E-grocer Last Mile Solutions has appointed a new marketing partner for the launch of its online home shopping service which is still several months away. The service, which is yet to be named, is a joint venture with minority shareholder Waitrose. It will be able to harness Waitrose's brand, own label products, purchasing power and supply chain. The new partner, HHCL Rainmaker, pledged to create "ideas that will sit at the heart of the company", including customer acquisition and retention strategies. LMS is "still at the development stages" of both marketing strategy and depot construction. Katie Spriggs, head of marketing, said everything was still on course for a mid 2001 launch. {{NEWS }}