M&S bosses hail indicators of progress at their on-line tie-up with Ocado

M&S chairman Archie Norman (pictured) said he was ‘not happy’ with how joint venture Ocado Retail had performed

Marks & Spencer’s bosses have hailed signs of progress at their online tie-up with Ocado.

At the retailer’s annual meeting last year, chairman Archie Norman said he was ‘not happy’ with how joint venture Ocado Retail, which is owned 50:50 between M&S and Ocado, had performed.

But at yesterday’s meeting, Norman said he was now ‘not unhappy’ after signs of a turnaround at Ocado Retail.

M&S chief executive Stuart Machin echoed his chairman’s comments by highlighting that there had been more M&S products added to Ocado.

Norman added: ‘A joint venture is always hard work, there’s always little points of friction and so on.’