Ocado teams up with Auchan Retail to develop Polish online business

Online grocer Ocado said on Tuesday that it had agreed to partner up with Auchan Retail to develop its online business in Poland using the Ocado Smart Platform.

Ocado stated that both it and Auchan Poland will initially build a customer fulfilment centre to serve the Warsaw region, beginning in 2024, with additional centres set to be announced in the future.

Auchan Poland will leverage Ocado's in-store fulfilment software across its hypermarkets nationwide to enable more efficient picking from stores and also benefit from enhancements announced during Ocado's Re:Imagined event in January, such as its latest generation 600 Series bot, Automated Frameload and On-Grid Robotic Pick.

Ocado added that Auchan Poland will pay it certain fees upfront and during the development phase, then ongoing fees linked to both sales achieved and installed capacity within its fulfilment centre and service criteria.

Chief executive Tim Steiner said: "We are pleased to bring a second Auchan business to our global platform, and to welcome Auchan Poland to the club of innovative and forward-looking retailers who are using the Ocado Smart Platform to power their online grocery business."

As of 0850 GMT, Ocado shares were down 0.64% at 1,186.38p.