{"id":38867,"title":"Ocado Retail Celebrates Record Christmas Sales as MS Partnership Flourishes","publisher":"Stockmark.IT","author":"Stockmark.IT Website","published":"2025-01-17T04:37:37+00:00","modified":"2025-01-15T16:43:16+00:00","canonical_url":"https://stockmark.it/ocado-retail-celebrates-record-christmas-sales-as-ms-partnership-flourishes/","markdown_url":"https://stockmark.it/ocado-retail-celebrates-record-christmas-sales-as-ms-partnership-flourishes.md","json_url":"https://stockmark.it/ocado-retail-celebrates-record-christmas-sales-as-ms-partnership-flourishes.json","category":"Online grocery","categories":["Online grocery","Retail"],"format":"news","language":"en-GB","content":"British online grocer Ocado Retail has reported a remarkable 17.5% surge in retail revenue to £715.8 million for the 13 weeks leading to December 1, marking a significant milestone in its recovery journey. The joint venture between Ocado Group and Marks & Spencer has demonstrated robust growth, particularly during the festive season.\n\nChief Executive Hannah Gibson attributes this success to the strengthened partnership with M&S, highlighting the expansion of M&S product range availability from two-thirds to nearly 100% over the past two years. The strategic decision to reduce prices in 2024 has yielded positive results, with volume growth reaching 17% year-on-year during the fourth quarter.\n\nActive customers grew by an impressive 12.1% to 1.12 million, whilst average weekly orders increased by 16.9% to 476,000. The festive period proved particularly successful, with M&S party food selections, including hot honey halloumi and pigs in blankets, emerging as customer favourites.\n\nStuart Machin, M&S Chief Executive, confirmed the joint venture’s strong performance, reporting a 20% increase in M&S volume on Ocado’s platform compared to the previous year. This success mirrors M&S’s broader resurgence, which has seen the retailer return to the FTSE 100 following strong performances in both food and clothing divisions.\n\nDespite ongoing discussions regarding a final payment dispute between M&S and Ocado Group over unmet performance targets, Gibson maintains that the partnership is “working really strongly” together. The company’s focus remains on optimising existing infrastructure, though future expansion plans include a new customer fulfilment centre at an unspecified date.\n\nThe positive results represent a significant turnaround for Ocado Retail, which had previously struggled to maintain momentum following its pandemic-era boom. Annual retail revenue reached £2.7 billion in the year to December 1, with volume growth of 12.9% and consistent growth in the active customer base signalling sustained recovery."}