Dec 12, 2020 02:50 PM

JD.com Increases Presence in Virtual Supermarket Aisle

picture

What’s new: Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com Inc. has increased its presence in the emerging online grocery industry by investing $700 million in Xingsheng Preference Electronic Business Ltd., or Xingsheng Selected, a Hunan province-based community group buying platform.

The investment is expected to create synergy between the two companies’ businesses in small and midsize cities “through close collaboration in technology, supply chain and logistics,” said a company statement.

JD.com’s investment is part of a new round of financing by Xingsheng Selected, a source close to Xingsheng told Caixin, adding that the round has not yet been concluded, but JD.com will probably be the lead investor.

What’s the background: Online grocery buying has become a new battlefield for China’s established and emerging tech players as the Covid-19 pandemic shifted consumer habits with more and more people getting used to buying everyday groceries via e-commerce platforms.

Internet giants like Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Meituan and Didi Chuxing Inc. have stepped into the field either by launching their own business or investing in startups.

As a leading startup in the sector, Xingsheng Selected now operates in 13 provincial-level regions and over 6,000 cities, with average daily orders topping 8 million, according to its official website. In July, the company raised $800 million in a round of funding led by New York-based buyout giant KKR & Co. Inc.

Quick Takes are condensed versions of China-related stories for fast news you can use. To read the full story in Chinese, click here.

Contact reporter Guo Yingzhe (yingzheguo@caixin.com) and editor Joshua Dummer (joshuadummer@caixin.com)

Support quality journalism in China. Subscribe to Caixin Global starting at $0.99.