Kroger To Start Selling Products Directly To Chinese Shoppers
NEW YORK (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — Kroger will start to sell some of its products to Chinese shoppers through a website owned by internet giant Alibaba, the latest move by the supermarket chain to boost its digital business.
Kroger, which operates more than 175 stores in Texas alone, is working to catch up with Walmart and with Amazon.com, which bought grocer Whole Foods last year. In recent months, Kroger launched an online delivery service, upped its investment in a British online grocer and agreed to buy a meal-kit company.
Kroger Co. said Tuesday that it will sell items from its store brand Simple Truth on Alibaba's Tmall site, including Simple Truth nuts and multivitamins. The online store will open Wednesday, Kroger said.
The plan to test an online store geared to Chinese consumers is the first such move overseas by Kroger, the largest supermarket chain in the U.S.
Many American companies sell their goods on Tmall as way to reach Chinese customers without having to open physical stores in the country. Costco, for example, sells Kirkland vitamins, nuts and other products on the site.
Kroger Co. shares rose 2.3 percent Tuesday.
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