JD.com Q2 revenue climbs 43.6%

Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com reported second quarter revenue that grew 43.6% year-on-year, reaching 93.2 billion renminbi (US$13.7 billion), far surpassing the firm’s guidance by closet to five percentage points.

While JD.com reported back in May its first profit in years, the company swung back to loss this quarter, recording a 287 million renminbi decline, after notching a gain in the first quarter.

At the time, JD.com chief financial officer Sidney Huang had advised that revenue growth would be between 35 and 39% year-on-year for the second-quarter, which it smashed.

For the three months ended June 30, the company said it fulfilled 591.2 million orders, an increase of 41%. Mobile accounted for some 80%, a huge leap compared to the 42% in the same period last year.

During the quarter, JD.com announced plans to invest $397 million into London-based luxury e-commerce site Farfetch and started stocking Swarovski, Zenith, Mammut, Juicy Couture and Armani to its site. Moreover, JD.com launched its prestigious “white-glove” delivery service, offering a site-to-door premium experience for online shopping.

“Our apparel category has reached now a very healthy state, which is what we had hoped for, and we are expecting a very healthy growth trajectory from now on,” said Richard Liu, chairman and chief executive officer of JD.com.

Last week, JD.com announced it is rolling out offline “JD Retail Experience Shops”, where customers can touch and feel products. On August 8, the e-commerce firm partnered with American retailer Walmart for its inaugural shopping festival, which saw the two retail juggernauts link their supply chains and other operations for the event.

Looking ahead, the company said it is working on launching its own luxury platform. The news comes as Alibaba revealed plans for a new luxury pavilion, with JD.com set to rival fellow Chinese firm’s high-end brand selection with its own version.