Wal-Mart Stores Inc has forged another alliance to counter Amazon.com Inc., partnering with Japan’s Rakuten Inc to sell e-books in the US and improve its online grocery business in Asia’s second-largest economy.
The collaboration will bring Rakuten’s Kobo device and e-book catalogue to Wal-Mart’s US stores later this year, the companies said in a statement late Thursday. The partnership also includes a revamp of Wal-Mart’s online grocery service in Japan that will roll out in the third quarter. The news sent Rakuten shares up 4.5% in Tokyo on Friday, their biggest gain in more than eight months.
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