By Huang Yu
In recent years, the consumer electronics and retail industries have been in constant flux. Many players thrived during the golden age of mobile internet and traditional e-commerce. However, in stark contrast to the industry's past rapid growth, established smart terminal players now find it increasingly difficult to make money solely by stacking hardware and selling through traditional channels.
The golden age of &#34;going it alone&#34; is long gone, and the benefits of traditional &#34;supply-and-sell&#34; shallow cooperation models are gradually disappearing.
In this challenging and opportunity-filled AI era, smart terminal companies and e-commerce platforms are seeking a breakthrough through deeper cooperation.
On April 2, Honor and JD.com signed a strategic cooperation agreement, officially establishing a comprehensive strategic partnership aimed at helping Honor achieve a cumulative sales target of over 100 billion yuan across all JD.com channels in the next three years.
Zhuang Shuai, an expert in the retail e-commerce industry and founder of Bailian Consulting, told Wallstreet Intelligence that Honor has been facing challenges of weak high-end performance and market share pressure in the past two years. The previous cooperation model between brands and e-commerce platforms is no longer sufficient, and selling goods alone cannot support growth.
&#34;This cooperation marks a shift for Honor and JD.com's relationship from simple traffic monetization to full-chain value symbiosis, which is a very correct strategic adjustment. For Honor, this is the only way to maintain market share and return to a high growth track; for JD.com, it is a powerful means to consolidate its 3C stronghold and enrich its AI and IoT ecosystem.&#34;
Therefore, for both Honor and JD.com, this cooperation is not just an ordinary channel procurement agreement.
<h2>Ambition for &#34;Full-Chain&#34; Cooperation</h2>
In the past few years, both mobile phone manufacturers and e-commerce platforms have inevitably hit the ceiling of existing market competition in their global expansion. To find growth within a saturated market, it is necessary to break existing cooperation boundaries.
The three-year, 100 billion yuan target set by Honor and JD.com goes beyond simply listing products for sale on JD.com; it extends to the entire lifecycle of products across mobile phones, all-scenario devices, AIoT, and robotics.
It is understood that Honor and JD.com will not only promote the first release of strategic new products but also jointly carry out IP and C2M customized projects based on their respective strengths.
For example, the two parties will co-create products for specific user groups such as delivery riders, couriers, and gamers, leveraging Honor's software and hardware customization capabilities and JD.com's user insights to create more product highlights based on real-world scenarios.
This reveals two key pieces of information: first, Honor may launch more terminal devices for segmented markets in the future, and second, JD.com will provide more market data support for Honor's product development.
In addition to products, at the user level, Honor and JD.com will integrate full-chain marketing capabilities and resources. Through joint member operations, precise user reach, and other means, they aim to further enhance the user experience. Simultaneously, the two parties will cooperate in core scenarios such as e-sports and sports health, primarily to explore more possibilities in data empowerment and advertising.
Essentially, all the above cooperations are aimed at boosting Honor's sales.
Notably, after reaching this strategic cooperation, Honor will deeply integrate its on-device large model capabilities with JD.com's AI services, JoyAI large model, and JoyInside AI ecosystem to jointly create innovative experiences for scenarios such as product recommendation, life services, and financial management.
Concurrently, Honor and JD.com have also initiated cooperation in the field of robotics and smart hardware ecosystems. For instance, JD.com's offline stores will pilot the deployment of Honor robots for customer traffic and guidance.
In the current hot spot of e-commerce competition – instant retail – the cooperation between the two parties also involves deepening omnichannel and O2O collaboration to jointly enhance instant retail business.
Furthermore, as going global becomes a major trend, Honor's terminal products will also expand their market through JD.com's Joybuy platform. The two parties will also further strengthen cooperation in domestic and international logistics and warehousing, technology, finance, and insurance.
From online to offline, from domestic to overseas, and from hardware competition to joint large models, the cooperation between Honor and JD.com has penetrated every capillary of the retail and technology ecosystem.
