(Alliance News) - Ocado Group PLC on Tuesday announced a partnership between Ocado Solutions and Lotte Shopping, the largest retail affiliate of the South Korean conglomerate Lotte Group.

Shares were trading up 32% at 623.20 pence each on Tuesday morning in London following the news, though they remain down 64% over the past year.

The online grocer said the pair will develop a network of customer fulfilment centres in South Korea, with six planned by 2028. Ocado plans to roll out its in-store fulfilment solution in 2024, with the first CFC to go live in 2025.

No financial details were provided, but Ocado said: "Ocado group expects this deal to create significant long term value to the business. The impact of this transaction should be negligible on earnings in the current financial year as no cash fees will be recognised in revenue until operations commence."

Chief Executive Officer Kim Sang-hyun said: "This partnership with Ocado, one of the most innovative companies worldwide, will be a great opportunity for Lotte Shopping to provide our customers with a new online grocery shopping experience. Also I expect this will be the first step for us on the way not only to increasing our competitiveness and presence in the e-grocery market, but also to achieving the leading position in the overall grocery market in Korea."

Lotte Group is one of the largest business conglomerates in South Korea, with interests spanning retail, food, hotels and chemicals, with a total annual revenue of KRW75 trillion, about GBP45 billion.

Lotte Shopping is the group's largest retail affiliate, operating department stores, hypermarkets, supermarkets and e-commerce platforms in South Korea, with an annual revenue of KRW15.6 trillion, about GBP9.8 billion.

By Xindi Wei; xindiwei@alliancenews.com

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