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Bloomberg
Online grocery services provider Ocado Group Plc and Casino Guichard-Perrachon SA in France have created a logistics joint venture to help other retailers in France sell their goods online.
In a significant expansion of their existing partnership, the two companies signed a preliminary agreement where the duo will provide logistics services, including project management and operations support in the construction and running of the warehouses needed for the fulfillment of online orders. Ocado will also offer the robotic software program it uses to run highly-automated warehouses.
There isn’t expected to be any initial capital cost associated with the joint venture to either Ocado, which recently revealed a sharp increase in capital expenditure this year, or Casino, according to the statement.
Ocado and Casino first started working together in about 2017 with the British company providing its software and logistics know-how to help the French grocer grow its online business. It was one of the first major international licensing deals for Ocado, which hopes to become the world’s premier provider of grocery logistics services.
Casino said it is extending that partnership further and will use Ocado’s software to run its Monoprix in-store fulfillment operation. Ocado will also integrate the Cdiscount unit’s Octopia online platform onto its systems. The two companies said they see “significant and growing demand†for online grocery across the French market. Tim Steiner, Ocado’s chief executive officer, said the French grocery market has reached an “inflection point†as consumers look for efficient ways to buy their food.