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  • April 2018 (Revised November 2019)
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JD: Envisioning the Future of Retail (A)

By: Feng Zhu and Shirley Sun
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:23
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Abstract

JD, China’s second largest e-commerce company by gross merchandise volume (GMV) after Alibaba, had expanded rapidly from 2012 to 2016. When the company celebrated its 13th birthday in 2017, Richard Liu, its founder, deliberated on the company’s growth strategies. The landscape of China’s e-commerce market had changed drastically in recent years. The growth in the e-commerce market had declined significantly. Furthermore, the advancement of AI and big data was turning shopping into a boundaryless experience—consumers could purchase products tailored to their preferences anywhere and anytime. Finally, JD’s rival, Alibaba, had made rapid moves to improve its logistics capabilities and expanded aggressively in the offline market. Liu must decide how JD should compete and how to expand the company’s offline strategy.

Keywords

Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Strategy; E-commerce; Retail Industry; China

Citation

Zhu, Feng, and Shirley Sun. "JD: Envisioning the Future of Retail (A)." Harvard Business School Case 618-051, April 2018. (Revised November 2019.)
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About The Author

Feng Zhu

Technology and Operations Management
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Related Work

    • June 2019 (Revised November 2019)
    • Faculty Research

    JD: Envisioning the Future of Retail (B)

    By: Feng Zhu and Shirley Sun
    • November 2019
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    JD: Envisioning the Future of Retail (A) and (B)

    By: Feng Zhu and Shirley Sun
    • April 2018 (Revised November 2019)
    • Faculty Research

    JD: Envisioning the Future of Retail (A)

    By: Feng Zhu and Shirley Sun
Related Work
  • JD: Envisioning the Future of Retail (B) By: Feng Zhu and Shirley Sun
  • JD: Envisioning the Future of Retail (A) and (B) By: Feng Zhu and Shirley Sun
  • JD: Envisioning the Future of Retail (A) By: Feng Zhu and Shirley Sun
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