Chinese retail giant JD.com is hiring for more than 150 jobs in the UK, as it readies for the launch of its full-category online store Joybuy.
The roles cover multiple functions, including jobs in JD.com’s growing network of UK warehouses and distribution centres as well as head office roles such as category manager, data analyst, accountant, developer, and user experience designer.
The recruitment blitz will increase the current UK full-time headcount of JD.com – which stands at 250, with many more employed on a contract basis – by 60%.
“Joybuy is JD.com’s online retail business in Europe, dedicated to creating a more joyful shopping experience for our customers,” a spokesman told The Grocer. “Our service in the UK is currently in the beta testing phase, but we’re continuing to recruit great people to create an amazing customer journey, as we build towards our full commercial launch later this year.”
Joybuy in the UK
In April, JD.com – China’s largest retailer by revenue – test-launched the Joybuy UK e-commerce site. It features an extensive range of ambient and frozen foods, household, baby, beverages, personal care, beauty, health, pet, and nicotine products from both major brands and Morrisons own label. Joybuy offers same-day delivery for orders received before 11am, and next-day delivery for those made after.
The company – which over the weekend saw discussions with Sainsbury’s to acquire Argos come to an abrupt end – has already quietly assembled a highly experienced team of UK grocery buyers and category chiefs.
Matthew Nobbs, former commercial director for rapid grocery player Gorillas, director of trading for Holland & Barrett and senior buying director for Lidl UK, was named as JD.com UK chief merchandise officer in February. Nobbs said he was “getting ready to rumble in the UK for one of China’s biggest success stories” in a LinkedIn post in April.
Richard Thorn, a former online trading manager at Sainsbury’s and Asda account lead for PepsiCo, was appointed senior category manager for food & beverage in January, joining from TikTok Shop UK, where he was food and drink lead. Buyers have also been recruited from Ocado Retail, Amazon and Tesco.
“Whether you’re shaping category strategies from scratch, decoding supply chain data, or crafting campaigns to captivate European shoppers, your skills will fuel our growth in this fast-paced, global playground,” one of the live job posts states.
In recent years, JD.com has been growing its presence outside China, establishing warehouses in the Netherlands, Poland and France, and “active assets” in the UK, Germany, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Indonesia, with “plans to enter other overseas markets”.
In 2022, as part of a major European advance, JD.com launched Ochama – a “one-stop shop for groceries, essentials, electronics and more” in the Netherlands. This has since been “upgraded” to Joybuy, which has been rolled out across Belgium, France, Germany and Luxembourg.
In July, German electronics retailer Ceconomy was acquired by the Chinese giant in a deal worth $2.5bn, after it walked away from a bid for Currys in 2024.
Expected to complete in the first half of next year, the deal will give JD.com control of one of the largest online electronic goods retail operations in Europe and around 1,000 stores in multiple European countries.
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