Chinese e-commerce company JD.com Inc closed its office in Melbourne Australia this week after a short run of 15 months, and the employees have left the office, the Australian Financial Review reported Thursday.
In response to the closure of the Australian office, a spokesperson at JD said it was a normal development and JD's headquarters in Beijing will take care of its business in Oceania, according to the report.
JD will continue to strengthen cooperation with exporters from Australia and New Zealand, "with the importance of the Australian market unchanged," and its business will not be affected by this operational adjustment, it said.
"It is actually a reasonable move for [JD] to close its Australian office, and therefore to adjust its globalization plan," Liu Dingding, a Beijing-based senior industry analyst, told the Global Times Thursday.
"According to the financial report of JD, its main source of revenue is still China market. Meanwhile, with increasingly fierce competition from domestic e-commerce platforms, JD's sales growth has faltered in recent years," Liu said.
Enhancing its domestic business should be JD's priority, he noted.
The Global Times noted that commodities from Australia, including milk powder and health care products, are still available on the e-commerce platform and have not been affected.
JD set up the Australian office in February 2018 with the support of the local government to provide retail services to customers in Australia and New Zealand through an exclusive partnership with China-based internet giant Tencent Holdings.
"Our move into Australia is an important step to meet the high demand for quality products from customers in Australia and New Zealand," Liu Qiangdong, JD's founder and CEO was quoted as saying at that time, according to domestic media outlet lanjingtmt.com.
Since then, Liu has made headlines, involving his brief arrest and sexual assault litigation in the US state of Minnesota, selling his Sydney mansion at a loss, and reducing the salary and benefits of his employees.
