Ocado Group set to expand into clothing and homeware to accelerate growth

Retail industry disruptor Ocado Group is aiming to expand operations into the clothing and homeware sectors as part of its growth strategy.

The online grocer, which has seen its share price increase by over 250% in the last year alone, will utilise its state-of-the-art warehouse technology to broaden its service to different industries.

According to The Guardian, it recently opened a second non-food warehouse in London while it already operates the online service for Dobbies garden centres, one of its early ventures outside of its core business.

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"We need to focus not just on what we have to do today but we have to make sure we innovate for the future," said chief executive Tim Steiner. "There’s a big market in food but we are also exploring other applications where our skills at moving things are just as useful as they are in the food market."

The British firm has also been transforming itself into a technology company having signed major agreements with some big companies over recent months. 

In January, it partnered with Canadian retailer Sobey's to help improve its online grocery platform and home delivery solutions and in May it signed a major partnership with Kroger, a deal that it expects to 'transform' the retail technology sector.