Chinese Again in European Shopping: Targeting Puma, Stores, and Warehouses

Chinese capital is returning to Europe in a big way, and a series of high-profile acquisitions in retail and the fashion industry shows a new direction of expansion from the east. E-commerce giant JD.com plans to acquire German Ceconomy, owner of the MediaMarkt and Saturn chains, for around 2.2 billion euros.

At the same time, leading Chinese sports equipment manufacturer Anta Sports is investing 1.5 billion euros in a 29 percent stake in Puma, while Shein, after acquiring American Everlane, is actively seeking new fashion brands for acquisitions or partnerships. Behind these acquisitions, Chinese companies are rapidly occupying European warehouses and building their own distribution networks.

Europe – the second largest destination for acquisitions from China

The intensification of Chinese investments is also confirmed by figures from Ernst & Young. While global acquisitions grew modestly by 3.6 percent, the value of Chinese acquisitions in Europe surged by as much as 86 percent in the first half of this year, reaching 6.1 billion dollars – the highest in nearly five years.

With a 28 percent share of total deals, Europe has become the second largest global M&A destination for China, behind Asia. When looking only at developed economies, Europe today attracts about 60 percent of Chinese investments, while investments in the US have fallen to a ten-year low of around three billion euros annually.

The turnaround did not start this year. An analysis by MERICS and the Rhodium Group shows that Chinese direct investments in the EU and the United Kingdom rose by 67 percent last year to 16.8 billion euros, the highest value since 2018. Acquisitions and stake purchases grew even faster, by 89 percent, to 7.9 billion euros.

However, there is still no talk of a return to the peaks of the last decade. Today’s 16.8 billion euros of Chinese investments in Europe is far from the record amounts of the past.

But what the Chinese are buying today is significantly more important than the number itself.

Once hotels and football clubs, today supply chains

About a decade ago, Chinese conglomerates spent tens of billions of dollars on what Western analysts called trophy assets. Anbang acquired the iconic New York hotel Waldorf Astoria, Dalian Wanda took over Hollywood and entertainment companies, while Suning bought Milan’s Inter. This wave of acquisitions peaked in 2016 when Chinese overseas acquisitions exceeded an astronomical 200 billion dollars.

Beijing then slowed down shopping abroad. Borrowing by buyers increased, capital was rapidly leaving the country, and authorities began to restrict acquisitions that were not deemed strategic. Some of the most aggressive buyers at the time, such as Anbang and HNA, later ended up in major restructurings and bankruptcy proceedings.

Today’s arrival of Chinese capital is significantly different. Purchases are no longer made primarily for prestige but for markets, technology, raw materials, supply chains, distribution, and established brands.

This is particularly evident in the consumer sector. Chinese investments in European consumer products and services rose by 93 percent last year to two billion euros. Another 2.3 billion went to the entertainment industry.

Only three deals accounted for 44 percent of the total value of Chinese acquisitions in Europe: HongShan’s acquisition of Swedish audio equipment manufacturer Marshall Group for 1.2 billion euros, Tencent’s purchase of Cypriot gaming studio Easybrain for 1.1 billion, and an equal investment for a quarter of Ubisoft’s Vantage Studio.

This year, this trend continues with an even more recognizable European name.

Chinese Become Major Shareholders of Puma

Anta Sports agreed in January to acquire 29.06 percent of Puma from the Pinault family investment company for 1.5 billion euros. This makes the largest Chinese sports company the largest individual shareholder of the German sports equipment manufacturer.

Puma is not its first Western brand. It is already the largest shareholder of Amer Sports, which operates Salomon, Arc’teryx, and Wilson, and also has Fila operations in parts of Asian markets, as well as Jack Wolfskin and several other brands.

The strategy is quite clear. Anta Sports Group is the market leader in sports equipment in China, with a share of about 21.8 percent. However, building its own brand to comparable recognition in Europe and the US is significantly more challenging, so by acquiring a stake in Puma, it overnight gains a mass brand strongly rooted in Western markets.

JD Does Not Want Just MediaMarkt

An even bigger European test is represented by JD.com. The Chinese competitor to Alibaba wants to acquire Ceconomy and thereby gain control over MediaMarkt and Saturn, retail chains specializing in consumer electronics and technology.

Alongside the parallel development of Joybuy, its European online store, the company is simultaneously expanding its warehouse capacities, logistics, and the entire order processing and delivery system.

