Headquartered in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England, UK, Ocado Retail is a joint venture between Marks & Spencer Group and Ocado Group with annual revenue of £ 2289.9 million in 2021.

Table of Content

Incisiv Digital Performance Rank About Ocado Financial Year 2021: Key Takeaways Current Financial Performance Digital Timeline
 

Incisiv Digital Performance Rank

Overall Rank: Challenger

Research & Discovery: Leader

Online Ordering: Follower

Fulfillment: Follower

Service: Follower

 

About Ocado Group

Headquartered in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England, UK, Ocado Retail is a joint venture between Marks & Spencer Group and Ocado Group with annual revenue of £ 2289.9 million in 2021.

‍Founding year: 2000

Number of Ocado.com product range: 40,000+

Number of acquisitions: 2

Number of investments: 7

Number of active customers: 832k

‍Source: Ocado Group - Crunchbase Company Profile & Funding

Source: Annual Report and Accounts 2021

 

Financial Year 2021: Key Takeaways

  • In keeping with the sustained high demand for Ocado Retail's customer proposition and the rising popularity of UK online grocery in response to Covid-19, revenue climbed 7.2% to £2,498.8 million (2020: £2,331.8 million)
  • International Solutions also had tremendous revenue growth, at 301.2%, as retail partner sites went live
  • Gross profit and other income climbed by 17.2% to £1,040.0 million, outpacing sales growth of 7.2%, thanks to a good margin performance in Retail and the commencement of a more significant contribution from International Solutions
  • For the period, group revenue climbed by 7.2% to £2,498.8 million (2020: £2,331.8 million), representing a 42.3% growth over 2019. Retail's high trading momentum maintained, albeit as lockdown limitations loosened, average order size began to revert to pre-COVID levels after the month
  • With the launch of two new Customer Fulfillment Centers (CFCs) for Kroger in the United States and the continuous ramping-up of sales through previously launched sites for Groupe Casino (France) and Sobeys, the International Solutions division saw a £50.0 million boost in revenue contribution (Canada)

Source: Annual Report | Ocado Group

 

