Ocado Retail boss: ‘M&S products have been a really strong factor in our growth’

Speaking to Retail Week after reporting for a 70-week period for the joint venture between Ocado and Marks & Spencer, Gibson said M&S products had played a significant role in delivering a 14.6% rise in active customers during the period to 1.2 million.

The pureplay grocery giant has been the fastest growing food business in the UK for more than a year, according to the Kantar grocery market share data, and Gibson said that M&S food had a hugely important part in that.

The retailer also reported a 15.5% jump in revenue growth, and a 78.3% year-on-year jump in adjusted EBITDA to £53.5m. However, Ocado Retail still posted a before tax loss of £60m, a £61.7m improvement on the previous year’s losses.

The extended reporting period is a result of Ocado Retail’s results now being consolidated in with M&S and its financial period end.

While Gibson spoke warmly of M&S as a joint venture partner, she wouldn’t be drawn on whether Ocado and the upmarket grocer had reconciled their differences over the final instalment of M&S’ £750m payment.

“Any matters around that are for our shareholders and not for us to get involved with. All I can say from our perspective is that we work well with M&S. They’re a really important part of our proposition and we’re working ever more closely with them.

“From all parties, we continue to focus together on the singular objective of making this business more and more successful. And I think I’ve got the support from both of the major shareholders on that.”

Ocado is due to open its first Christmas delivery slots later in the month, and Gibson said she was confident that despite the ongoing socioeconomic environment, that this year’s golden quarter would be a good one.

“What happens at Christmas, it’s the time of the year that people want to celebrate with friends and family,” she explained. “What’s great about the proposition that we’ve got is that people can choose to trade up with us, but they can also buy our own-brand, cheaper products.

“Our main focus is making sure that customers can get the Christmas they really want, at the budget they want as well”.