Ocado is an internet based grocery retailer in the United Kingdom which sells both name-brand goods and Waitrose own brand
goods. Ocado is partly owned by the John Lewis Partnership but remains
independent. In contrast to the rivalling home delivery services by Tesco and Sainsbury's, Ocado operates a warehouse based model. It aims to compete
on quality rather than price (as with the Waitrose chain itself) and generally matches Waitrose in-store prices. The advertising
campaign uses the fictitious singing character the Ocado Man.
History
The company was founded during the internet boom by a group of former Goldman Sachs merchant bankers in partnership with the upmarket Waitrose
supermarket chain, and it emphasises this connection in its marketing. Ocado was launched in
partnership with Waitrose in January 2002. It is not very clear why a new brand name was chosen when the Waitrose brand is very
strong, and marketing the Ocado brand has been very expensive (however, Waitrose already operated a delivery service called
WaitroseDeliver, which may have contributed to this decision). Despite this, it has been reported that the Ocado brand is
becoming more popular than the more established Waitrose [citation needed]. 30% of Ocado is owned by Waitrose owners, the John Lewis Partnership.
- As of early 2005 the company was widely reported to be a success measured against analyst expectations[citation needed], and was reported to be hoping to
list on the London Stock Exchange during that year. The owners have since revealed
that they are not ready to list on the London Stock Exchange at present. Turnover
is over £135 million ($260 million) per annum, and it has won several service and quality awards. However it is also reported
that it is not yet profitable.
- At the beginning of March 2006 Ocado ceased outsourcing their call centre activities to Ireland. All calls are now handled by
a dedicated team in Hatfield, England[citation needed].
- In September 2006, Alison became chairman of Ocado.
- At the beginning of April 2007 Ocado severed connections with logistics company Gist
- Now Ocado payd only 20 pound for bonus per week. Doesnt matter how hard u work.
Name
The name Ocado is a made up word as there is no other word like Ocado apart from Avocado so it could not be confused
with other internet websites. According to non-executive director of Ocado, Jez Frampton, who presented the Ocado story at a
design conference in New Zealand in May 2007, the name Ocado is meant to evoke an avocado, the hardest fruit to protect through
the food chain. Frampton said the name scored "off the scale" when tested with potential consumers.
External links
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