Waitrose says Ocado split ‘opportunity’
● Supermarket starts Deliveroo trial in new attempt to expand online operation
Wai t r o s e h a s s i g n e d a d e a l with takeaway food company Deliveroo to give customers a fast-track ser vice from its stores to their homes, as its boss described a split from deliver y par tner Ocado as a “big opportunity”.
T h e s u p e r m a r k e t s a y s i t plans to run a 12-week trial with Deliveroo starting from 1 September. Households will be able to choose from more than 500 Waitrose products, although the trial will initially only cover five stores.
The move reflects Waitrose’s aim to form partnerships that make its products easily available.
Online gro cer y sales have c o n t i n u e d t o s u r g e s i n c e t h e l o c kd ow n , w i t h o n l i n e accounting for a record 13.5% o f a l l g r o c e r y s h o p p i n g i n the four weeks to August 9, according to Kantar.
T h e s u p e r m a r k e t c h a i n , which has committed £100m to expanding its online operation, was dealt a major headache last February when Ocado said it would launch a new £1.5 billion deliver y partnership with Marks & Sp encer and bring its 20-year relationship with Waitrose to a close next month.
B u t r e c e n t l y - a p p o i n t e d Waitrose executive director James Bailey said it has enabled the company to shake up its “potentially under valued” online operations during a period of rapidly growing demand for grocery deliveries.
“I genuinely see this as a big opportunity,” Mr Bailey said. “It provides an important time for change, and maybe there have been some old-fashioned habits which we can shift with this renewed focus.
“There has been a little history of underplaying online and I feel like this year has changed everything. Covid has come at a positive time for the Waitrose business in terms of this shift towards online.”
The new Waitrose boss, who
joined in April, was previously grocer y buying director at Sainsbury’s, and said the business’s “commitment to quality will not change”.
“The message to customers
is that our website is the only place to get our high-quality pro ducts, our Duchy Origi - nals and the range they want,” he said. “We are confident in the quality of what we sell so
we just have to make sure our operations work to get them t o a s m a n y c u s t o m e r s a s possible.”
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