Tech platform and online grocer Ocado Group has agreed to compensation from US partner Kroger after the North American food giant decided to cut back the relationship.
Ocado Group will receive a one-off cash payment of $350m (£262.1m) after Kroger decided to close three customer fulfilment centres (CFC) and not go ahead with the opening of another. The closure of the three CFCs will reduce Ocado’s fee revenue by approximately $50m (£37.4m) in the 2026 financial year.
Ocado Group chief executive Tim Steiner said: “We continue to invest significant resources to support our partners at Kroger, and to help them build on our longstanding partnership.
“Ocado’s technology has evolved significantly to include both the new technologies that Kroger is currently deploying in its CFC network, as well as new fulfilment products that bring Ocado’s technology to a wider range of applications, including store-based automation to support pick up and immediacy.”
“Our partners around the world have already deployed a wide range of these fulfilment technologies to great effect, enabling them to address a wide spectrum of geographies, population densities and online shopping missions, underpinned by Ocado’s world-leading expertise and R&D capabilities. We remain excited about the opportunity for Ocado’s evolving products in the US market.”
Ocado and Kroger will continue to work together in live CFCs and other Ocado technology will continue to be deployed by Kroger.
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