Two of the world's biggest grocery chains, Tesco PLC and Carrefour SA, have struck a deal to collaborate on how they buy from suppliers in an effort to cut prices amid mounting competition from Amazon.com Inc. and other rivals.
全球两家最大的食杂连锁公司乐购和家乐福，已就如何从供应商那里进行采购达成合作协议。在来自亚马逊公司和其他竞争对手的竞争日趋激烈之际，此举旨在降低价格。
Tesco, Britain's largest grocery chain, and Carrefour, the French giant, said they would jointly source certain products to lower prices, raise quality and broaden their product offerings.
英国最大的食杂连锁公司乐购和法国巨头家乐福称，两家公司将联合采购某些商品，以降低价格、提高质量和扩大产品供应。
The agreement, which the companies said would initially last three years, will give the pair more scale in negotiations with global suppliers. It will cover joint purchasing of own-brand products and goods not for resale, like cleaning products or pallets.
两家公司表示，这项协议初步期限为三年，将使两家公司在与全球供应商谈判时更具规模优势。该协议将覆盖自有品牌产品和非转售商品的联合采购，比如清洁用品或托盘等。

Financial terms of the deal, which is expected to be formally agreed within the next two months, weren't disclosed.
该协议的财务条款没有披露，预计双方将在两个月内达成正式协议。
"We are light on detail," said a Tesco spokeswoman. "The details are very much still being worked out."
乐购的一位发言人称：“目前还没有太多细节，大部分具体细节仍在拟定。”
The deal is the latest in a string of moves by traditional grocers the world over as they race to find new ways to compete with Amazon's growing food ambitions and fast-changing shopper behavior.
这桩交易是全球传统食杂公司一系列举措中的最新一例，这些公司正争相寻找新途径来应对亚马逊日益增长的食品业务野心，以及消费者不断快速变化的购物行为。
Online shopping, discounters and meal-delivery services are all eating into once reliable profit margins.
网上购物、折扣商以及食品快递服务都正在蚕食传统食杂公司一度非常稳定的利润率。
In the U.K., like the U.S., Amazon has also ramped up its fresh food delivery service, recently expanding outside London. In France, Amazon earlier this year signed a deal with Casino Guichard-Perrachon SA to deliver items from its Monoprix chain.
与在美国市场一样，亚马逊也已在英国加强了生鲜食品运送服务，且近来服务范围已扩大到伦敦以外地区。在法国，亚马逊今年早些时候与Casino Guichard-Perrachon SA签署了一份协议，从后者的Monoprix连锁店递送商品。