Comment: Will Ocado’s link-up with Morrisons damage the brand?

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I often find myself in a minority, thanks largely to a love of country music and Hendon FC. But a more recent minority experience is being one of few supporters of Ocado.

There are some well-documented examples of City analysts being very vocally cynical over the retailer’s prospects and equally there must be substantial amounts of egg on certain faces as Ocado’s share price has rocketed in recent weeks.

That’s not to say that some of the concerns over Ocado’s business model are unjustified.

But it strikes me that the City has often been rather unforgiving over what is still - in relative terms - a fledgling start-up.

Indeed, it is worth remembering some of the short-sighted ridicule heaped on the likes of Walmart and Amazon when they first listed to be reminded that it can be too easy to be dismissive of businesses in the ugly duckling phase of development, only to be slightly taken aback when they turn into rather awesome swans.

And you wouldn’t want to mess with swans. They can break your arm you know.

Ocado’s link-up with Morrisons, as well as creating opportunities for rather lazy commentary wondering if Ocado shoppers will be happy swapping their balsamic vinegar for deep-fried whippet pies, represents a rather neat solution for the two companies. For Morrisons, it presents the opportunity to gracefully enter the online arena with the odds stacked in its favour. For Ocado, it helps to hedge against the possible exit of Waitrose from their partnership in 2017, mops up some excess capacity in the Dordon depot and gives a significant boost to its numbers for the foreseeable future.

A lot of the reporting about the deal implied that Ocado would lose out if Waitrose ended its deal in 2017 as shoppers would somehow be distraught if their Waitrose private-label products were replaced by Morrisons brands.

There might be a degree of truth in this. The perception though is not justified and there will be three years to educate shoppers about the merits of the Morrisons offer and just how far its range has improved over the last year or two.