Walmart teams up with Rakuten

Rakuten and Seiyu GK, a subsidiary of Walmart, have agreed to establish a joint venture with the aim of launching the Rakuten Seiyu Netsuper service in the latter half of 2018.

The two companies are aiming to increase capacity with the establishment of a dedicated fulfilment centre, in addition to offering deliveries from Seiyu stores.

Products on offer will include fresh produce and daily consumables as well as a range of convenience items such as cut vegetables, partially-prepared foods and ready-meal kits. There will also be popular local gourmet products from merchants on the Rakuten Ichiba marketplace.

In addition, Walmart and Rakuten Kobo have formed an exclusive retail alliance that will enable Walmart to begin selling e-books and audiobooks, as well as offer Rakuten Kobo e-readers, in Walmart stores and online at Walmart.com in the US later this year.

Walmart president and chief executive Doug McMillon said: “Rakuten is a strong ecommerce business and we’re excited to collaborate with the top online shopping destination in Japan.”

Rakuten chairman, president and chief executive Hiroshi “Mickey” Mikitani added: “We are excited to partner with Walmart because of its commitment to creating the best solutions to serve customers with low prices.”