Kroger may have found a way to counter Amazon.
The country’s No. 1 supermarket chain is exploring an alliance with Jack Ma’s Alibaba — the China-based e-commerce giant, The Post has learned.
Alibaba is similar to Amazon in that it operates supermarkets that use Amazon Go-like technology that allows cashier-less stores.
Senior Kroger executives met with senior Alibaba officials last month in China, according to multiple sources.
The precise topics discussed at the meeting could not be learned, but one report said the two companies have already teamed up on a deal spanning online and off-line sales.
“Alibaba has teamed up with Kroger … to speed up the integration of online and off-line sales,” a report in a Chinese government press release said last week.
Kroger shares have been battered over the past year, slipping 13 percent as Amazon last year bought rival grocer Whole Foods.
In fact, Kroger shares fell 26 percent in the two days following the announcement on June 15 that Amazon would buy the upscale Whole Foods chain.
Kroger shares have not yet recovered from the fall. Wall Street has been wondering how Kroger would respond.
In November, the 2,800-store Kroger announced it would roll out an apparel line.
Then, earlier this month, according to Forbes, the Cincinnati chain was engaged in talks with Boxed.com — an online retailer some have called the Costco for millennials.
But a hook-up with Alibaba could be Kroger’s boldest move yet.
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