Kroger has partnered with British digital grocer Ocado to ramp up digital shopping for customers in the U.S.
The Cincinnati-based supermarket chain said the alliance gives it “exclusiveunparalleled technology” that will advance with Kroger’s”online ordering, automated fulfillment and home delivery capabilities.”
Ocado is a grocery retailer in the United Kingdom with no physical stores. It delivers all groceries via van from a network of 20 hub-and-spoke automated warehouses.
The company based in the London suburb of Hatfield does $2 billion a year in business and delivers groceries to three-quarters of homes in the United Kingdom. It employs almost 13,000 workers.
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The two companies said more details of the “transformative” partnership will emerge in the coming months.But the partners envision 20 automated warehouses across the U.S. to ramp up their digital business.
Ocado will partner exclusively with Kroger in the U.S., enhancing Krogers digital and robotics capabilities and helping expand its seamless coverage area to provide every family in America with the convenience of shopping for “anything, anytime and anywhere,” the company said Thursday.
We are actively creating a seamless digital experience for our customers our partnership with Ocado will speed up our efforts,” Kroger CEORodney McMullen said.
The deal expands Kroger’s investment in the digital retailer.
Kroger and Ocado are already working to identify the first three sites in 2018 for development of new, automated warehouse facilities in the U.S., and will identify up to a total of 20 over the first three years of the agreement.
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