JD.com launches delivery service in Europe, challenging Amazon & DHL

The European logistics market is getting a new, financially strong player. JD.com, China's highest-grossing retailer, is bringing its in-house express service JoyExpress to Europe. The move is part of Jingdong Logistics and marks a turning point: while competitors often rely on external partners, JD.com is building its own infrastructure. The fleet of trucks, vans, and e-cargo bikes is set to operate from over 60 locations at launch, including in Germany, France, and the Netherlands.

In metropolitan regions, orders are expected to arrive on the same day they are placed or the next morning. Initially, JoyExpress supports its own platform Joybuy, which is in the beta phase. In Germany, the service currently focuses primarily on urban conurbations in its beta phase. In the West, the network is already quite dense: in North Rhine-Westphalia, the delivery service covers cities like Cologne and Düsseldorf. Logistics are also active in Hesse (Greater Frankfurt/Gießen) and parts of Baden-Württemberg.

In addition to parcel deliveries, JoyExpress offers the delivery and installation of large household appliances in selected metropolises. In this area, traditional parcel services often reach their limits. Prospectively, the service is intended to be open to external partners, thus becoming direct competition for DHL & Co.

Strategic infrastructure for the German market

Behind the launch is more than just calculation in the delivery sector. Industry insiders see JoyExpress as an infrastructural precursor for the planned takeover of MediaMarktSaturn. While Joybuy is hardly relevant so far, the combination of JD's logistics power and MediaMarktSaturn's dense branch network would unleash new dynamics. Logistics could become the decisive strategic advantage here, especially in competition with Amazon.

(mma)