JD Group, the parent company of e-commerce giant JD.com, has announced a strategic partnership with China’s biggest online travel agency Trip.com to integrate their traffic and supply chains as the country’s travel industry works to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Why it matters: JD’s push into the tourism sector underscores its confidence in the industry’s revival, which was brought to near-standstill during the lockdown.
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Details: JD Group and Trip.com inked a partnership under which the two companies would cooperate across various sectors including user traffic funneling, marketing, business development, and e-commerce, according to a statement from the company on Sunday.
- The Beijing-based online retailer is adopting a more open approach towards partner cooperation, diversifying the products and services on offer as well as enriching its marketing channels.
- Under the deal, JD will connect Trip.com with its 8 million enterprise clients and 400 million individual users.
- Meanwhile, the firm expects the tie-up will help diversify its business operations and upgrade its supply chain capacities.
Context: JD is on a shopping spree this month with a $100 million strategic investment in supply chain enterprise Li & Fung Group, the acquisition of home appliance chain 5 Star Electric, and RMB 3 billion ($432 million) acquisition of courier Kuayue Express.
- A corporation with Trip.com comes three months after JD inked a partnership with short video platform Kuaishou, a move to drive sales through livestreaming.
- The e-commerce giant renewed its push into the tourism market through an agreement with state-owned tourism operator Beijing Tourism Group (BTG) in July and pumped RMB 450 million into travel service Caissa in April for a 7.4% stake.
- JD rival Alibaba has a solid presence in the travel market with its tourism unit Fliggy.
- Trip.com, formerly known as Ctrip, is reportedly considering delisting from Nasdaq. The company is offering discounts and coupons to spur travel consumption.