‘JD.com eyes Very Group takeover’

JD.com is looking to make another move to strengthen its position in the European ecommerce market. The Chinese company is reportedly willing to pay 2 billion pounds to acquire The Very Group, an online retail company from the United Kingdom.

JD.com had previously explored acquisitions of British retail chains Currys and Argos, but those deals fell through last year. It has now reportedly set its sights on The Very Group, owner of the online platforms Very and Littlewoods, with a mail-order history dating back more than a century. Neither party has commented on the rumors so far.

JD.com’s international expansion strategy

It is clear that JD.com is pursuing an international expansion strategy, while The Very Group is effectively up for sale. Investment firm Carlyle from the United States, which only recently took over the company, is reportedly looking to sell Very again for around 2 billion pounds.

Bid matches annual revenue

That valuation is close to The Very Group’s annual revenue, which reached 2.1 billion pounds in the 2024/25 financial year. While revenue declined compared to the previous year, profitability improved significantly. The company combines traditional retail buying with private labels and concession-style partnerships with external brands.

MediaMarkt

JD.com’s name has appeared increasingly often in Europe in recent years. The Chinese company has emerged as the buyer of German retail group Ceconomy, owner of MediaMarkt and Saturn. Those chains are generating a growing share of sales online, partly thanks to MediaMarkt’s rapidly expanding marketplace. The acquisition is well advanced, although not yet finalized.

Joybuy and JoyExpress

More recently, JD.com has been expanding its European presence with its platform Joybuy and its own delivery service JoyExpress. Over time, JoyExpress is expected to handle ecommerce deliveries for MediaMarkt and Saturn. If a deal goes ahead, The Very Group’s platforms could potentially follow, especially since JoyExpress is already active in the United Kingdom.

JD.com could handle all Very’s logistics

Meanwhile, JD.com subsidiary Jingdong Logistics is building a global logistics network that reportedly doubled in size last year. Its European network now includes more than sixty warehouses and depots for local storage, order fulfillment, and rapid delivery. With greater control over inventory and distribution, JD.com appears to be positioning itself to compete more aggressively with Asian ecommerce rivals such as Alibaba, Shein, and Temu.