Ocado on schedule to open new Warwickshire depot
ONLINE grocery group Ocado has said its development of its massive new distribution facility in Warwickshire will open to schedule.
The company, which distributes goods for Waitrose, said the construction of the depot at Birch Coppice in Dordon was substantially complete and it remained on target to open in the first quarter of next year.
The new facility is set to create around 2,000 new jobs when it opens.
Announcing an increase in online sales for last year, the firm said in a statement: “Work is advancing well. The construction of the building, services and ancillary infrastructure is substantially complete and equipment installation has started. It remains on budget and on time to open in Q1 2013.
“Systems testing is currently planned to start in mid-2012, with initial operations scheduled to commence in early 2013, giving us a six month testing and commissioning window. We believe CFC2 will represent the single biggest increase in capacity by a grocery retailer for the online grocery market in the UK. It is a key driver in securing Ocado’s leading position in this fast growing market.”
Gross sales were up 16.6% to £642.8m for the year to November. Growth was driven by an increase in average orders per week to 110,219 from 92,916, up 18.6%. Gross profit increased 14.3% to £184.8m, while operating profit for the period was £1.1m, which compares with an operating loss of £5.4m in 2010.
The firm said that against the backdrop of the weak UK economy, it had continued to see the development of the online grocery retail market. It said it believed the growth was evidence of a structural shift in consumer behaviour and it would continue to see an expansion of the online grocery market.
Tim Steiner, Ocado chief executive, said: “We continue to see an expansion of the online grocery retail market. We will continue to pursue our existing strategy in 2012 to improve what we offer our customers and increase our capacity to meet growing demand. It is our mission to make sure that customers continue to regard Ocado as the home of the market-leading offer in online grocery shopping.”
