Online grocer and technology company Ocado has signed a partnership deal with Sweden's ICA Group to develop its online grocery business.
ICA is Sweden's market leader, with around 1,300 stores and a share of around 36%.
Ocado said that it expected the deal to create significant long-term value to its business, and that the impact of the transaction should be earnings neutral in the current financial year.
'Laying The Foundation'
“We are now laying the foundation for the next-generation e-commerce offering, and we are putting an important piece of the puzzle in place to realise our digital ambitions for all of ICA Gruppen,” said Per Strömberg, CEO of ICA Gruppen.
“Today we have the industry’s most efficient processes for physical shopping, and through this agreement, we can create the most efficient solutions [...] for e-commerce,” Strömberg added.
Under the terms of the deal, ICA Sweden will switch to Ocado’s e-commerce platform in 2021 and build a new, highly automated e-commerce warehouse in the Stockholm area, which is expected to be finished in 2022.
ICA added that the agreement provides ‘exclusivity’ in Sweden and the Baltic countries, provided that ICA hits certain growth targets.
Partnership
“We are excited and proud to be partnering with another of Europe's leading grocery retailers,” said Luke Jensen, CEO of Ocado Solutions. “ICA has a strong track record of growth and innovation, and our Smart Platform will give the ICA retailers the opportunity to provide their customers with new levels of service, convenience and value.
“Our flexible, scalable and modular solution is uniquely positioned to address a fresh set of challenges and allow ICA deliver its ambitions for online,” Jensen added.
News by Reuters, edited by ESM. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
