SoylentNews

Fnord666 [soylentnews.org] writes:

Apparently ereaders aren't the only thing Walmart is partnering with Rakuten for [reuters.com]:

Walmart has struck a partnership with e-commerce firm Rakuten Inc to launch an online grocery delivery service in Japan, its latest effort to forge an alliance with a popular homegrown chain to crack a competitive market.

The world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart Stores Inc, said on Thursday the service will launch in the latter half of 2018.

Walmart's leadership is looking for new ways to grow its international business, which is no longer the growth engine it once was, as it has grappled with economic woes in Brazil and competition from discount retailers in Britain.

In Japan, the new service will replace Walmart's existing online grocery delivery offering and will be called "Rakuten Seiyu Netsuper." Seiyu GK is the name of Walmart's wholly-owned Japanese unit.

It will allow customers to place an order on Rakuten's online marketplace platform, which will then be fulfilled by the Walmart-Rakuten joint venture. Walmart-Rakuten will open a warehouse to service these orders in addition to using Seiyu stores, the companies said.

Original Submission