Sobeys Pulls the Plug on Ocado’s Robotic Cube Warehouse
Ocado’s Reset: Another Robot-Heavy Fulfillment Center Shuts Down
Another automated fulfillment center.
Another “strategic reset.”
Another reminder that scale, robotics, and software do not magically create demand — or profitability.
This week, Ocado Group confirmed that its Canadian partner Sobeys will close the Calgary robotic customer fulfillment centre (CFC) using Ocado’s automation technology. The market reaction was swift: Ocado’s shares fell nearly 10%.
This follows closely on the heels of Kroger shutting down three Ocado-powered CFCs in the U.S. less than three months ago.
Different geographies.
Different partners.
Same outcome.
Sobeys to launch automated Ocado online fulfillment center in Vancouver
The Explanation Is Familiar — and Incomplete
Sobeys cited “market size” and “slower-than-expected e-commerce growth in Alberta.” That may be true. But it avoids the harder question:
Why do these highly automated, capital-intensive facilities require everything to go perfectly just to break even?
Large robot-run fulfillment centers are structurally brittle:
They demand high, sustained order density
They lock retailers into fixed cost curves
They struggle with regional demand variability
And they leave little room for graceful scaling down
When growth underperforms — even slightly — the economics collapse.
Centralized Automation vs. Flexible Fulfillment
Ocado’s model was built for a very specific future:
high online grocery penetration, predictable volumes, and centralized demand.
North America didn’t cooperate.
Instead, retailers are increasingly leaning toward:
Store-based picking
Micro-fulfillment
Hybrid networks
Faster, cheaper last-mile models
Not because they’re “less automated” — but because they’re more adaptable.
As the article notes, competitors using store-based fulfillment and local delivery (bikes, mopeds, short hops) are often cheaper, faster, and easier to adjust than massive robot-only CFCs.
Losses, Resets, and “Evolved Technology”
Ocado will receive £18m in compensation, but lose £7m in annual fee revenue. Revenue is up — yet losses persist.
This has become a familiar pattern:
Expensive deployments
Slow ramp-ups
Network “refinements”
Strategic resets
New versions of the technology promised to fix the last one
Ocado now says its North American business is being “reset” and points to its newer Swift Router system. Maybe it helps. But software improvements cannot fully offset a mismatched operating model.
The Bigger Takeaway
Some analysts are now openly questioning whether large, robot-centric fulfillment centers can work economically in developed markets like the U.S. and Canada.
That debate is overdue.
This isn’t an indictment of robotics.
It’s an indictment of rigid automation strategies that assume volume will eventually save the model.
It won’t.
Flexibility beats density.
Adaptability beats elegance.
And software orchestration matters more than robot count.
