CINNCINNATI
– Kroger has teamed up with Alibaba to sell its Simple Truth-brand products on
the Chinese retailer’s Tmall Global platform, China’s largest
business-to-consumer marketplace, according to Foodbev.com.
Simple
Truth is Kroger’s proprietary line of natural and organic goods, including
milk, seafood, meat and baked goods. It was launched five years ago and has
since become the second-largest brand sold in Kroger stores, with $2 billion in
annual sales.
The
deal means Kroger is gearing up to compete with Amazon and Walmart in the
online shopping sector. Earlier this month, it launched grocery delivery
service Kroger Ship in four U.S. cities, and in May, the company signed an
agreement with U.K. retailer Ocado to use its technology in the United
States.
According
to Yael Cosset, Kroger chief digital officer, “E-commerce enables Kroger to
quickly scale to reach new customers and markets where we don’t operate
physical stores.”
As
reported in NACS
Daily earlier this month, Alibaba and Starbucks have joined forces to
expand the coffee company’s delivery and digital presence in China.