Kroger plans international launch of Our Brands
Kroger has announced the launch of a pilot program with that will run Alibaba Group's Tmall Global platform.
This new initiative from the Cincinnati-based company's online store will introduce its Our Brands line to international customers, starting with select Simple Truth items.
Alibaba will bring the selections to its more than half a billion Chinese customers, the company said.
"E-commerce enables Kroger to quickly scale to reach new customers and markets where we don't operate physical stores, starting with China," Yael Cosset, Kroger's chief digital officer, said. "We anticipate Chinese consumers will love Our Brands — starting with Simple Truth products — just like our American customers do. Kroger is proud to continue to lead the way in making natural, organic and free-from products more mainstream and accessible. Sharing Kroger's exclusive brands and status as a food authority the world over is exciting."
Alibaba's Tmall Global platform is one of China's largest business-to-consumer marketplaces. In 2018, Kroger's Simple Truth reached more than $2 billion in annual sales, the company said.
"Kroger is the world's third-largest retailer by revenue — $122.7 billion in sales in 2017. We are creating the grocery retail model of the future by focusing on digital and technology," Cosset said.
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