Marks & Spencer is looking to launch its online grocery delivery service through a tie-up with Ocado, according to reports.
After last week‘s announcement by M&S that is plans to branch out to online grocery shopping, The Telegraph has said that the high street stalwart was set to start talks with Ocado with the aim of launching a soft trial ahead of the planned autumn launch.
Should it be successful, it would be a welcome relief for Ocado who have not yet found an international partner for a licensing deal.
The news comes just weeks after M&S said it would shut down six UK stores and open 36 new ones over the next six months, 34 of which will be dedicated to its fast-growing food retail arm.
READ MORE: M&S branches out to online grocery shopping
At the moment, customers can buy party food from M&S‘s website which can then be collected in-store.
Customers can also order wine and gift foods such as chocolate, sweets and hampers to be delivered.
Last November, Steve Rowe announced the company would shut 30 UK stores and convert a further 45 shops into Simply Food-only stores to accommodate the booming demand in its food retail sector and to refocus the business, which has struggled against a long-term decline in clothing sales.
Ocado‘s current contract with Morrisons prevents it from working with the other major supermarkets – Tesco, Sainsbury‘s, Asda, Aldi and Lidl – but it is still free to make a deal with M&S.
Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette’s free daily email newsletter
