Setback
Kroger, Ocado's US partner, closed three of its Ocado robot warehouses and dropped a planned site in Charlotte. Five Kroger sites stay open.
A delay, pause or setback · Company-reported
What the source says
“Kroger announced plans to optimise its CFC network, resulting in the closure of three CFCs”
What it means
Ocado grid robots, from Ocado Group, is at stage 4 of 5 on our ladder: paying customers. A setback stays on the record next to the milestones; the stage moves down only when the rules say so. This line rests on the company's own announcement; no regulator, customer or independent report confirms it in our sources yet.
Human help: Our sources report it working without human help.
More on Ocado grid robots
- Lotte and Ocado opened their first robot warehouse in South Korea, serving about 4 million households in Busan.
- Kroger agreed to pay Ocado a one-off fee of $350 million to make up for the closures.
- UK supermarket Asda agreed a partnership with Ocado to build up its online grocery business, due to go live in Ocado's 2027 financial year.
- Canadian grocer Sobeys said it would close its Ocado robot warehouse in Calgary.
- Ocado said its exclusive deals with partners had ended in most of its markets, including with Kroger in the US, so it could sell its system to other grocers there.
- Ocado and Auchan opened Ocado's first robot warehouse in Poland.