‘Our competitors are everyone’: Joybuy leads ‘China’s Amazon’ into the UK

Taking on its US rival in Britain is expected to lead to ‘collateral damage’ for UK retailers

“We’re here to shake up the UK e-commerce market,” says Matthew Nobbs, the UK boss of Joybuy which is spearheading a European charge by China’s version of Amazon.

“I see our competitors as everyone,” he adds, reflecting the scale of ambition of the online retailer that sells home appliances, groceries, makeup and more.

Joybuy is owned by China’s JD.com, the giant online and high street retail group which is taking on its US rival Amazon in Britain in a clash that is expected to lead to “collateral damage” for UK retailers caught up in the tussle for shoppers.

JD.com – not to be confused with the British sportswear chain JD Sports – was founded in 1998 by Liu Qiangdong as Jingdong, a physical store selling office equipment.