Reports: Kroger may acquire digital bulk retailer Boxed

Kroger is considering acquiring online wholesaler Boxed as traditional retailers look to beef up their digital capabilities, according to multiple news reports.

The New York-based startup is considering selling itself to several potential suitors. Aldi, Costco, Target are others mentioned as possible buyers, according to Forbes and Reuters, citing unnamed sources.

Supermarkets and big-box retailers are scrambling to ramp up their e-commerce and delivery abilities after digital juggernaut Amazon acquired Whole Foods last year. The deal threatened to further dilute an already saturated market by a deep-pocketed competitor who would use lower priced food to drive customer traffic.

Amazon takes aim at Kroger with Whole Foods deal

Boxed delivers staples from toilet paper to potato chips and has quickly grown from its 2013 founding into a $100 million business by offering customers name-brand goods at attractive prices without a membership fee and free shipping for orders above $49, according to Forbes. It has offered customers more attractive prices than retail by signing single exclusive brands as suppliers.

Whoever takes over Boxed will pay between $325 million and $500 million, according to sources cited.

Kroger officials declined to comment.

Historically, Kroger has been picky in making acquisitions, winning plaudits from analysts for not making troubled, overpriced deals. But in recent years, Kroger has made a spate smaller deals that have helped it ramp up its digital savvy.

Kroger's $2.5 billion takeover of North Carolina-based Harris Teeter in 2014 gave it a solid grocer in the Southeast, but it also provided it with the technology that became its main digital strategy: ClickList, which allows customers to order online and pickup groceries in drive-thru lanes or designated spots in the parking lot.

While Kroger continues to experiment and expand with home delivery options, ClickList is available at more than one third of Kroger's 2,800 supermarkets nationwide.