Executive Summary

• On February 2, JD.com, China’s leading online retailer, announced a partnership with Fung Retailing, the retail business arm of Hong Kong conglomerate the Fung Group, to transform the retail landscape using artificial intelligence (AI).
• We view the partnership as part of JD.com’s Boundaryless Retail Strategy, which aims to transform the company’s retail business into an open platform to support other retailers by providing “retail as a service.”
• The move will be a big boost to Fung Retailing and the Fung Group’s AI initiatives to improve the consumer retail experience as well as improve its operational efficiency.