Walmart is making a strategic investment of $50 million in New Dada, China’s largest local on-demand logistics and grocery e-commerce platform.
According to officials with the retailer, the investment is an extension of Walmart’s broader agreement with JD.com and cooperation with New Dada, which includes using New Dada’s network to offer customers two-hour delivery on groceries ordered from Walmart stores through the JD Daojia Dada app.
The two-hour delivery service is available to customers within a three kilometer radius of more than 20 Walmart stores that are currently part of the program. The number of Walmart stores offering two-hour delivery is expected to double by the end of the year.
New Dada an independent joint venture of JD.com and Dada, and has more than 25 million registered customers and provides local on-demand delivery capabilities with 2.5 million crowd-sourced deliverers across more than 300 cities in China, according to the company. Walmart has 426 China locations in nearly 170 cities.
“All around the world, we’re creating seamless shopping experiences that bring together our stores, sites and apps to make shopping faster and easier,” said Doug McMillon, Walmart CEO. “Our alliance with JD and cooperation with New Dada will enable seamless shopping to millions of customers across China.”
“Today’s announcement brings together the global retail leader and China’s largest grocery delivery network to create a unique new shopping experience,” said Philip Kuai, CEO of New Dada. “Combining New Dada’s unparalleled delivery network with Walmart stores means consumers will enjoy convenient access to a wide range of high-quality goods delivered to their homes and offices in record time.”
News of the investment comes a day after Walmart and JD.com announced their collaboration on three new services which broaden the company’s reach in China— exclusive Sam’s Club and Walmart Global Imports stores on JD.com, and two-hour grocery delivery through New Dada.
