JD ready to enter European ecommerce

Chinese ecommerce giant JD.com is ready to launch in Europe. The retailer was aiming for this continent for quite some time now, but it now wants to have finalized its strategy for entering the European ecommerce market by the end of this year.

That’s what JD.com CEO Richard Liu told German newspaper Handelsblatt. The online retailer wants to open an office in Germany later this year. Liu didn’t say anything about specific plans though. “The final decision is still pending. I often come here (Europe) to talk to consumers, producers and the government. By the end of this year, we will launch a concrete strategy for tapping the European market.”

Sell products in Europe

“For me, it’s no longer just about selling products from Germany in China. I would also like to sell products in Europe”, he explained. He emphasized that he’s not just talking about Chinese products. “I want to sell different products – even local products.”

Takeovers to gain ground in Europe

In order to have success in Europe, JD is investing heavily in logistics and offline retail and it would also consider acquisitions to help establishing a meaningful presence into the European ecommerce market. ” If we see a good opportunity then we will seize it”, Liu said. He added, however, that he isn’t planning any takeovers in the logistics sector. “We want to partner with companies like DHL or UPS. That’s our first choice.”

Currently, JD has an office in Paris, staff in London and Milan, and a research center in Cambridge. It will open an office in Germany by the end of this year and is said to set up more offices in other cities in Europe.