Ocado Solutions has suffered another setback after it announced that Canadian partner Sobeys would be closing one of its automated fulfilment sites.
Shares in Ocado plunged almost 10% off the back of the announcement on January 29 that Sobeys would be closing its Calgary customer fulfilment centre (CFC) in Alberta province.
Ocado said this was “largely due to the Alberta grocery ecommerce market’s size and the rate of expansion being slower than originally anticipated”.
The announcement of another CFC closure by a partner comes less than three months after Kroger announced it would be closing three of its Ocado technology-powered warehouses.
Sobeys will continue to serve online retail customers through its Voilà online delivery service through two Ocado-powered CFCs in Greater Toronto and Montreal. However, plans for another site in Vancouver are on hold.
Ocado Group chief executive Tim Steiner said: “Sobeys is an important partner to Ocado, and we have taken a pragmatic approach to refining the network and placing our partnership on the right footing.
“Online grocery in North America has continued to develop, and Ocado’s technology has evolved significantly since our first CFCs were launched in the region.
“The changes we have made in our relationships with both Sobeys and Kroger represent a reset of our North American business, placing those partnerships in the best position to secure long-term growth, while reopening a substantial market for Ocado’s much-evolved technology.”
It has been reported that Ocado will receive £18m in compensation for the closure of the Calgary CFC, reducing the annual fee paid by Sobeys by £7m.
While Ocado operates as a pureplay grocer in the UK, through its Ocado Retail joint venture with Marks & Spencer, the retailer has also been pushing partnerships with its proprietary software and robotics Ocado Smart Platform with retailers abroad.
Ocado continues to report financial losses despite sales spiking last year. The group reported a £13 jump in sales to £647m in the six months to June 1, 2025, but made a loss of £137m.
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