Legal
Albertsons Is Sued for Allegedly Copying Startup’s Software
- E-commerce tech company Replenium claims breach of contract
- Replenium says it shared trade secrets in deal for big rollout
An Albertsons grocery store in Grand Prairie, Texas.
Photographer: Shelby Tauber/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Albertsons Cos. was sued by an e-commerce software maker that claims the grocery chain conducted trials with its product for three years only to steal its trade secrets to build its own system.
The Seattle startup, Replenium Inc., said in the lawsuit that it entered into an agreement with Albertsons in 2020 to deploy software that lets online shoppers subscribe to have their frequently purchased items automatically replenished. Albertsons pledged to begin with trials using the software in a limited number of locations and then roll out the service at more than 2,000 stores in more than 30 states, according to the lawsuit, filed Monday in federal court in Seattle.