China’s largest retailer, JD.com, has secured a long-term lease for approximately 50,000 square meters of warehouse space in Belgium. The agreement with Belgian real estate firm Montea marks the company’s first direct logistics hub in the country. The facility is located at Park De Hulst in Willebroek, a site previously used by sports retailer Decathlon.
The warehouse, developed in 2017, comprises 47,600 square meters of gross leasable area. It sits between the A12 and E19 motorways and close to both the Brussels-Scheldt waterway and the Willebroek container terminal. The site occupies a strategic position between Antwerp and Brussels, a location that has made large-scale, well-located logistics space almost impossible to find in Belgium.
Automation and European expansion
JD.com combines retail operations with an extensive logistics network and advanced supply chain solutions. Its logistics arm, JD Logistics, will equip the warehouse with a high degree of automation, tailored to the fast storage, processing and distribution of online orders, supporting its e-commerce expansion across Belgium and Luxembourg.
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This move extends JD.com’s European footprint, which already spans the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Belgium and Luxembourg. The investment aligns with a broader industry shift from cross-border shipping to EU-based fulfillment, driven by changes in EU customs regulations.
Since 1 July 2026, the EU has scrapped its long-standing duty-free threshold for parcels under €150, replacing it with a flat customs charge per item. This change has made shipping directly from China to individual European consumers considerably more expensive. Platforms most exposed to these costs, including Temu and Shein, have responded by building local EU warehousing to clear customs in bulk. JD.com’s direct, large-scale commitment in Willebroek fits within this trend.
A rare logistics asset
Montea, the property owner, is a listed real estate company specialising in logistics property across Belgium, the Netherlands, France and Germany. As at 31 March 2026, its portfolio comprised a total lettable area of 2,375,726 square meters spread across 124 locations. The company has been listed on Euronext Brussels (MONT) and Euronext Paris (MONTP) since the end of 2006.
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Xavier Van Reeth, Montea’s Country Director for Belgium, said: “This agreement confirms that scarce, high-quality locations in Belgium continue to be in strong demand. The Willebroek site combines a sustainable equipped warehouse with an exceptional location between the A12 and E19 motorways, close to the Brussels-Scheldt and the Willebroek container terminal. This makes the site particularly well suited to support the further expansion of e-commerce and fulfilment activities.”
The warehouse was previously home to Decathlon. The site’s connectivity and scale make it a key asset in Europe’s tightest logistics markets, where vacancy rates in prime locations remain near historic lows.
The Willebroek hub’s access to major transport routes reinforces Belgium’s role as a logistics hub for the continent. For JD.com, the move supports its strategy to reduce reliance on cross-border shipping and strengthen its supply chain within the EU. Closer proximity to cu