JD.com (Jingdong) is a Chinese e-commerce company headquartered in Beijing and the largest retailer in China by revenue. It even surpasses Alibaba in retail sales and has now officially entered the European market through its own platform, Joybuy. For anyone involved in importing from China or selling online in Europe, JD is a name we can no longer ignore – neither as competition nor as a potential partner.
At a glance: JD.com and Joybuy
- JD.com (Jingdong) is one of the largest Chinese e-commerce companies and the biggest retailer in China by revenue.
- It is known for its in-house logistics network (JD Logistics) and fast delivery times, often within 24 hours across China.
- Joybuy is JD’s new online retail platform for Europe, launched in 2026.
- Joybuy currently operates in the UK, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.
- The focus is on products stored in European warehouses and fast delivery (same-day or next-day), combined with cross-border imports from China.
How JD.com started
JD.com was founded in 1998 in Beijing by Liu Qiangdong (Richard Liu), initially as a small physical shop selling magneto-optical disks and later classic 3C products (computers, phones, consumer electronics). The shop operated in Beijing’s Zhongguancun IT district, with no clear plan at the time to become a global e-commerce platform.
A turning point came with the 2003 SARS outbreak – a viral respiratory syndrome, similar in nature to what the world later saw with Covid – which brought offline retail almost to a standstill. Liu closed all physical stores and started taking orders by phone and email, shipping products via couriers – effectively creating an early version of an online shop without a proper web platform. In early 2004, he launched the first official website, jdlaser.com, and Jingdong fully entered e-commerce.[web:63][web:64]
From 2007 onwards, JD.com began to expand more aggressively: it moved to the 360buy.com domain, broadened its assortment from electronics to “everything for the home”, and – most importantly – decided to build its own logistics network instead of relying only on third-party couriers. That logistics decision later became one of the key factors that set JD.com apart from many other Chinese platforms.[web:63][web:64]
In 2013 the company switched to the domain we know today – JD.com – and launched an aggressive branding push with its dog mascot, JOY.[web:60] In 2014, JD.com listed on NASDAQ (ticker JD), becoming one of the first major Chinese e-commerce firms to go public directly in the US. In the following years, the group expanded into financial services, healthcare and, of course, international trade.[web:49][web:63]
JD Worldwide and bringing foreign brands into China
For companies looking at China as a target market, JD Worldwide is a key part of the story – a cross-border platform launched by JD in 2015. The idea is simple: allow foreign brands to sell to Chinese consumers without immediately setting up a local company, warehouses and a full on-the-ground operation.[web:54][web:62]
The model is similar to Tmall Global, but JD plays its own game through logistics. It offers two main setups: inventory in bonded warehouses inside China (faster delivery, lower shipping cost per order) or overseas warehouses with direct shipping to Chinese customers (longer delivery times but more flexible inventory). There are platform fees (membership, deposit, commission), but in return brands get access to JD’s large user base and fast logistics network.[web:54][web:57]
Logistics: why JD Logistics matters
From the beginning, JD has insisted on controlling its own supply chain instead of being just a pure marketplace where sellers are on their own. Today, JD Logistics operates thousands of warehouses in China and abroad, with tens of millions of square metres of storage space.[web:55][web:63] The company is best known for its promise to deliver most first-party orders in China within 24 hours.
This philosophy – “logistics first, everything else follows” – is now being applied to Europe as well. Over the past few years, JD has been building a global logistics network with overseas warehouses and cross-border routes to more than twenty markets. The move into Europe is a logical next step in that strategy.[web:55][web:81]
Joybuy and JoyExpress – JD.com enters Europe
This Monday, JD.com officially launched its new e-commerce brand Joybuy in Europe. The platform went live simultaneously in six countries: the United Kingdom (joybuy.co.uk), Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. From what we have seen so far, the strategy is clear – a direct challenge to Amazon, but with JD’s own logistics-driven approach.[web:70][web:77]
Joybuy offers a wide range of products: consumer electronics, large and small home appliances, household goods, beauty and personal care, groceries and everyday essentials. The platform also features well-known international brands – from home and beauty labels to electronics – through branded “stores” inside the Joybuy interface.[web:71][web:92]
To make this work, JD launched its dedicated European delivery network, JoyExpress, ahead of Joybuy’s official rollout. JoyExpress currently covers the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and France, operating from more than 60 warehouses and depots across Europe with a fleet of trucks, vans and e-bikes. In major cities, the goal is same-day or next-day delivery – not only for small parcels, but also with options for delivery and installation of large appliances.[web:81][web:84][web:126]
In the UK, for example, Joybuy already offers free delivery above a certain order value, as well as same-day delivery for orders placed before a specific cut-off time. JD has also introduced JoyPlus – a subscription service that includes free delivery with no minimum spend, exclusive deals and a points-based rewards programme.[web:71][web:77]
What does all this mean for us?
For European shoppers, Joybuy is another major player alongside Amazon, AliExpress and Temu – but with a different angle: fewer “20–40 day parcels from China”, and more products shipped from local and regional warehouses with same-day or next-day delivery. For brands and suppliers in China (and for those already working with them), JD opens up an additional channel into the European market, backed by a system that is used to high volume and demanding customers.[web:72][web:78]
For local e-commerce businesses and importers, this also means stronger competition. JD is not coming to Europe as “just another Chinese marketplace”, but as a company bringing a full package: marketplace, its own inventory, its own logistics and years of experience in a market where fast delivery has become the standard.[web:78][web:81]
How Joybuy will position itself against Amazon and how much of the European market it will capture remains to be seen. One thing is certain, though: JD.com is no longer just a story “somewhere far away in China”. With Joybuy and JoyExpress, that story is now being written here in Europe as well.[web:70][web:77]