JD Express Expands Delivery Service to 24 Countries Across Asia, Oceania, and Americas; Loctek to Open Two Major Warehouses in Canada and UK
Latest Dynamics of Logistics & Supply Chains in China's eCom
Here’s our pick for last week’s news:
JD Express Expands Delivery Service to 24 Countries Across Asia, Oceania, and Americas
SpeedX Acquires AGS to Boost Last-Mile Delivery
Anjun Brazil Launches 'Super Express' Service in São Paulo
Loctek to Open Two Major Warehouses in Canada and UK
Fresh Life Style Brings its Total Series B Funding to $125.45M
Walmart to Pilot New Small-Store Format in China
Damon Reports 20% Revenue Growth and 60% Profit Surge for Q1-Q3 2024
Ochama Opens Automated Warehouse in Poland to Accelerate European Deliveries
JD Express Expands Delivery Service to 24 Countries Across Asia, Oceania, and Americas
JD Express has recently expanded its international delivery service to 11 new countries in Asia, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Jordan, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia. Alongside its rapid growth in Asia, JD Express is also pushing into Oceania, South America, and North America, now offering shipping to 13 more countries beyond Asia. The service is now available in Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Argentina, Panama, Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay, Chile, Venezuela, and Suriname.
SpeedX Acquires AGS to Boost Last-Mile Delivery
SpeedX, a leader in tech-enabled last-mile delivery, has acquired Accelerated Global Solutions (AGS), a New York City-based freight and customs services provider. Financial terms were not disclosed, and both companies will continue to operate separately under their existing brands. In 2024, the two companies are projected to generate over $500 million in revenue.
AGS operates key warehouses and offices across North America, including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, Atlanta, San Francisco, Portland, Dallas/Fort Worth, and Toronto. Its extensive presence in Greater China and Southeast Asia's major ports positions it well to support high-volume cross-border trade and streamline logistics, facilitating rapid market entry.
Anjun Brazil Launches 'Super Express' Service in São Paulo
On November 1, Anjun Brazil rolled out its new "Anjun Super Express" service, targeting Brazilian online sellers and platforms with high demands for speed. Currently, the service is available within São Paulo city, with options for same-day and next-day delivery. Orders placed by 12:00 p.m. will be delivered by 10:00 p.m. the same day, while orders placed after 12:00 p.m. will arrive by 10:00 p.m. the next day. The service had a successful trial run in October, with a 99.2% on-time rate.
Loctek to Open Two Major Warehouses in Canada and UK
Lecangs, Loctek's overseas warehousing arm, is set to open two major facilities on November 15, one in Toronto, Canada, with 320,000 square feet and the other in Northampton, UK, with 130,000 square feet. Following this, Lecangs now operates 21 warehouses worldwide, totaling over 7 million square feet of storage.
While "Loctek Ergonomics" remains the top search term for the company, its latest earnings report highlights overseas warehousing as the main growth engine. In the first three quarters of 2024, revenue from overseas warehousing hit $200.58 million, a 147% increase, with Q3 revenue alone reaching $83.63 million, up 177%. The mid-year report shows that overseas warehousing contributed $68.02 million to Loctek's revenue increase, about 65% of the total growth.
Fresh Life Style Brings its Total Series B Funding to $125.45M
Fresh Life Style Supply Chain Management has completed a B+ funding worth hundreds of millions of RMB. This new financing follows its Series B in 2022, bringing the total Series B funds close to $125.45 million, the largest single funding in China's cold chain logistics.
Founded in 2016, Fresh Life Style focuses on cold chain services for the food industry, supporting restaurants, fresh food retailers, and food producers with a complete solution from source to storefront. So far, the company serves over 5,000 clients, with more than 60% coverage of the top 20 companies in specific sectors, and reaches 1.08 million stores nationwide across 31 provinces and 2,800 districts and counties.
Earlier this year, Fresh Life Style partnered with a top logistics company in Singapore to establish its first overseas cold chain supply chain there, aiming to expand further across Southeast Asia and opening a promising new chapter for its international business.
Walmart to Pilot New Small-Store Format in China
Walmart is reported to pilot a new small-store format in Shenzhen and Yunnan, modeled after Sam's Club's cloud warehouses. The stores would utilize Walmart's larger stores for inventory with selected products, and employ a front-warehouse mode to expand online operations. This is part of Walmart's strategy for growth in China, aiming to replicate the success of Sam's Club.
Despite steady growth, Walmart's hypermarkets in China have faced difficulties in recent years. During China's retail boom, Walmart picked key urban areas and enjoyed cheaper rents, but upgrades to customer experience and equipment didn't keep up, weighing on performance.
With some leases expiring after 20 years, Walmart decided to close some stores to explore new paths. Media reports indicate that between 2020 and 2023, Walmart China closed 49 stores, with an additional 16 closures in the first half of 2024, largely due to lease expiration without renewal. The remaining hypermarkets are actively seeking new ways to grow.
Damon Reports 20% Revenue Growth and 60% Profit Surge for Q1-Q3 2024
Damon Technology has announced its earnings for Q3 2024, reporting a revenue of $164.48 million for the first three quarters, up 20.13% year-over-year, with net profit surging 60.66% to $16.31 million. Specializing in logistics equipment, Damon offers end-to-end solutions across the industry chain, from core components and essential equipment to intelligent logistics solutions, including smart warehousing, flexible handling, logistics robots, and smart logistics systems.
The company started its global journey in 2011 with a factory in Melbourne, Australia. In 2015, Damon entered the European market with a manufacturing base in Romania, followed by an office in India in 2020. Now, Damon operates in over 30 countries, with overseas revenue rising from 16.4% in 2018 to 30% in 2023, with a gross profit margin nearly 10% higher than its domestic figures.
In H1 2023, Damon deepened its partnership with Shein, providing smart logistics for five of its logistics centers across China. In August, Damon won a bid for Shein's new smart logistics project in the U.S. from Style Link Logistics LLC, valued at $23.5 million.
Ochama Opens Automated Warehouse in Poland to Accelerate European Deliveries
Ochama announced the opening of an automated warehouse in Poznań, Poland, which will make deliveries faster and improve the shopping experience, especially in Poland and Germany. Orders in Poland will be delivered by the next day, with same-day delivery available, and deliveries in Germany within 48 hours will now be 80% on time. Spanning 27,000 square meters and situated near Germany, the new warehouse, along with five others in the Netherlands and France, will serve 24 countries across Europe.
Ochama is an omni-channel retailer launched by Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com to serve as a one stop online shop with a full range of A-brand products. During 2023, Ochama shifted its focus to compete with the newly launched Temu by PDD.