German food delivery start-up Foodora has announced that it will cease all Australian operations by August 20, citing a shift in the market as the reason behind the move.
Foodora always struggled in the Australian market. With UberEats and Menulog commanding a massive 70 percent market share, Deliveroo and Foodora – by far the smallest – were left to battle it out for the rest.
“It has been a privilege to bring the food you love right to your door,” Foodora Australia head Jeroen Willems said. “The decision to leave the Australian market and cease operations was in response to a shift in focus towards other markets where the company currently sees a higher potential for growth”
The closure means that 40 staff and up to 1000 riders are left out of a job. Foodora has said that it will use its remaining time and resources to find its employees other jobs.
Andrew Ledovskikh, a senior industry analyst with market researchers IBISWorld, said that being the smallest option on offer was always going to be a problem for Foodora.
“Foodora had about 2500 restaurants whereas Menulog had about 10,000,” he said. “Menulog started off with suburban stores and has been able to spread out a lot more but Foodora has always been available in a limited number of cities and only the inner cities at that.”
