> will attempt to develop a food delivery business. Under the arrangement, merchants will operate through the JD Daojia app, and DADA Group is to be made responsible for delivery logistics. The business, which hasn’t been launched yet, will reportedly first operate in pilot cities such as Zhengzhou. A team is now reaching out to local catering merchants regarding the plan.

The venture is being promoted by the food and beverage business department of JD Tongcheng. The new department, which was established by JD.com<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder /> on June 7, currently employs about 10 people.

The app suggests that JD Tongcheng now offers in-store e-vouchers for food and beverage, health care, one-hour delivery services for sightseeing tickets, and supermarket groceries, as well as self-operated services for door-to-door laundry repair and installation. However, many services provided by rival platform Meituan<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder /> are not yet available here, such as takeout, taxi, shared bicycle, hotels, and more.

LatePost learned that JD Retail has four important business directions, namely: supply chains as a middle platform, same-city business, omni-channel and search recommendation. CEO Xin Lijun identified supply chains as the most important direction for JD Retail after he took office in September last year.

Several sources at JD Retail said that in same-city business, Xin Lijun was willing to allow the team to try various things, adding that “he may not even rule out making taxi rides in the future.” But they also believe that JD.com<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder />‘s determination to invest in new businesses on a large scale is limited.

JD.com<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder /> has declared its overall strategy for this year as reducing business losses. An individual from JD.com<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder /> said that the company would shrink all businesses facing losses. The contractions are mainly in community group buying business Jingxi Pinpin. According to ChinaStarMarket on Thursday, citing the opinions of relevant people, Jingxi Pinpin may only retain its business in Beijing and Zhengzhou.