Digital Timeline

2021
  • Ocado Group partnered with BizGive, an online platform for the UK registered charities and community groups, in March 2021
  • The Ocado Smart Platform (OSP) partnership with Auchan Retail to create Alcampo's online grocery retail business was approved, with the first CFC set to launch in the Madrid region in 2024
  • In 2021, Ocado continued to innovate innovative goods and services to deliver the best-in-channel economics and customer proposition, successfully establishing operations for their partners Kroger and new CFCs for Ocado Retail Limited (ORL) and ICA Gruppen, and scaling the OSP globally at a rapid rate
  • Ocado has kept innovating to make their CFCs even more automated. For instance, they've improved robotic pick performance by raising the UPH and range
  • The company launched the 500 series bot, a more cost-effective, modular arrangement that allows for more smooth maintenance — built wholly in-house with nearly all new components
  • In areas like engineering operations, Ocado has also established a variety of processes that have helped them lower their operating costs
  • They are successfully safeguarding vital ideas, with over 1,500 patents issued or patent applications filed
  • Ocado continued to grow, opening a new Development Center in Hertfordshire as a base for additional testing
  • They've also brought on innovation partners this year, investing £10 million in Oxbotica and Wayve, respectively
  • They're now working on a bespoke Ocado autonomous mobility solution, which they believe has a good chance of receiving regulatory approval. It will be useful in the grocery store and beyond
  • In 2021, the company launched 2 more international sites in the US which helped the company to double the number of international sites
2020
  • Throughout the year, Ocado continued to extend the wide technological estate at the heart of OSP, introducing new webshop experiences and increased software capability for partners across the end-to-end platform
  • Ocado Group's acquisition of Kindred Systems, Inc. and Haddington Dynamics, Inc. is expected to offer significant additional efficiencies to their automated fulfillment capabilities across CFCs, mini CFCs, and micro fulfillment centers, in addition to the robotic pick capabilities they've built in-house
  • As they scale, lowering the long-term costs of ownership of their fulfillment solution, which includes both capital and operating expenditures, is crucial. Developing new generations of bots is an important element of this
  • A new third-generation bot entered into production this year. This bot will serve as the foundation for Ocado’s UK and international rollouts, setting new standards for performance, ease of manufacture, and serviceability. Continued investment in the software that drives their bot fleet will result in even better operational results
2019
  • Ocado announced a deal with Coles in Australia in March to assist them in improving their groceries’ eCommerce business and establishing two CFCs together, one in Sydney and one in Melbourne 
  • Ocado Retail became an Ocado Solutions partner once the Ocado Group's joint venture with M&S was completed. Over the next 12 years, they have committed to ordering capacity equivalent to another eight CFCs
  • In November, Ocado Solutions announced a collaboration with Aeon to build a fulfillment network that will serve the entire Japanese market. The first CFCs will be operational in 2023, serving the densely populated Kanto region. Aeon expects 600 billion JPY in sales capacity from the network by 2030, rising to 1 trillion JPY by 2035
  • Bon Preu debuted its home delivery service in February and expanded its online reach to new Catalan areas throughout the year
  • They announced in March that Ocado Solutions would be establishing a permanent location in North America. The location of the office outside of Washington, DC, is critical in coordinating the distribution of Ocado's technology, as well as support and engineering services, to sites across the United States and Canada
  • Ocado signed an agreement with Sobeys in May to build a second CFC in Canada to service customers in Ottawa and other major cities in Quebec
  • Kroger's cooperation has progressed at a rapid pace in 2019, with Kroger introducing CFCs across the United States
  • Six new facilities have been announced in Ohio, Florida, Georgia, Texas, Wisconsin, and Maryland
2018
  • Ocado added new features to help customers shop, such as the Meals and Lists tool in the app. Customers can create a "meal" by grouping things and adding them to the basket with a single click. Receipts were also added to the app
  • This new feature provides real-time information about when the goods will expire, what you delivered, and the cost of substitutes. They're currently experimenting with a new "immediacy" product, which promises goods within an hour in certain London postcodes
  • Ocado has also led the market in product innovation, adding 600 new goods to their organic ranges and boosting their vegetarian and vegan ranges by 15%
  • The Ocado Own Brand continues to increase in popularity. Last year, sales climbed by 15%, bringing the brand's annual value to almost £140 million
  • Their general retail selection is expanding, adding product offerings like high-quality retail brands like Joules, FatFace, and Cowshed to their market-leading names. Such well-known brands are assisting them in establishing an online high street where customers will only shop at Ocado
  • In addition, they opened their second General Merchandise Distribution Center (GMDC) near Erith this year, after their first GMDC reached its maximum sales capacity
2017
  • Earlier this year, Ocado revealed their first foreign partner for their Solutions division. Under the terms of this arrangement, the partner will have access to their whole software platform, as well as the know-how and support services needed to run a successful online grocery business
  • Their front-end software and interfaces, centralized fulfillment, and the last-mile delivery solution will all be used in their cooperation with Groupe Casino
  • Sobeys will use its front-end software and interfaces, centralized fulfillment, and last-mile delivery solutions as part of their relationship
2016
  • The company has created a one-of-a-kind end-to-end online grocery retail operating solution based on proprietary technology and IP, ideal for running their retail operation as well as that of their commercial partners
  • In Andover, UK, they opened their newest customer fulfillment center (CFC), which is the first installation of their patented equipment solution
  • Extension of their contract with Morrisons, their first commercial customer, to increase capacity for Morrisons.com
  • In collaboration with Marie Claire, the company launched its premium beauty brand, Fabled
  • Ocado is in various integrations and conversations to become the Ocado Smart Platform

‍Source: Reports and Presentations | Ocado Group