JD founder Richard Liu: "I think globally"
JD.com CEO Richard Liu announces a massive Europe expansion in a Handelsblatt interview – taking aim at Amazon, Otto and Zalando.
JD.com CEO Richard Liu has big plans for Europe. In Beijing I met the founder of China’s second-largest online retailer for an interview. He announces a direct attack on Amazon, Otto and Zalando – with a German office set to open before the end of the year.
What is at stake
Richard Liu is one of the most influential tech entrepreneurs in China. His company JD.com turns over hundreds of billions of dollars annually, employs hundreds of thousands of people and operates one of the most advanced logistics networks in the world – with autonomous warehouses, drone delivery and same-day delivery in virtually all major Chinese cities. In this interview Liu makes clear: that infrastructure is now coming to Europe.
The core message
“I think globally,” says Liu. Three words that sum up his entire strategy. JD no longer wants to be merely Amazon’s challenger in China – it wants to be a globally operating company. Concretely that means: direct sales to European customers, a German office, and in the long run its own local logistics build-out. That makes JD a serious rival for German retailers too.
The JD model
Unlike Alibaba, which functions mainly as a platform for third-party sellers, JD operates its own warehouses and its own logistics. This direct model is closer to Amazon than to Alibaba – and allows tight control over quality and delivery time. In China JD has held its ground against Alibaba. Whether the model also works in Europe is the open question.
What came of it
Liu initially kept his promise: JD opened a German office in 2018 and invested in European logistics partnerships. But the breakthrough never came. In 2018 Liu was arrested in the United States on a rape allegation (which was later dropped) – a shock for JD and a break in his public profile. Today JD stands behind Alibaba and newer challengers such as Pinduoduo and Temu. Liu’s global ambition has faded in the shadow of this younger wave of Chinese e-commerce.
I conducted this interview for Handelsblatt in Beijing.
