Online supermarket Ocado Retail said it expects positive revenue growth in the second quarter after reporting a 40% rise in sales for the 13 weeks to the February 28 as more Britons had their groceries delivered during the current national Covid lockdown.
Revenue over the period, which included the Christmas holidays, came in at £599m against £428.8m a year earlier, the company said on Thursday.
Melanie Smith, chief executive of Ocado Retail said the second quarter of 2021 represented the one year anniversary of the start of the Covid-19 pandemic which accelerated the demand for online groceries.
“While this year’s quarterly sales figures will reflect the year-on-year comparisons with periods of full lockdown, we expect strong growth over the coming years as we continue to lead the charge in changing the UK grocery landscape, for good,” she said.
Ocado Retail, a joint venture between Ocado Group and Marks & Spencer said it planned to open opening two standard sized customer fulfilment centres (CFC) in fiscal 2021, having opened a “mini CFC” in Bristol as it mapped out plans for expansion of CFC sites.
A minimum of 12 new micro sites are being sought, mainly in London, to support the roll-out of the Ocado Zoom immediacy concept which offers deliveries within one hour of ordering, it added.
“A second mini CFC will open in 2022 and progress is being made securing sites for further standard sized CFCs,” Ocado said.
