Ocado eyes growth opportunities in France following Groupe Casino deal

Ocado Group has signed a memorandum of understanding with French partner, Groupe Casino, enabling it to offer its technology to other grocers in France.

The former previously had an exclusivity agreement to work only with Groupe Casino in France.

Casino was Ocado’s first major international technology partner, but after inking an agreement in 2017 it has only opened one Ocado powered warehouse since, in the greater Paris area.

The two are now setting up a joint venture to support the development and management of warehouses, as well as the recruitment and operations management of employees at the sites.

Ocado’s commerce and robotic fulfilment solutions will also be integrated to help run the autonomous warehouses.

NEW: 🇫🇷 Exciting day! New growth opportunities opening up in France, including our new joint venture with our partners @Groupe_Casino! Read more about the MOU here: https://t.co/rMqqNBB0wM
— Luke Jensen (@LukeJensenOcado) February 18, 2022

Tim Steiner, CEO at Ocado Group, says: “The online grocery channel in France has reached an inflection point, with a huge rise in demand for compelling, affordable and efficient grocery e-commerce propositions. Our growing partnership and live operations in Ile-de-France have set the highest bar for the experience French consumers can expect in online grocery.”

“This announcement marks a deepening of the relationship between Groupe Casino and Ocado Group, and it will further support the capital light expansion of our partnership into other French regions. For the first time, it will also open up the whole of the French grocery market to Ocado’s solutions.”

“Additionally, by integrating Octopia (a marketplace platform launched by French e-commerce retailer Cdiscount) into our end-to-end smart platform, we are bringing more proven, market leading flexibility to our partners' online ecosystems.”

Jean-Charles NAOURI, CEO at Groupe Casino, says: “This partnership illustrates our ability to once again revolutionise the way of disrupting the online grocery market.”

“After having experienced the success of the Ocado solution with Monoprix Plus, Casino Plus and Naturalia Marché Bio, French consumers will be able to benefit from new, even more efficient e-commerce services, making their daily needs even easier.”

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