JD.com has encountered another challenge in its European expansion strategy following the collapse of acquisition talks with Britain's second-largest supermarket chain.

J Sainsbury plc announced on Saturday through its official website that it had been in discussions with JD.com regarding the potential sale of its subsidiary Argos Retail Group Limited. The British retailer indicated that a transaction with JD.com would accelerate Argos's transformation, with the Chinese e-commerce giant bringing "world-class retail, technology and logistics expertise" while investing to drive Argos's growth and enhance customer experience.

However, Sainsbury emphasized that no agreement had been reached with JD.com and that it remained uncertain whether the transaction would proceed.

Just one day later, Sainsbury issued another statement announcing the termination of negotiations with JD.com. The company cited that JD's substantially modified terms and commitments did not serve the best interests of Sainsbury shareholders, employees, and broader stakeholders.

**JD's Strategic Focus on Europe**

Argos represents a significant retail presence in the UK as the country's second-largest general merchandise retailer, operating the nation's third most-visited retail website and maintaining over 1,100 collection points.

Prior to the Argos discussions, JD.com had already made substantial moves in the European market, particularly targeting German electronics retail giant Ceconomy. JD initially attempted to acquire Ceconomy in 2023, though negotiations failed to reach an agreement at that time. Market speculation resurfaced in late July regarding a potential JD-Ceconomy deal, with Ceconomy confirming ongoing deep negotiations while noting that no legally binding agreement had been signed.

On July 31, JD.com officially announced it had signed an investment agreement with Ceconomy, with the transaction expected to complete in the first half of 2026. Subsequently, on September 1, JD.com announced through the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that its wholly-owned indirect subsidiary JINGDONG Holding Germany GmbH had launched a voluntary public takeover offer for all Ceconomy shareholders at €4.60 per share in cash. The offer period runs from September 1, 2025, through 6:00 PM New York time on November 10, 2025, with possible extensions under specific circumstances.

This transaction values Ceconomy at €2.2 billion (approximately RMB 18.5 billion), which would represent a record for Chinese e-commerce expansion into Europe if completed. Upon completion, founding shareholder Convergenta's stake would decrease from 29% to 25.35%, while JD.com would acquire nearly 30% of the shares.

**Business Expansion and Optimization**

JD.com's cross-border platform Joybuy officially launched in France and plans to enter the German market in the near term. This follows the trial operation in London in April, marking another key strategic move in JD's European market expansion. Positioned as "JD's full-category online retail brand in Europe," Joybuy emphasizes self-operated models and rapid fulfillment capabilities, already offering same-day and next-day delivery services in France. The platform plans to promote "211" delivery services (delivery within 2 hours, order processing within 1 day) in major Western European cities.

Concurrently, JD.com is consolidating and optimizing its European operations. The previously operated Ochama platform will cease operations on August 23, 2025, with user data migrating to Joybuy. Its automated warehouse network covering 24 countries including the Netherlands, Germany, and France, along with its pickup point system, will be integrated into Joybuy to create more efficient supply chain support. Additionally, JD is focusing on core regions, maintaining operations only in the UK, France, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg while gradually closing operations in 19 other countries.

**Can JD "Recreate Itself" Overseas?**

During this year's 618 shopping festival, Liu Qiangdong clearly expressed his commitment to international markets, stating: "I hope to eventually hand over all domestic business to Sandy (current CEO Xu Ran) and focus full-time on international business." Liu emphasized that JD's international business strategy centers on local e-commerce with local team building, noting the company already employs over 2,000 people internationally for local procurement and fulfillment, selling only branded products.

Liu revealed that JD has been preparing for three years in Europe, with basic infrastructure now largely complete, though requiring another six months for refinement before being ready for operation by year-end. From initiation to actual business launch, the process spans four years, with Liu describing JD's business model as "slow, difficult, and exhausting - you need to build foundations for several years before you can do business."

JD's overseas market exploration has been marked by setbacks, particularly in Southeast Asia. In November 2015, JD partnered with Indonesian investment firm Provident Capital to create e-commerce platform JD.ID, followed three years later by JD Central in partnership with Thailand's largest retailer Central Group, both operating primarily under self-operated models. Despite establishing warehousing and logistics infrastructure in both Indonesia and Thailand to support e-commerce operations, JD failed to achieve significant business growth. In March 2023, JD ceased JD.ID and JD Central operations, exiting local e-commerce while maintaining logistics services.

Industry expert Zhou Fancai noted that JD's overseas expansion has suffered from strategic inconsistency and insufficient corporate investment, leading to stagnant overseas operations and a shift from B-to-C to B-to-B models.

Zhou believes that acquiring local European retail enterprises to leverage their brand resources and sales networks represents a reasonable strategy. In overseas markets, JD needs to combine domestic experience with local conditions to find suitable development paths. In Europe specifically, JD could utilize Ceconomy's strong local supplier systems and store networks to build localized logistics networks and improve fulfillment efficiency.

"JD's internationalization strategy has evolved from early cross-border export models to localized operation models. Through 'acquisition + empowerment' approaches, it has the potential to establish differentiated advantages in global markets characterized by local supply chains, brand credibility, and efficient fulfillment," Zhou stated.

Senior retail expert and investor Zhang Weirong noted that European markets face intense competition, with not only e-commerce giants like Amazon maintaining long-term presence but also continuous development of local e-commerce platforms in various countries, creating fierce competition for market share. Moreover, European countries exhibit significant differences in culture, consumer habits, and regulatory frameworks, placing extremely high demands on JD's localization capabilities.

Zhang believes that the termination of Argos negotiations adds uncertainty to JD's European acquisition path. Whether JD can successfully complete the Ceconomy acquisition and effectively integrate resources for synergistic development remains subject to market validation. In expanding European markets, how JD further optimizes its business model, enhances localization operations, overcomes various challenges, and truly "recreates itself" overseas undoubtedly remains an industry focus.