AO boss reflects on seismic shift in retail

Online electricals retailer AO has seen five years of consumer behaviour change accelerate into five weeks during the coronavirus outbreak.

“Now we've got to prove to our new customers that online is a better way even when it's not the only way,” John Roberts, Founder and CEO, said on Twitter.

Roberts was responding to the following tweet from retail analyst Natalie Berg: “A decade ago UK e-commerce sales were <5% of total retail sales. In March, we hit a record high of 22.4%, April 30.7%.”

“Expect May will be closer to 35% and then we dip back to high 20s for foreseeable future even w/ shops reopening. Habits learned during lockdown will stick.”

Alan Latchford

AO recently opened a new distribution warehouse in Crewe, its third in the town.

This adds 110 ksq ft of distribution space, giving the pureplay just under 1,000,000 sq ft in Crewe. AO says that it is on the hunt for more warehouse capacity to manage demand for its products and services.

As well as enabling inbound retail sales, the latest warehouse will also help it to grow its third-party logistics business, whose clients included Aldi, The Cotswold Company, Simba and Keter.

David Ashwell, MD at AO Logistics, says: “This is a great measure of the confidence that our third-party clients have in us. During the Covid-19 pandemic our amazing team has been delivering safely and efficiently, providing a lifeline for AO.com’s customers which in turn, third-party clients have benefitted from.”

“As five years of channel shift from stores to online condensed into five weeks, I’m really proud of how the team has adapted to necessary changes without missing a single day of delivery with record net promoter scores over the last three months.”

The new warehouse has been named after Alan Latchford, a co-founder of DRL, which went on to become AO, who passed away in March.