Online grocery retailer Ocado has announced it is looking to significantly expand its range of products after making its first quarterly profit.
The company, which mainly delivers Waitrose groceries to UK households, said by 2013 it hopes to sell between 30,000 and 40,000 lines – almost double what it currently offers.
Ocado chief executive Tim Steiner told reporters: “We would like to see a range between 30,000 and 40,000 and I think we would like to get there within the next 24 months.”
He also revealed that more branded goods would be added to its stock and own-label ranges would be priced more competitively.
The ambitious target was revealed as Ocado reported a pre-tax profit of £300,000 for the three months to the end of November 2010 – the first profit in its 10-year history.
However, figures for the whole of 2010 showed that the online supermarket made a loss of £12.2m, which included £3.5m of costs related to last July’s stock market listing.
Sales for the full year to November 28 grew 29 per cent to £551 million and the company said it was continuing to see strong sales growth at the start of its new financial year.
