JD.com to launch five discount stores as competition intensifies

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BEIJING (Reuters) -Chinese retailer JD.com plans to open five discount superstores in two Chinese cities, marking its latest move into new segments as competition intensifies in its core e-commerce market.

Confirming a report in Beijing Business Today, a government-backed newspaper, the company told Reuters on Tuesday that the supermarkets will be in Zhuozhou city in Hebei province and Suqian, Jiangsu province.

The first outlet in Zhuozhou will span 5,000 square metres and will carry everything from detergent to chocolate, with prices intended to be below prevailing market levels.

JD first entered the market last year with the opening of two smaller discount stores in Beijing, aiming to tempt cautious shoppers to spend as China’s consumption recovery stalls.

The 27-year-old e-commerce retailer launched “instant delivery” services for food and other goods earlier this year, kickstarting a subsidy war between itself and rival platforms such as Alibaba and Meituan.

It also announced that it would renew an international push for growth, launching its consumer-focused express delivery service abroad. It also bought Germany’s Ceconomy, Europe’s largest consumer electronics retailer, for 2.2 billion euros ($2.5 billion) last month.

Other rivals have been adjusting their bricks-and-mortar retail operations.

On Tuesday, local newspaper The Economic Observer reported that the final Freshippo X club store, the membership store which is part of Alibaba’s grocery chain, will close its doors on August 31, ending an attempt to battle Costco and Sam’s Club.

($1 = 0.8665 euros)

(Reporting by Sophie Yu and Brenda Goh; Editing by David Holmes)