Amazon launches grocery site

Amazon has launched a grocery offer in the UK today offering thousands of household goods and food.

The giant e-tailer is set to take on British supermarkets with a range of over 20,000 groceries includes big brands and everyday items sush as detergents as well as international and specialist items.

The new Amazon site will stock a host of household brands from Uncle Ben’s and Pampers to Kenco, Carte Noir and Oreos.

Shoppers will also be able to order fresh food, fruit and veg, and alongside books and CDs, the site will also give a chance to stock up on packs of steaks, a whole lamb and carrots and cabbages.

The move follows on the heels of the upmarket online food retailer Ocado seeking to raise £200m in the city for its ambitious stock market debut.

Fears are growing that Ocado, which is yet to make a profit after ten years of trading, may have to shelve its stock market flotation or accept a drastically lower valuation, after leading investors balked at the price.

Selling by Ocado shareholders is expected to be led by the pension fund of the John Lewis Partnership, the owner of Waitrose, which is expected to halve its 26.5% stake.

The three former Goldman Sachs bankers who founded Ocado a decade ago are also expected to sell a small amount of shares.

This story first appeared on pitch