Walmart and Rakuten will co-create an online grocery service in Japan that will launch in 2018. The service will be operated by Rakuten and Seiyu GK, a Walmart subsidiary, and will be called “Rakuten Seiyu Netsuper.”
Walmart, via Seiyu, has operated a grocery delivery business in Japan since 2000. This new co-branded service will replace that, the company says.
Some customers’ orders will continue to be fulfilled by their local Seiyu store, as before. But depending on their geography, other customers’ orders may come from a new, dedicated fulfillment center operated by Walmart and Rakuten. The center, which is an existing building Walmart owns, will be exclusively used for online grocery.
Rakuten Seiyu Netsuper will offer pre-prepared meal kits, as well as partially prepared foods and other convenience-focused items like pre-cut vegetables, in addition to its selection of fresh produce and other consumables. Some items from Rakuten’s Ichiba marketplace – which has over 93 million registered members – will be available, too, including gourmet foods.