Old and new 'can exist in harmony'

E-commerce platforms and bricks-and-mortar stores could coexist and complement each other, analysts said on Monday, after the CEO of powerful Chinese e-commerce platform JD.com made disparaging remarks during a television program about its rival's offline stores in his hometown.

Liu Qiangdong, chairman and CEO of JD, said it is a shame to see its rivals, Suning Commerce Group and Gome Electrical Appliances Holding Ltd, two of the biggest electronic offline retailers in China, still surviving in Suqian, in eastern China's Jiangsu province, which is also Liu's hometown.

Liu's remarks were revealed in a recent CCTV documentary series while he was motivating employees at JD's Suqian branch.