Ocado officially partnered with Kroger in 2018 and since then, the retailer has done much to further Ocado’s expansion efforts. Through this partnership, Kroger and Ocado have opened multiple fulfillment facilities across the U.S., and now, the retailer is pushing forward Ocado’s growth outside of the country. Ocado recently announced its new partnership with Aeon, one of Japan’s largest retailers, and has also launched a £500 million GBP ($642 million USD) convertible bond offering intended to fund several robotic warehouses overseas.
“We see Ocado as a state-of-the-art, exciting, and transformative partner aligned with our strategy of accelerating Aeon’s digital shift to serve Japan’s consumers,” said Aeon CEO Motoya Okada.
Through its partnership with Aeon, Ocado plans to boost the Japanese retailer’s e-commerce capabilities with its robotic customer fulfillment centers and software to expand Aeon’s distribution network. According to Reuters, the first of the customer fulfillment centers will service the Kanto region of Japan and are planned to begin operations in 2023, with more to follow over the next two years.
This marks Ocado’s first deal in Asia, and while Aeon did not disclose how much it was paying Ocado, it did confirm that the agreement would include upfront fees as well as later payments dependent on capacity installation and sales performance, the news source reports.
Ocado is also focusing on building robotic warehouses in other regions across the globe, with a $642 million convertible bond offering. According to The New York Times, Ocado’s stock market valuation has risen by 68 percent this year to £9.3 million GBP ($12 million USD).
"The offering enables Ocado Group to diversify its funding sources and capitalize on attractive issuance conditions," the retailer commented to the news source.
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