Alibaba, US grocer Kroger had early business development talks: Source

The development came as Amazon.com Inc is expanding aggressively into groceries with its acquisition of Whole Foods Market.

Chinese e-commerce and technology company Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and US grocer Kroger Co have had early discussions on working together, including a meeting in which US executives traveled to China, a source familiar with the matter said.

The business development talks are at an initial stage, and it is not clear if they will lead to any cooperation, the person said, declining to be named.

The discussions come as US e-commerce company Amazon.com Inc is expanding aggressively into groceries with its acquisition of Whole Foods Market.

Spokespersons for Kroger in the US and Alibaba in China did not immediately respond to requests for comment.