A Seattle e-commerce tech startup says Albertsons Companies ended their three-year partnership and stole the trade secrets behind its automated grocery replenishment technology to create its own version instead.
Replenium sued Albertsons in U.S. District Court in Seattle on Monday, alleging misappropriation of trade secrets, breach of contract and other claims, seeking financial damages for losses incurred due to Albertsons’ alleged actions.
“Over three years, Albertsons repeatedly encouraged Replenium to continue its work on the Replenium Platform — despite Albertsons’ missed deadlines, countless delays, and millions in expenses incurred by Replenium — precisely because Replenium would earn back the amount of its expenses and more through Service Fees,” the lawsuit says.
“Albertsons made these statements knowing that they were untrue,” the suit alleges.
An Albertsons representative declined to comment when contacted by GeekWire.
Unlike simple “subscribe and save” mechanisms, Replenium says its technology enables grocery retailers to offer full-basket auto-replenishment services, automating grocery purchases for future pick-up and delivery. The idea is to ensure customers never run out of essential items, while driving customer loyalty and recurring revenue.
Replenium was founded in 2015 by its CEO, Tom Furphy, a former Amazon vice president and past chairman of the Ideoclick e-commerce agency. Its CTO is Umair Bashir, another former Amazon e-commerce and retail technology executive. Replenium has raised more than $18 million in funding to date, according to PitchBook.
The suit comes as Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons, which includes Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, and other major grocery brands, seeks to merge with The Kroger Co., parent of Fred Meyer, QFC, Kroger and many others, in a $24.6 billion deal. Kroger separately sued the FTC on Monday in an effort to push the deal forward.
Replenium alleges in the suit that the promise of expanding its technology to Kroger, after the completion of the merger, was one of the ways that Albertsons executives induced the startup to continue working together.
“Unbeknownst to Replenium, during Replenium’s three years of confidential information sharing, Albertsons was misappropriating Replenium’s trade secret and confidential information by building its own competing, full grocery basket auto replenishment solution to replace the Replenium Platform,” the suit alleges.
Bloomberg News reported on the lawsuit earlier today.
Read the full text of the complaint below.
Replenium vs. Albertsons by GeekWire on Scribd
https://ift.tt/sbPOF6r August 19, 2024 at 11:20PM GeekWire
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