A recent financial report from JD.com shows that the company experienced an increase in revenue in its second quarter of 2020 when compared to the same quarter of 2019. JD.com Inc. is a Chinese e-commerce retailer. Liu Qiangdong is the founder of JD.com Inc. and is a Chinese Internet entrepreneur. He has often been compared to Jeff Bezos. Despite the fact that these men live on opposite sides of the globe, they are both self-made, successful, and innovative.
Between April and June 2020, JD.com Inc. experienced an increase of 33.8 percent from the same period of time in the previous year. Their revenue for that time period was $28.5 billion USD. The CFO of JD.com Inc. mentioned that the company was proud that they were able to play an important role in allowing consumers to have to what they needed despite constraints related to the pandemic. The purchasing behavior from off-line to online during the coronavirus pandemic added to the strong performance of JD.com during the quarter.
Key Points from the Second Quarter Report
Liu Qiangdong, the CEO of JD.com, mentioned that the company was in a unique position to help consumers thrive during the pandemic. The company was able to steadfastly leverage their technology capabilities and distinctive supply-chain to ensure an uninterrupted delivery of necessities to consumers. They were able to support their business partners, create jobs, and contribute to society despite the challenges associated with the COVID-19 outbreak.
JD.com experienced a 45 percent increase in sales in the category of general merchandise, which was led by healthcare and supermarket sales. Their net revenue from sales was $9.1 billion USD. Their supermarket categories, including FMCG and Fresh Produce, experienced this uptick in sales because many Chinese consumers shopped online for food products.
JD Super is China’s largest supermarket and is used for both off-line and online shopping. The retail CEO of JD Super said that they will continue to strengthen their capabilities related to their supply-chain to offer competitive prices and satisfy consumers. They will continue to collaborate with JD Logistics to improve efficiency with fulfillments and bring down costs.
JD Health is China’s largest pharmaceutical retailer. They experienced growth during the second quarter of 2020. Their medical consultation services that are offered online grew by 400 percent. This growth is attributed to the fact that patients needed medical advice with low contact during the COVID-19 outbreak. The report showed that around 80 percent of new consumers were from low-tier cities.
JD Retail employed special techniques in marketing to reach costumers during the pandemic. They introduced instant delivery for some products, which allows a consumer to receive their product in one hour or less, they added some high-end and luxury products, and they used live stream events.
According to the report, administrative and general costs during the second quarter of 2020 were about the same in comparison to the same time period during 2019.
More about JD.com and Liu Qiangdong
In 1998, Liu Qiangdong founded JD in the city of Beijing. It was a small retail store that sold optical products. After the SARS epidemic 2003, JD closed its physical doors and shifted to selling eyewear and electronics online. In 2015, JD.com went public. It employs around 240,000 individuals and is worth about $12 billion.
The SARS epidemic 2003 proved to be a fortunate event for JD.com. It caused Qiangdong to find an alternate way to connect with consumers. Liu Qiangdong saw the importance of having a business online, offering good customer service, and being in control of product distribution. This led to JD.com investing in its own warehouses, delivery trucks, and delivery logistics.