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US: Kroger eyes Alibaba alliance to take on Amazon

By  |  January 25, 2018

Chinese e-commerce and technology company Alibaba Group Holding and US grocer Kroger have had early discussions on working together, including a meeting in which US executives traveled to China, a source familiar with the matter said.

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    The business development talks are at an initial stage, and it is not clear if they will lead to any cooperation, the person said, declining to be named.

    The discussions come as US e-commerce company Amazon.com Inc has expanded aggressively into groceries with its acquisition of Whole Foods Market. The talks between the two firms were reported earlier by the New York Post.

    This week Amazon opened to the public its Amazon Go checkout-free grocery store, which relies on cameras and sensors to track what shoppers remove from the shelves.

    Amazon’s renewed push into groceries with last year’s Whole Foods acquisition put pressure on leading US supermarket Kroger to improve technology including mobile ordering and delivery. Kroger is rolling out curbside pickup as one way to fend off Amazon.

    Full Content: New York Post

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