Further pressure has been heaped on Ocado’s board to find a new chief executive to replace founder Tim Steiner, with shareholders pushing for his removal, according to reports.
The retailer has approached potential candidates to replace Steiner, who co-founded the business 26 years ago with two former Goldman Sachs bankers, according to the Financial Times.
Discussions are being driven by Ocado shareholders who have seen share prices plummet 91% in value since the pandemic boom in 2020.
Sources told the FT that Steiner might remain with the business in a different role and that his knowledge of Ocado was still “highly valued” by its board.
The news follows on reporting last weekend from Sky News that Ocado had kicked off a search for a successor to Steiner as chief executive. The company said it “continually” engages in long-term succession planning and “regularly engages” with potential candidates.
Ocado has endured a rocky run in recent years with a number of its big international customers scaling back on agreements struck for the construction of automated customer fulfilment centres abroad.
US supermarket chain Kroger last year announced it would be closing three underperforming facilities housing Ocado tech after demand failed to meet expectation. Ocado is now seeking a new US partner after its exclusivity deal with Kroger has lapsed.
In January this year, Ocado suffered another blow to its international ambitions, when Canadian giant Sobeys said it would be closing one of its automated fulfilment sites and shelved plans for a yet-to-be delivered site.
Domestically, the business is in much stronger shape. It has consistently been the UK’s fastest growing retail business for over two years, according to the Worldpanel grocery market share data.
It also recently struck a deal with supermarket chain Asda to upgrade its online grocery service, alongside its ongoing partnership with Marks & Spencer.
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