Click image for details On February 20, Alibaba held a new retail strategy conference in Shanghai, announcing a strategic partnership with Bailian to make Shanghai a testing ground for new retail. However, a reporter's investigation found that JD.com has already laid out its new retail presence, benchmarking Alibaba's new retail. Unlike Alibaba's high-profile strategy, JD's physical stores are low-key and secretive. The reporter discovered JD physical stores in Beijing's Aiqinhai and Tongzhou Wanda. Taking the Aiqinhai store in Chaoyang District, Beijing as an example, JD's physical store is named "JD·Jingxuan Space" and is located inside a Yonghui Superstores. In August 2015, JD invested 4.31 billion yuan in Yonghui Superstores, acquiring a 10% stake and the right to appoint two independent directors. In the press release at the time, JD cited reasons for the investment as "exploring cooperation in joint procurement, warehousing and logistics, integrating online and offline O2O, finance, and information technology." No matter how high-profile the investment, equity participation, or strategic cooperation, it must be built on solid implementation. At the Jingxuan Space store in Beijing's Aiqinhai, the reporter saw that the displayed products focus on 3C and digital products, which aligns with JD's overall competitive advantage. Using JD's strongest and most supply-chain-optimized 3C products as a test best reveals the experimental results. ▲ Products displayed at Jingxuan Space From the display counters, the store is not large, about 20 square meters. Located in the middle of Yonghui Superstores, there are about 3-4 staff members for product display and customer guidance. Staff told the reporter that Jingxuan Space is mainly to help users see physical products and optimize the shopping process. The entire shopping process is divided into two categories: products displayed in the store and products not displayed in the store. Both can be ordered through online QR code payment, and staff can assist with the operation. ▲ Shopping process displayed in the store Staff told the reporter that the Aiqinhai store was opened in November 2016, nearly four months ago. There has been little media coverage so far, and no specific sales-per-square-meter data. There are currently three similar physical stores nationwide, with the other two located in Beijing's Tongzhou Wanda and Chongqing in the southwest. In addition to 3C products, the store also has a relatively large number of international products promoted by JD's "Global Shopping" initiative, such as cosmetics and personal care products. The physical store also sells JD E-cards, with detailed sales points posted on the store walls. ▲ JD E-card sales points posted on the wall ▲ JD Global Shopping products displayed in the store ▲ JD personal care products displayed in the store The reporter asked JD about this, and JD's response was that many people are indeed unaware of the physical stores. A JD PR representative said she had also heard about the project for the first time. However, according to the group's response, Jingxuan Space is part of JD Group's overall strategy. Its main purposes are as follows:

  • Explore the offline new retail model, bring JD closer to serving customers, and further enhance customer experience.
  • Strengthen the strategic cooperation between JD and Yonghui Superstores, complement each other's advantages in customer base and categories, and conduct in-depth cooperation in branding, publicity, and marketing.
  • Better serve offline customers, expand the customer base, and enhance brand influence and reputation. JD also has a physical store format called "JD Help" in third- and fourth-tier cities. However, its categories and business model differ from "Jingxuan Space": in terms of categories, JD Help focuses on home appliances, while Jingxuan Space covers JD's full range; in terms of business model, JD Help operates in third- and fourth-tier cities, providing delivery and repair services to customers, while Jingxuan Space operates at Yonghui Superstores locations, providing product experience guidance, publicity, and customer maintenance services. Whether it is "Jingxuan Space" or "JD Help," both are ways JD implements its "channel sinking" strategy. Choosing Yonghui Superstores as the entry point for stores has two advantages: first, it can leverage Yonghui's offline resources and foot traffic to drive traffic to each other, and both parties should have negotiation advantages in cooperation and entry agreements; second, it provides a research model for cooperation, and once sales per square meter are reasonable, there is potential for large-scale replication. At the Alibaba-Bailian cooperation meeting, Alibaba CEO Zhang Yong emphasized that future new retail will create many business models that people "cannot understand." The meeting did not disclose more detailed cooperation models or implementation strategies. It can be understood that Jingxuan Space is JD's exploration and attempt at offline "new retail," still in a very early stage. No sales data has been published. Whether Alibaba or JD, the "new retail" transformation will inevitably be a series of cooperation attempts between e-commerce and physical retail. -END-