Kroger Co has partnered with Alibaba Group Holding Ltd to sell nuts, supplements and other products in China, venturing outside the United States for the first time in what is fast becoming a fierce global battle to dominate online grocery sales.
(Reuters) – Kroger Co ( KR. N) has partnered with Alibaba Group Holding Ltd ( BABA. N) to sell nuts, supplements and other products in China, venturing outside the United States for the first time in what is fast becoming a fierce global battle to dominate online grocery sales.
Kroger will sell Simple Truth brand products on the e-commerce firm’s Tmall Global virtual storefront “to meet Chinese consumers’ growing demand for high-quality, organic food products,” an Alibaba spokesman told Reuters on Tuesday.
Shares in Kroger, the largest U. S. supermarket operator with $123 billion in 2017 sales, closed up 2.35 percent at $30.45 on news of the deal.
Kroger’s arrangement with Alibaba raises the stakes for rival U. S. grocery seller Walmart Inc ( WMT. N), which along with its Chinese partner JD.com Inc ( JD. O), is already fighting Alibaba for dominance in the world’s second biggest economy.
“E-commerce enables Kroger to quickly scale (up) to reach new customers and markets where we don’t operate physical stores, starting with China,” Yael Cosset, Kroger’s chief digital officer, said in a statement.
The latest move from the 135-year-old grocer comes as the $800 billion U.
