JD.com’s Joybuy marketplace has expanded into the UK and five other European markets, intensifying scrutiny over whether its rapid growth reflects fair competition.

Joybuy is offering same-day delivery in the UK and a subscription service priced below Amazon Prime, while building its own delivery network rather than relying on third-party couriers. The expansion also covers Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.

According to its backers, the UK service already reaches millions of households through JoyExpress, a fleet of vans, trucks and cargo bikes. Orders placed before 11am qualify for same-day delivery under Joybuy’s “Double 11” guarantee.

The speed of the launch has drawn attention because large-scale retail logistics networks in Europe usually take years to build. Joybuy has entered with a broad geographic footprint, a direct delivery operation and a low-cost subscription model, increasing pressure on established retailers already competing on convenience and price.

Regulatory focus

That pressure comes as European regulators examine JD.com’s acquisition of a majority stake in German electronics retailer Ceconomy. The European Commission is investigating whether state subsidies supported JD.com’s USD $2.5 billion bid, a question that has become central to the wider debate over the group’s expansion in Europe.

The Ceconomy deal gives JD.com immediate access to an existing store network in Europe, adding a physical retail base to its online marketplace and logistics operations. For competitors, the combination creates a model spanning warehousing, fulfilment, delivery and stores.

JD.com explored other routes into the UK retail market before building its current footprint directly. It held talks to acquire Currys and considered a deal involving Sainsbury’s Argos business, but neither resulted in a transaction.

That history suggests JD.com’s interest in the UK has remained consistent even as its approach changed. Rather than acquiring an established domestic retailer outright, it has moved to build a vertically integrated operation with its own infrastructure.

Manhattan Associates, which advises retailers on supply chain operations, said the central issue is not only service quality but whether rivals could realistically match the same pace of expansion under similar conditions.

“Sandy Xu, CEO of JD.com, is not shy about her ambitions for Europe. Consumers, she says, are ‘entitled to better service.’ It is a compelling message and, on the surface, Joybuy’s UK proposition supports it: same-day delivery, human customer service, free appliance installation and a Trustpilot score that puts Amazon to shame.

“But ambition and fair practice are not always the same thing. It is worth asking whether the conditions that have enabled JD.com to expand at this pace are ones any European retailer could legitimately replicate.

“The European Commission has already opened an investigation into whether JD.com benefited from state subsidies in its $2.5 billion bid for Ceconomy, and that investigation is ongoing. While Xu has dismissed suggestions that the Chinese government would subsidise a private company to expand overseas, regulators on both sides of the Atlantic regard the issue as serious enough to require a thorough answer.

“UK retailers operate within strict regulatory frameworks, pay their taxes and have built logistics and service capabilities through years of investment. If JD.com has done the same, competition is healthy and consumers will benefit. If it has not, then the market is being shaped by forces that have nothing to do with service excellence or consumer value.

“Joybuy’s arrival may raise standards across the industry. But knowing whether it is competing fairly is not a matter of protectionism; it is a matter of principle and good business sense,” said Pieter Van den Broecke, EMEA Leader, Supply Chain Strategies, Manhattan Associates.

Retail response

For UK retailers, the immediate challenge is operational rather than legal. Consumer expectations on delivery speed, subscription pricing and customer service can shift faster than regulatory investigations conclude, leaving incumbents little time to respond.

Retailers facing Joybuy’s offer are likely to focus on the parts of the supply chain they can control. That means improving stock visibility, reducing delays in fulfilment decisions and limiting inventory gaps that can lead to missed sales or slower delivery promises.

Established chains have spent years building distribution systems within UK and European regulatory frameworks while managing tax, labour and compliance costs that affect margins. A rival entering the market with aggressive pricing and direct logistics changes the benchmark they must meet.

The challenge is particularly acute for businesses that depend on a mix of physical stores, third-party carriers and legacy inventory systems. Those retailers may find it harder to match a model built around direct fulfilment and a tightly controlled delivery network.

