ARLINGTON, VA – All eyes are on the food retail industry – curious as to how it will navigate the ecommerce revolution and shift customers toward other purchasing opportunities in addition to their in-store shopping. To help its members better understand the dynamic operational trends at play in the digital environment, the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) has invited Tim Steiner, co-founder and CEO of Ocado: the online supermarket, to be a keynote speaker at the 2018 Midwinter Executive Conference.
While the average grocery store carries an estimated 39,000 products, Ocado offers
more than 50,000 and this British online-only grocery chain is tackling complicated issues of logistics in its pure-play ecommerce model. Steiner co-founded the company back in 2000 when online and grocery delivery were still nascent concepts. The modern-day company is profitable, with over $1.4 billion in sales in 2016, and is often described as a model for online retail due to automated warehouses, early adoption of a mobile strategy and its recent developments in voice capabilities using Alexa.
FMI President and CEO Leslie G. Sarasin commented on the opportunity to host Steiner on the program for the food retail industry’s premier, invitation-only event, saying, “There’s a real appetite for change among food retailers and the excitement is building to produce rewarding food experiences for a digitally engaged consumer. Ocado is using machine learning to create new experiences and opportunities for customers, even supplying its scalable technologies to other retailers.”
Ocado CEO Tim Steiner said, "The channel shift to online grocery shopping continues to accelerate internationally bringing increasing pressure on retailers to adapt and evolve to meet these changing dynamics. I am delighted to have the opportunity to share insights of some of the challenges and successes we have experienced in building our business into a sustainably profitable company, and our experience of working with other retailers to help enable their online businesses."
Sarasin continued, “None of us is insulated from disruption in this current business environment, but we have the ability to learn from each other and transition our once-perceived barriers into growth solutions. Midwinter 2018 will attempt to satiate this hunger for longer-term business planning, knowing fully well that tomorrow the technology will change.”
For Media:
A recent FMI blog details other major program announcements.
FMI’s media registration policy is detailed here and members of the food, beverage and consumer products trade press are invited.
About Ocado
Ocado is a UK based company trading on the London Stock Exchange (Ticker OCDO), and is one of the world’s largest dedicated online grocery retailers, operating its own grocery and general merchandise retail businesses under the Ocado.com and other specialist shop banners. Please see ocado.com
Ocado also uses its technology and intellectual property to assist other retailers in their online businesses, notably in agreements with Wm Morrison Supermarkets plc in the UK, and Groupe Casino in France. Please see ocadosolutions.com
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