Ocado chief executive Tim Steiner said the expected arrival of Amazon Fresh in global markets will force the pace of change in online grocery delivery.
The Hatfield, Herfordshire-based food delivery firm founder said he expected his biggest rival in grocery delivery in 20 years time to be Amazon. But he cited that as a competitive advantage rather than a threat because it would encourage big retailers to look for new partners.
Ocado began as a delivery partner for Waitrose and has since extended its ranges to include own label products. Then, last year, it signed a £216 million deal with Morrisons to help the supermarket operate a site which launched in January. That has been followed by mounting speculation that Ocado may find new partners overseas.
'Amazon is awakening global grocers to the online challenge they are going to face and they are accelerating the opportunities for us as a platform partner provider,' said Steiner at a conference in London on Thursday.
Last week, Amazon UK executive Doug Gurr strongly hinted that he expected Amazon Fresh to roll out into international markets once it was established in the US this year. His comments followed a report in German newspaper Bild that said the service would launch in the country by September.
Steiner said he has already spoken to around 50 global retailers about a potential partnership, including a dozen this year. He said it took around 30 months to build and launch a new warehouse. He pointed out he was able to do so more quickly with Morrisons because Ocado had spare capacity within its existing infrastructure growth plan.
He said he was working to develop 'more scalable, modular, faster-to-market solutions' and was focused on a long-term plan.
IGD expects online grocery sales to double from 2012 to 2016 in the UK, France, Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands. Steiner predicted 40-60 per cent of all groceries would be sold online in the West. In Britain it is currently about 5 per cent.
He said: 'As we grow and as [supermarket] stores get cannibalised, the economics are going to shift wildly in favour of the online grocer. It is going to become the cheapest place to get groceries with more selection at lower prices.'
He added that technology would be key to the future of retailing: 'Grocery retailing over the next 20 years is going to be driven by technology ... I don't rate the technological skills of my competitors versus the technological skills of Amazon,' he said.
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