Spectacular Fail!18 Nov 2025 20:27
Get out while you can, cos Ocado is cooked. This news is being 'drip-fed' with more bad news yet to come, from Kroger.
Meanwhile from the Press:
Analyst Clive Black at Shore Capital says it is a "devastating blow" for Ocado, which is being "marginalised as most of its customer fulfillment centres (CFC) do not work economically in the USA or the mass-market first world in truth", which "means Ocado's previously spoken total addressable market (TAM) has been blitzed".
Kroger closing three sites is a "dreadful acclamation of what Morrison, Waitrose and others already knew: capital intensive, centralised fulfilment of food to a dispersed mass-market customer does not financially work". Ocado expects to receive compensation for the early closure of these three sites of more than $250 million. Kroger's new plans are to expand its relationships with different tech operators, DoorDash, Instacart and Uber Eats, and is making an impairment of $2.6 billion. Kroger will pivot its grocery e-commerce to its 'strong and growing store footprint' and use 'well-established third-party delivery providers', augmented by the few surviving automated fulfillment where applicable.
Black says: "We are big fans of British entrepreneurs, British firms, and especially successful British innovators. Alas, that cannot be wholly said of Ocado where the vision and aspiration was wonderful, as was the idealism with no shortage of brain power and masses of technobabble. Kroger, however, is a smelling salt moment for the Group and we worry further about the real value of what is left in this firm." END
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