Last Mile Brief 13/01/2023: Shopee announces shock departure from Polish market
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In today's Last Mile Brief, we've the lowdown on Shopee's sudden decision to leave Poland, plus over 20 news items from around the world concerning the likes of Amazon, Deliveroo, FedEx, Getir, DPD, Walmart and others.
Today’s headline story: Ecommerce platform Shopee announces shock departure from Polish market
In a shock announcement, ecommerce platform Shopee has informed its customers in Poland that its services will no longer be available in the country from today, 13th January.
The move comes after Shopee entered the market as recently as September 2021, armed with an aggressive advertising blitz.
The company had no shortage of competition to grapple with, however. Allegro has long established itself as the market leader in Poland, while Aliexpress and Amazon have also entered the fray in recent years.
Although the decision was something of a shock, especially given Shopee had recently entered the Polish market, the company had already taken the same move in both France and Spain.
As for what was behind Shopee’s departure, a spokesperson told Polish daily newspaper Rzeczpospolita:
“We’re trying to focus on the most promising development opportunities available to us. Taking this into account, as well as the fact that the region continues to experience significant macroeconomic uncertainty, which distorts the assessment of development opportunities in the long term, we have decided to terminate our operations in Poland.”
That said, according to many media outlets in Poland, it is also Shopee’s cringeworthy advertising campaign that has had a role in the company’s downfall in the Polish market.
The Singaporean ecommerce company initially ran with a campaign with a mindlessly repetitive theme tune that annoyed viewers watching content on their TVs, computers or smartphones. They then ran a divisive campaign featuring a Disco Polo star loved by some but hated by others.
This was encapsulated in the aforementioned Rzeczpospolita report, which used the words “no more annoying ads” in its title.
Last Mile Experts analysis by Marek Różycki:
“This is doubtless good news for Allegro who also beat the e-commerce behemoth, eBay, in a David vs Goliath fight several years ago. Alibaba Group will also benefit from this unexpected move. In terms of the last mile, Shopee volumes will have anyway been served by the likes of InPost and DPD Polska Sp z o.o. but will now partially support Allegro Logistics and Cainiao Network as the respective volumes go to their parent companies.”
Europe round up
- Aldi is set to stop home delivery of its ‘Specialbuys’, as well as wine and spirits, so as to focus on low prices and the extension of its click and collect service.
- FedEX invests in new parcel technology at Stansted Airport.
- An 'unauthorised’ InPost parcel locker could be removed from the front of a shop in Exhall, England, after being described as an „ oppressive addition” in a council report.
- DPD has suspended three members of staff at its Stoke-on-Trent depot.
- Royal Mail’s ‘Swap Out’ scheme failed to deliver 500 stamps.
- Royal Mail rejects claims it is planning to sack thousands of workers.
- Deliveroo UK has launched a New Year Saver virtual stamp card, giving customers a chance to unlock £22 in free credit.
- Investors have taken a bite out of Deliveroo after analysts warned Q4 delivery figures will likely fail to meet expectations.
- Asos plans to close three storage warehouses, including one in the UK, as it implements a £300m cost mitigation package.
- Hermes Germany is building a logistics centre in Thiendorf near Dresden.
- Evri is being examined by the UK government after numerous delivery complaints over the Christmas period.
- Workers were set to walk out of Getir’s office in South London on Wednesday over an email informing them of a return to office mandate.
North America round up
- Walmart has entered into a partnership with software giant Salesforce to provide its retail customers with store pickup and delivery services using Walmart’s transportation network.
- Toronto-based delivery startup GoBolt has laid off 55 employees.
- HomeValet has unveiled a food-safety compliance and risk management system for food delivery from Store-to-Door.
- Weis Markets had added its third online grocery delivery partner with the launch of same-day service via Instacart.
- A federal labor official on Wednesday rejected Amazon’s attempt to overturn a union victory at a warehouse on Staten Island, removing a key obstacle to contract negotiations between the union and the company.
- Instacart will pay over $5 million to its San Francisco delivery riders as compensation for allegedly failing to provide some benefits.
- FedEx became the first company to launch cargo operations using the Cessna 408 SkyCourier.
News from the rest of the world
- Courier companies in China are encouraging staff to remain at work during upcoming public holidays to manage the increased flow of goods.
- Amazon has been summoned for an in-person meeting by the assistant labour commissioner’s office in Pune, India, over its recent announcement of layoffs.
- Deliveroo Qatar has launched a cutlery opt-in feature to cut down on takeaway plastics.
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