Close your eyes and you might have thought Ocado was announcing good news. Both its partners in North America, Kroger in the US and Sobeys in Canada, have announced “strong growth in digital sales” in their latest quarterly updates, the UK firm said excitedly.
But, oh dear. What Thursday’s statement was really relaying was that Sobeys, like Kroger last year, has hit the pause button on opening more warehouses filled with Ocado’s robots. A fourth Canadian “customer fulfilment centre” (CFC), due to open in Vancouver next year, will be delayed, even though it is mostly built.
