Ocado's international freedom to do more business dealt another blow by Sobeys decision to shut down one of its e-commerce hubs

At the end of last year, retail automation specialist Ocado laid out a new path for itself by formally abandoning exclusivity deals with overseas clients. This would, the argument runs, free it up to do lots more deals and expand its customer footprint.

As CEO Tim Steiner optimistically put it:

As we enter 2026, Ocado is well positioned to help more retailers capture market share in the world’s fastest-growing grocery channel.

Flash forward to the end of January 2026 and the first big piece of news to come from Ocado is that its flagship Canadian use case, Sobeys, has decided to shutter its distribution center in Alberta run on the UK grocery group’s automated technology.

It’s also raised a question mark over the future of development of a Vancouver site. That work was first put on hold back in mid-2024.

Two warehouses in Ontario and Quebec ...