M&S Planning Overhaul Of Ocado Venture To Challenge Grocery Rivals

Namnews, 24th October 2022

Marks & Spencer is looking at how it can “turbocharge” its Ocado food delivery operation as part of efforts to challenge its larger rivals in the grocery market.

A report by the Financial Mail On Sunday said the retailer’s Chief Executive Stuart Machin is embarking on a wide-ranging review to improve the service and make the business more efficient.

The overhaul is said to be part of a wider strategy to increase M&S’s share of food spending in the UK in stores and online by more than 25%. Hannah Gibson, the new CEO of the Ocado Retail joint venture is already leading the review just a month after her arrival.

The newspaper report stated that she is drawing up plans to put more M&S ranges on the Ocado website to compete with the likes of Waitrose and Sainsbury’s. At present, 75% of the M&S food range is available from Ocado. The company is said to want to increase that closer to 100% in the coming months.

Management is understood to be particularly keen to make more products from the M&S ‘Remarksable’ value range available on Ocado as soon as possible to appeal to budget-conscious shoppers during the cost of living crisis.

Sales of M&S goods since the launch of its joint venture with Ocado just over two years ago have hit £1.3bn. However, Machin recently told investors that opportunities for the service “haven’t really scratched the surface yet”.

One insider told the Financial Mail On Sunday that Machin plans to grow Ocado Retail over the next five years to achieve “a market-leading national position in online food retailing and a brilliant showcase for the M&S brand and range”.