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JD.com Shares Growth Playbook for UK Brands in China at CBBC Brand Excellence Summit
On August 20, JD.com joined the 2026 UK-China Brand Excellence Summit, hosted by the China-Britain Business Council (CBBC) in Shanghai, to share practical insights on how UK brands can enter China, understand local consumers, and build sustainable growth.
The summit brought together more than 150 industry experts from over 20 brands to explore China’s evolving consumer market, growth opportunities for UK brands and the international expansion of Chinese companies.
Speaking on the panel “The Creation of an E-commerce Phenomenon vs. a Slow-Burn Offline Presence: How to Build an Omnichannel Strategy,” Marcia Mao, General Manager of Business Development at JINGDONG Cross-Border, the cross-border import e-commerce platform under JD.com, outlined a four-stage pathway JD.com has observed among international brands entering China: cross-border market testing, consumer engagement through localised content, brand building and omnichannel growth.
For emerging and mid-sized UK brands in particular, Mao highlighted cross-border e-commerce as an asset-light way to test the market. Brands can start with lower upfront investment and lighter inventory, use real consumer feedback to identify their target audiences and potential hero products, and then scale behind what works.
“China is a huge market, but that doesn’t mean every consumer is your consumer. Start light, find the right customer base, learn from real consumer feedback, and then invest behind what works,” said Mao.
Today, JINGDONG Cross-Border offers products from more than 20,000 international brands across over 100 countries and regions. Its “10 Billion GigaGrowth Plan”, launched in 2025, aims to introduce 1,000 new international brands to China over three years, supported by JD.com’s capabilities across global sourcing, supply chain and logistics solutions, localised marketing, consumer insights and more.
As brands move beyond initial market testing, Mao noted that the focus increasingly shifts from simply selling products to building consumer recognition through storytelling and more local engagement. JD.com works with international brands on localised content, livestreaming and origin visits to bring their heritage, craftsmanship and brand stories closer to Chinese consumers.
Omnichannel engagement is another important part of this journey. Experience-led categories such as fragrances, wines and food can benefit from physical trial and discovery, while higher-consideration purchases such as jewelry, watches and furniture often require greater trust and hands-on experience. Toys, IP products and other impulse-driven categories can similarly benefit from offline discovery followed by convenient online purchasing.
By the end of Q2 2026, 30 JD MALLs were operating across China, providing physical spaces for consumers to discover and experience products. Combined with JD.com’s e-commerce, consumer insights and fulfillment capabilities, these touchpoints can help brands turn offline engagement into digital relationships, identify “seed” consumers and reach relevant audiences more effectively online.
JD MALL in Shanghai’s Qibao commercial district, opened in June 2026.
JD.com’s participation builds on its growing collaboration with CBBC. In January 2026, the two organizations signed a long-term strategic partnership to support more UK brands entering the Chinese market, connecting British businesses with JD.com’s more than 700 million customers and its broader retail and supply chain ecosystem.
The summit brought together a broad UK-China business community, including Dettol, Little Moons, Diageo, Ahmad Tea, MINISO and Florasis, The event was opened by Tom Simpson, Managing Director & Chief Representative, China at CBBC; Sohail Shaikh, Deputy HM Trade Commissioner for China, and representatives from Shanghai’s Xuhui District.
Building on its partnership with CBBC, JD.com will continue working with the UK business community to help more brands understand Chinese consumers, navigate the market and scale sustainably. This includes its participation in the UK-to-China Trade Booster, alongside CBBC, HSBC UK and ICBC London, providing UK businesses with practical market-readiness, route-to-market and commercial support while fostering greater two-way business exchange between China and the UK.
(vivian.yang@jd.com)