Ocado has extended its partnership deal with French retailer Groupe Casino, the British online supermarket and technology group said on Thursday.
The agreement follows a Memorandum of Understanding announced in February.
The extension includes the creation of a joint venture to provide logistics services to Ocado-powered customer fulfilment centres in France, which will be available to all grocery retailers.
Groupe Casino will also use Ocado's in-store fulfilment technology in its Monoprix stores.
Marketplace Platform
Ocado will integrate Octopia's marketplace platform into its Ocado Smart Platform (OSP), and allow OSP partners around the world to launch their own marketplace offerings.
Octopia is a subsidiary of Cdiscount, which is fully controlled by Cnova, the e-commerce arm of Casino.
Ocado agreed its first deal with Casino in 2017.
Slashes Growth
On the 25th May the British online grocer owned by Ocado Group and Marks & Spencer, slashed its growth outlook on as its customers ordered fewer items against the backdrop of a growing cost of living crisis.
The retailer said it expected sales this financial year to grow in the low single digits rather than the 10% it previously guided, while its core earnings margin would be in the low single digits.
It said the grocery market had declined by 4-5% in recent months compared to last year when COVID restrictions were at a peak and online had declined even faster, although it remained 60-70% up on pre-pandemic levels.
Read More: UK Online Grocer Ocado Retail Cuts Growth Forecast In Tough Market
News by Reuters additional reporting and edited by Donna Ahern, Checkout. For more technology news click here. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