Joybuy’s arrival also raises a broader question for the sector about how competition should be assessed in fast-moving retail markets. Price and service are visible to consumers, but the financing and structural conditions behind a rapid rollout are less so and can shape market dynamics just as strongly.

As regulators continue to examine JD.com’s European expansion, UK retailers are being forced to react in real time to a new standard in convenience retail. The competitive impact is already being felt, regardless of when the investigation concludes.

Gain Healthcare Ltd in Bicester is a care service that provides support to people in their homes who are elderly, sectioned under the mental health act, have disabilities, dementia, eating disorders, and substance misuse problems.

Inspectors found seven breaches of the legal regulations in relation to person-centered care, safe care and treatment, safeguarding, need for consent, and staffing.

The inspection found the service failed to ensure that medicines and treatments were safe or met people’s needs, capacities and preferences.

People were also not consistently involved in planning their medicines or in decisions about how their medicines were managed.

READ MORE: Beloved Bicester restaurant slams ‘unfair’ low food hygiene rating

The service provides care to people in and around Bicester (Image: Ed Nix)

Relatives told inspectors they did not feel confident that all staff were trained to administer their loved one’s medicines safely and sometimes chose to administer medicines themselves to reduce the risk of errors.

They did not consistently inform people of their rights, nor did they respect or lawfully apply these rights when delivering care and treatment.

The service was visited by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) between February and March this year, following concerns raised by relatives of people receiving care,

At the time of the inspection only one person was receiving care from the service.

The service was immediately placed into special measures.

Gain Healthcare Ltd has been approached for comment.

The innovative farm, home to 28 Dutch Meuse-Rhine-Issel cows, was established in May 2019 by Peter and Minke van Wingerden in the Port of Rotterdam.

Jeremy Clarkson visited the farm last year on Clarkson’s Farm and demanded Britain builds floating farms across the country’s docks in a bid to protect the environment.

The ex-Top Gear presenter suggested the idea be taken up in cities such as London, Liverpool and Manchester.

He wrote in the Sunday Times after visiting: “I was there with Kaleb, who thought he knew all about cow farming. But he was stunned by this.

The groundbreaking floating dairy farm in the Netherlands has been put up for sale after facing numerous regulatory challenges. (Image: Newsquest)

“Peter and his wife, Minke, have also opened a farm shop. It’s just like the one we have at Diddly Squat; he even has a neighbour who writes to the council every day urging them to close it down.

“I left the floating farm, genuinely surprised by the elegant simplicity of it all.”

Conceived as a futuristic solution for sustainable food production, the farm operates independently of traditional land-based farming, featuring on-site facilities for feeding, milking, slurry, and dairy production.

Despite its popularity and the interest it garnered from hundreds of thousands of visitors globally, the farm is now being sold due to running out of permission to stay in the port and what the owners describe as “ridiculous outdated demands”.

Owner Peter van Wingerden explained that the city and port’s plans to redevelop the area for residential housing were the initial reasons for the farm’s impending closure.

However, regulatory complications added to the decision to sell.

Around two years ago, the farm encountered issues with its specially designed low-emissions floor, which started to bulge, causing problems for both the cows and a robotic scraper.

The owners replaced it with another low-emissions floor made in Germany, which, despite the farm’s regular emissions monitoring showing compliance with optimum levels, was not certified in the Netherlands.

As a result, Rijnmond Environmental Service, known as DCMR, sanctioned the farm.

Despite the farm’s emissions remaining within permissible limits, the lack of certification for the new floor led to sanctions.

This prompted the owners to opt for selling the cows and the farm, which can be relocated globally.

Producing approximately 600 litres of milk daily, the farm’s high-protein, butterfat-rich milk is primarily processed into milk, yoghurt, and cheese.

The floating farm was not just a novelty but a pioneering initiative in sustainable urban farming, highlighting the potential for food production in non-traditional environments.

However, the closure underscores the challenges faced by such innovative ventures in navigating regulatory landscapes.