Walmart has sold its shares in Chinese ecommerce player JD.com, ending its direct investment in the Alibaba rival after more than eight years. The relationship began when Walmart sold its China ecommerce operations to JD.com in June 2016, taking a 5% stake in the company as part of the deal. By February 2017, Walmart had increased its investment to 12.1%, and in August 2018 Walmart and JD.com invested $500 million in Chinese grocery delivery company Dada-JD Daojia.
However, in recent years Walmart has been making progress on its own in China. For FY 2024, which ended Jan. 31, 2024, the retailer generated net sales of $17.01 billion in the country, up from $14.71 billion during the previous fiscal year. Walmart’s commitment to operating in China includes its July 2019 announcement that it would invest $1.2 billion to build or upgrade 10 distribution centers in the country during the next 10 to 20 years.
In contrast, JD.com has struggled to maintain market share against multiple rivals, including the discount shopping app Pinduoduo and social platforms venturing into ecommerce such as Xioahongshu and Douyin, the app owned by ByteDance, which runs TikTok outside of China. However, despite these challenges and overall slowing in the Chinese economy, JD.com did increase its net revenues in 2023, generating $152.8 billion, a 3.7% increase over 2022.
“Our strategy in recent years has been consistent, to align our portfolio to have the best path to success in our markets,” said a Walmart spokesperson in comments provided to Retail TouchPoints. “JD has been a valued partner to us over the past eight years, and we are committed to a continued commercial relationship with them. This decision allows us to focus on our strong China operations for Walmart China and Sam’s Club, and deploy capital toward other priorities. We look forward to continuing to serve customers and members in China and around the world.”
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