This significantly changes the nature of Chinese expansion. Instead of an Asian order platform from the other side of the world, JD is becoming a local European retailer with its own logistics, delivery, and, if the acquisition of Ceconomy is realized, with more than a thousand physical stores on the ground.

Other Chinese companies are following a similar path with their logistics infrastructure. Alibaba’s Cainiao is expanding warehouse and customs capacities in Europe, while Chinese logistics investors are taking on new tens of thousands of square meters of space, especially in the United Kingdom.

Chinese Goods Moving to European Warehouses

Warehouses could be the invisible but crucial long-term asset for the Chinese.

The previous model of sending cheap packages directly from China is under increasing pressure from the European Union. After the customs exemption for shipments up to 150 euros and a temporary tariff of three euros on small packages was introduced, it became clear to Chinese platforms that they needed to bring goods closer to the customer.

In the EU, 5.8 billion small shipments arrived in 2025, four times more than three years earlier. This massive influx explains why Chinese platforms are changing their strategy and rapidly expanding warehouse capacities across Europe. Instead of sending billions of individual packages from China, goods are now imported, cleared, and stored in the EU in advance, reducing the final step to fast, domestic delivery.

Shein No Longer Wants to Sell Only Shein

A similar shift is seen with Shein. The company that grew precisely on the model of sending a vast number of cheap packages from China no longer wants to rely solely on its own fast-fashion brand.

After acquiring American Everlane, the company is exploring new acquisitions and partnerships with other fashion brands. The idea is to use the existing Chinese production and technological infrastructure to develop a broader portfolio of brands.

Europe Opens Factories to the Chinese but Closes Doors to Acquisitions

However, Europe greets these plans of Chinese companies with mixed feelings. Brussels welcomes fresh capital with open arms but strictly chooses the doors through which it enters.

Greenfield investments and the construction of new factories that bring jobs and production to the domestic ground are welcome. The best example is the automotive sector, which attracted 7.6 billion euros in Chinese investments last year (almost half of total FDI), with as much as 93 percent going to the electric vehicle chain.

Projects like CATL’s battery factory in Spain (2.1 billion euros), CALB’s in Portugal (two billion), or Gotion’s in Slovakia (900 million) are precisely what Brussels wants.

However, the attitude drastically changes when Chinese capital attempts to acquire already existing European companies, strategic technology, or logistics infrastructure, especially with state subsidies in the background. JD.com finds itself precisely on that dividing line.

Brussels Tests New Weapon on MediaMarkt

In May, the European Commission launched an in-depth investigation into JD’s acquisition of Ceconomy under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR), due to indications that foreign subsidies to JD may have given it an advantage and distorted market competition.

This new tool allows Brussels to block deals in which non-European buyers gain an advantage over domestic rivals with state money. Thanks to this regulation, the Commission can now investigate such financial assistance, seek corrective measures, accept buyer commitments, or ultimately prevent the transaction.

The case has already escalated into a political conflict: China has deemed the investigation an inappropriate interference in its powers and has prohibited its companies from cooperating, while JD is offering concessions to the Commission behind the scenes to save the transaction.

EU Builds Another Defensive Wall

However, the FSR is not the only instrument. In June, the EU also adopted a new framework for screening foreign investments. All member states will have to screen investments, especially in sensitive sectors such as artificial intelligence, critical raw materials, dual-use goods, and energy, transport, and digital infrastructure.

The new rules also cover investments made through a company registered in the EU if it is controlled by an entity from a third country. The final decision on allowing or blocking investments, however, remains with the member states.

Additionally, there are tariffs on Chinese electric cars, anti-dumping and anti-subsidy procedures, and new rules for billions of small packages sent to Europe by Chinese online stores.

Chinese No Longer Come Only as Exporters

Nevertheless, despite the EU’s efforts to protect the domestic market with new rules, Chinese capital continuously finds new ways to reach European consumers. The more Europe complicates the model in which goods are produced in China and sent to European customers, the greater the motivation for Chinese companies to relocate part of their business within Europe itself.

This time they are not just buying companies. They are buying access to the market, well-known brands, distribution, warehouses, and millions of customers, which is precisely what is hardest to build from China. They do not respond to European barriers by retreating but by changing tactics.

And Brussels, in the meantime, is searching for the boundary between desirable investment and new strategic dependency.