While online grocer Ocado will be pleased with a 21.4% increase in first-half sales, attention should now turn to improving the group's profit positioning, a retail analyst has suggested.
Following the announcement that Ocado had reported a loss of £23 million for the half-year period, Andy Halliwell of Publicis Sapient commented, "Ocado seems to be looking a little risky right now. They’ve just invested a lot of money in their new Smart Platform technologies that are yet to bring in significant additional revenues, and their position in the grocery automation market is a premium one.
"This is why a number of international grocers are reportedly deciding to use alternative technologies, at least whilst they get their home delivery propositions off the ground."
