Morrisons is in talks with Ocado about utilising the online retailer’s warehouse capacity and technological expertise, it has been reported today. Morrisons would pay to use part of Ocado’s distribution centre and would leverage Ocado’s operating knowledge to launch its online grocery business in 2014.
Morrisons said it had invested £40m of capital expenditure in its multichannel operation, which will increase to £150m in the coming year. Currently Morrisons is the only one of the leading supermarkets not to have an online presence.
Commenting on the planned online launch, Morrisons Chief Executive said, “We may be a late entrant to the online food market but we have learnt from our involvement with Kiddicare and Fresh Direct. We have long been a leader in fresh food and our craft skills and vertical integration really set us apart from the competition. Ensuring that these points of differentiation translate into our online food offer will be a priority.”
Meanwhile, Profitero client Ocado has announced its latest set of quarterly results. In the 12 weeks to February 24, sales rose by 14.4% compared to the same period in 2012, while the average number of orders per week rose by 12%. Customers were also spending 2.2% more on their orders from the online grocer, Ocado said.
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