One of the biggest news stories for DoorDash this week is that it is bidding goodbye to Singapore, which is among its key markets.
Ridesharing Forum was there in the action when this announcement was made, and the chief reason was to keep up with the stiffening competition.
“Our priority is supporting our teams and partners through an orderly transition as we focus on the geographies where we can offer the best products and build for long-term success,” DoorDash said in their official statement.
But, aside from Singapore, it is also closing down in these countries. The full list is:
- Singapore
- Japan
- Qatar
- Uzbekistan
At first glance, it would seem that those markets are very minor, but Japan and Singapore are a big loss.
The Japan Times picked up this breaking news as DoorDash is saying farewell to their nation. The correspondents noted how the use of food delivery services surged during the COVID-19 pandemic wherein fewer people dined out, but the rising competition proved challenging for businesses, leading to the “consolidation in a number of markets,” plus “labor shortages have also hampered operations.” Sad.
Elizabeth Beattie of The Japan Times also indicated that in Japan, in addition to homegrown Uber Eats, several restaurants also provide their own delivery services. Due to this, other companies that attempted to penetrate the market either struggled or failed. There are the likes of foodpanda and Tokyo-based bilingual food delivery service Maishoku that have closed down in Japan in recent years.
Wolt co-founder Miki Kuusi, who is also Deliveroo CEO and DoorDash international head, expressed their frustration over this decision, saying it has made a difficult call.
“We’ve made the difficult decision to wind down operations in Qatar, Singapore, Japan, and Uzbekistan,” Kuusi told the Ridesharing Forum team.
For more food delivery news, keep browsing this Ridesharing Forum website. You may also share your insights about this. To DoorDash Singapore, DoorDash Japan, DoorDash Qatar, and DoorDash Uzbekistan, you will be missed!