Marks & Spencer is planning to accelerate the growth of its online food delivery business Ocado as competition with rival grocers intensifies.
The retailer – which recently said it will be focusing its attentions on its food business and opening 104 additional Simply Food stores – is making the move as part of a wider strategy to increase M&S’ share of the UK’s food spending both in stores and online by more than 25%.
According to the Mail on Sunday, Machin has drawn up a blueprint to boost the food delivery business, in a bid to make it faster, more efficient and drive growth. Hannah Gibson, the new boss of Ocado Retail, will be spearheading the review into the business.
As part of the new strategy, the number of M&S Food products available on the Ocado website is expected to increase from 75% at present, to as close to 100% as possible, over the coming months. Currently, M&S own-label food makes up just 30% of an average basket.
Both Machin and Gibson are particularly focused on making lower-priced products from the ‘Remarksable’ value range available as soon as possible, amid the focus on cost-of-living.
The strategy also looks to make the most of Ocado’s new distribution centres in Bicester, Oxfordshire, and Luton, Bedfordshire. It is aiming to process 700,000 orders a week, up from 367,000 at the end of the last financial year.
Machin also recently told investors that opportunities for the service “haven’t really scratched the surface yet”, with M&S sales via Ocado totalling £1.3 billion in the past two years.
An insider told the Mail that he plans to grow Ocado Retail over the next five years to achieve a “market-leading national position in online food retailing” and a “brilliant showcase for the M&S brand and range”.