<h2>Giants Seek &#34;Huddling for Warmth&#34;</h2>
As both the consumer electronics and e-commerce industries enter an era of fierce competition for existing market share, the alliance between Honor and JD.com is a crucial strategy for breaking through.
For Honor, in an extremely competitive market, it intends to break through its limitations and bottlenecks by anchoring key business areas with JD.com.
It is important to note that as Huawei moved to both downward compatibility and upward breakthrough, Honor, which once appeared as a &#34;Huawei alternative,&#34; found itself in an awkward position.
Since its independence, Honor has inherited a significant amount of legacy in channels and R&amp;D. However, with Huawei's full 5G comeback, the lack of a brand moat has led to a rapid outflow of its user base back to its parent company.
Coupled with the departure of CEO Zhao Ming at the end of 2024 and frequent high-level adjustments, in the zero-sum game of market saturation, it ultimately could not withstand the impact of its elder brother's return. According to IDC data, last year, Honor's smartphone shipment market share in China fell out of the top five, becoming &#34;Others.&#34;
Against this backdrop, Honor undoubtedly hopes to solve its development challenges by relying on deep cooperation with partners like JD.com. Previously, at the 2026 Mobile World Congress (MWC 2026), Honor also unveiled its first consumer-grade humanoid robot.
Through this &#34;super order&#34; of 100 billion yuan over three years, the outside world can also see JD.com's strategic chessboard laid out across the entire electronics and related sectors.
In recent years, JD.com has continued to deepen its strategic cooperation with brands by leveraging its supply chain advantages.
Reviewing JD.com's strategic moves in recent years, its core logic is to completely abandon traditional shallow cooperation and instead establish deeply bonded strategic partnership relationships with various giants, focusing on sales targets in the hundreds of billions and tens of billions, and deepening C2M reverse customization, AI ecosystem synergy, and other core contents.
In the field of mobile smart terminals, JD.com's alliance network covers almost all mainstream domestic brands.
For example, in 2024, JD.com signed a three-year, 200 billion yuan full-channel sales target with Xiaomi. Since the beginning of this year, JD.com has also established future three-year full-channel sales targets of over 100 billion yuan with OPPO and vivo respectively.
This alliance is not limited to the mobile phone sector but also extends to PCs, AI smart hardware, and even the automotive supply chain.
In 2024, JD.com also reached a cooperation with PC giant Lenovo, clearly setting a future three-year full-channel sales target of 120 billion yuan for Lenovo on JD.com, and mutual recognition as the first AI PC pioneer partners to jointly build an AI terminal industry ecosystem and accelerate the implementation of AI PCs and other AI devices.
In the large home appliance sector, this year, JD.com signed strategic cooperation agreements with four leading home appliance giants: Midea, Haier, Hisense, and TCL. All parties have set an annual full-channel sales target of 180 billion yuan and are deeply involved in reverse product customization and the launch of high-end new products.
With the changes in global trade and technological landscapes, an industry consensus has been formed: the era of relying solely on low-price competition is over, replaced by a value war that emphasizes reverse product customization, omnichannel integration, and service experience upgrades.
JD.com's deepening cooperation with brands, setting clear sales targets in the hundreds of billions, deepening the C2M cooperation model, highlighting AI ecosystem synergy, and upgrading the full lifecycle service system reflect the ongoing restructuring of the retail ecosystem.
For smart terminal giants, embracing such deep strategic co-creation is the only way to withstand market volatility and achieve high-quality growth.

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JD.com has long been unwilling to be just a channel provider

- The collaboration between Honor and JD.com marks a strategic shift from traditional sales to a deeper partnership aimed at achieving a sales target of over 100 billion yuan within three years.  
- This alliance seeks to integrate product development and marketing strategies, focusing on co-creation for specific user demographics and enhancing user experiences through combined resources.  
- As both companies navigate the competitive landscape of the electronic and retail industries, this partnership exemplifies their approach to overcoming market challenges and pursuing sustainable growth.

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