JD.com

JD.com, also known as Jingdong Group, is a Chinese e-commerce giant that started as a small electronics stall in Beijing back in 1998. Founder Liu Qiangdong, a sociology graduate who taught himself to code, opened a four-square-meter shop in Zhongguancun selling magneto-optical products. He built the business on a promise of authenticity, offering fixed prices and official receipts in a market flooded with counterfeits. The shift to online came in 2004 when the retail platform went live, initially as jdlaser.com, and the company never looked back.

Today, JD.com is China's largest retailer by revenue, pulling in over US$158.8 billion in 2024. It ranks 47th on the Fortune Global 500 and serves more than 600 million customers. What sets JD apart from rivals like Alibaba is its massive self-operated logistics network. The company runs the biggest fulfillment infrastructure of any e-commerce player in China, allowing 90% of orders to arrive the same or next day. That infrastructure also powers a sprawling portfolio that includes JD Retail, JD Logistics, JD Health, and newer ventures like food delivery and AI tools.

JD's brand has evolved dramatically since its early days as 360buy. In 2013, it rebranded to JD.com and introduced a new logo and mascot. The company has also made strategic moves to stay competitive, such as launching the ChatRhino language model in 2023 and rolling out a 10-Billion-Yuan Subsidy campaign to win back price-sensitive shoppers. With a dual-class share structure that keeps founder Liu Qiangdong in firm control as chairman, JD.com continues to shape the future of retail in China and beyond. [edit]