M&S chair Archie Norman: Online grocery is a ‘desert of profit’

Former Asda boss and current Marks & Spencer chairman Archie Norman has declared that Ocado Retail—the joint venture between M&S and Ocado Group—will soon “be worth a lot of money,” despite the online food sector remaining a “desert of profit.”

Speaking at the 2025 Retail Technology Show, Norman emphasised the potential of the venture, saying it would be a unique way of delivering a better online food business.

He pointed out that Ocado Retail is growing 13% a year, outpacing the UK food retail sector, with nearly a third of its sales now coming from M&S products.

However, he admitted that shareholders remain sceptical. “What do my shareholders think? They don’t think there’s a lot of value in it, probably zip. What do I think? I think it’s going to be worth a lot of money.”

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Norman acknowledged the broader struggles of the online grocery market, calling it a “desert of profit.”

Nobody is really making profit from food online. Nobody is an exaggeration, but I’m saying that for a fact, there’s been more wealth destroyed in people trying to develop food online businesses than any other industry I can think of.”

Ocado Retail was announced back in 2019 and launched on Ocado.com in September 2020. The venture was formed after Ocado ended its long-term supply agreement with Waitrose, allowing M&S to enter the online grocery market for the first time.

Despite Ocado Retail’s growth, the wider online grocery sector remains volatile. Norman referenced the collapse of online speedy grocery services such as Getir, Gorillas, and Gopuff—companies that boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic but struggled to sustain profitability afterward, “they’re all gone now”.

Norman’s comments come as Ocado Retail posted a 17.5% increase in retail sales for the 13 weeks leading up to December 2024. Active shoppers rose by 12.1%, highlighting the strength of the joint venture between M&S and Ocado Group.

Last year, the pair were in dispute when M&S put its final payment for its share in the Ocado Retail joint venture on hold after the online grocer partnership failed to meet key performance targets.

M&S was due to pay the group the £190.7m payment by August, dependent on the venture’s performance against an undisclosed target in the year to November 2023.

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