Ocado
Encyclopedia
Ocado is a British Internet retailer specialising in groceries, headquartered in Hatfield, Hertfordshire
, England
. The limited company
was founded in January 2002 by Jonathan Faiman, Jason Gissing
and Tim Steiner, former Goldman Sachs
merchant bankers.
Ocado's products include own brand groceries from the Waitrose
supermarket
chain as well as a selection of name brand groceries and other items including flowers, toys and magazines. A range of Carrefour
's products are also sold via Ocado.
The company was floated on the London Stock Exchange on 21 July 2010 and is currently a member of the FTSE 250 Index
.
The company has a warehouse
-based model operating from a purpose-built picking centre, purely online without any physical shops, unusual for a supermarket. Ocado operates in England's South East
, South Coast
, Midlands
, North West
and most of Yorkshire
; and, as of March 2011 - a large section of the South West
and South Wales
from its brand new Avonmouth
based regional distribution centre.
Ocado was founded in January 2001 by Jonathan Faiman, Jason Gissing, and Tim Steiner, former merchant bankers with Goldman Sachs
. When the company first started they ran every part of the business themselves.
In September 2006 Michael Grade
became non-executive chairman of Ocado, shortly after Goldman Sachs were appointed as financial advisors. This led to perennial speculation that the business would seek a listing on the stock market. In July 2009 Ocado confirmed it was planning a stock market flotation
.
In November 2008 the John Lewis Partnership
transferred its shareholding of 29% into its staff pension fund. It also agreed a five-year supply deal with the business, replacing its previous one-year rolling deal. This deal was replaced in May 2010 with a 10-year branding and supply agreement. Procter & Gamble
took a 1% stake in the company the same year. In February 2011, the John Lewis pension fund sold off its entire Ocado shareholding.
On 13 July 2009 Ocado released their first app for the iPhone
. The app, called 'Ocado On The Go', allows users to do their grocery shopping without the need of a PC. On 19 April 2010 the company extended the app to Android devices. The Android app has a number of features that the iPhone app does not have, including the ability to control the app using only the voice.
Hatfield, Hertfordshire
Hatfield is a town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England in the borough of Welwyn Hatfield. It has a population of 29,616, and is of Saxon origin. Hatfield House, the home of the Marquess of Salisbury, is the nucleus of the old town...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The limited company
Limited company
A limited company is a company in which the liability of the members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by shares or by guarantee. And the former of these, a limited company limited by shares, may be...
was founded in January 2002 by Jonathan Faiman, Jason Gissing
Jason Gissing
Jason Gissing was born in the UK in 1970. He was educated at Oundle School in Northamptonshire and Worcester College, Oxford University. He has an English father and Japanese motherHe is one of the founders of Ocado, the UK based e-grocer...
and Tim Steiner, former Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is an American multinational bulge bracket investment banking and securities firm that engages in global investment banking, securities, investment management, and other financial services primarily with institutional clients...
merchant bankers.
Ocado's products include own brand groceries from the Waitrose
Waitrose
Waitrose Limited is an upmarket chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom and is the food division of the British retailer and worker co-operative the John Lewis Partnership. Its head office is in Bracknell, Berkshire, England...
supermarket
Supermarket
A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
chain as well as a selection of name brand groceries and other items including flowers, toys and magazines. A range of Carrefour
Carrefour
Carrefour S.A. is an international hypermarket chain headquartered in Levallois-Perret, France. It is one of the largest hypermarket chains in the world...
's products are also sold via Ocado.
The company was floated on the London Stock Exchange on 21 July 2010 and is currently a member of the FTSE 250 Index
FTSE 250 Index
The FTSE 250 Index is a capitalisation-weighted index consisting of the 101st to the 350th largest companies on the London Stock Exchange. Promotions to and demotions from the index take place quarterly in March, June, September and December...
.
The company has a warehouse
Warehouse
A warehouse is a commercial building for storage of goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial areas of cities and towns. They usually have loading docks to load and unload...
-based model operating from a purpose-built picking centre, purely online without any physical shops, unusual for a supermarket. Ocado operates in England's South East
South East England
South East England is one of the nine official regions of England, designated in 1994 and adopted for statistical purposes in 1999. It consists of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex...
, South Coast
Southern England
Southern England, the South and the South of England are imprecise terms used to refer to the southern counties of England bordering the English Midlands. It has a number of different interpretations of its geographic extents. The South is considered by many to be a cultural region with a distinct...
, Midlands
English Midlands
The Midlands, or the English Midlands, is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...
, North West
North West England
North West England, informally known as The North West, is one of the nine official regions of England.North West England had a 2006 estimated population of 6,853,201 the third most populated region after London and the South East...
and most of Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
; and, as of March 2011 - a large section of the South West
South West England
South West England is one of the regions of England defined by the Government of the United Kingdom for statistical and other purposes. It is the largest such region in area, covering and comprising Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. ...
and South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
from its brand new Avonmouth
Avonmouth
Avonmouth is a port and suburb of Bristol, England, located on the Severn Estuary, at the mouth of the River Avon.The council ward of Avonmouth also includes Shirehampton and the western end of Lawrence Weston.- Geography :...
based regional distribution centre.
History
Goldman Sachs
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is an American multinational bulge bracket investment banking and securities firm that engages in global investment banking, securities, investment management, and other financial services primarily with institutional clients...
. When the company first started they ran every part of the business themselves.
In September 2006 Michael Grade
Michael Grade
Michael Ian Grade, Baron Grade of Yarmouth CBE is a British broadcast executive and businessman. He was BBC chairman from 2004 to 2006 and executive chairman of ITV plc from 2007 to 2009.-Early life:...
became non-executive chairman of Ocado, shortly after Goldman Sachs were appointed as financial advisors. This led to perennial speculation that the business would seek a listing on the stock market. In July 2009 Ocado confirmed it was planning a stock market flotation
Initial public offering
An initial public offering or stock market launch, is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. It can be used by either small or large companies to raise expansion capital and become publicly traded enterprises...
.
In November 2008 the John Lewis Partnership
John Lewis Partnership
The John Lewis Partnership is an employee-owned UK partnership which operates John Lewis department stores, Waitrose supermarkets and a number of other services...
transferred its shareholding of 29% into its staff pension fund. It also agreed a five-year supply deal with the business, replacing its previous one-year rolling deal. This deal was replaced in May 2010 with a 10-year branding and supply agreement. Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble is a Fortune 500 American multinational corporation headquartered in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio and manufactures a wide range of consumer goods....
took a 1% stake in the company the same year. In February 2011, the John Lewis pension fund sold off its entire Ocado shareholding.
On 13 July 2009 Ocado released their first app for the iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
. The app, called 'Ocado On The Go', allows users to do their grocery shopping without the need of a PC. On 19 April 2010 the company extended the app to Android devices. The Android app has a number of features that the iPhone app does not have, including the ability to control the app using only the voice.