CAPTION: Delivery Hero suspends service in home market Germany. (picture alliance / Wolfram Steinberg)
Delivery Hero said it was making a U-turn and suspending its food delivery service in its home market Germany, just months after returning to the country, and selling its business in Japan.
The Berlin-based company had been delivering restaurant meals, groceries and convenience items in six German cities since May via its Foodpanda brand.
Delivery Hero came back to Germany this year after selling its German operations in 2018 to Dutch rival Takeaway.com in 2018, which now trades as Just Eat Takeaway.
Chief executive Niklas Oestberg said on Wednesday it was difficult at the moment to see a pathway to growth in the German market.
Numerous restaurant and grocery delivery companies are vying for German customers' attention and money, with the bike couriers a common sight on city streets.
In the restaurant segment, Foodpanda was competing against the top dog Lieferando, Finnish start-up Wolt, Uber Eats and others.
In so-called quick commerce, or Q-commerce - the delivery of products used daily within minutes - the couriers were cycling against the delivery companies of Gorillas, Flink and Getir.
Foodpanda Germany was active in Berlin, Cologne, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich and Stuttgart.
Oestberg also said that Delivery Hero was selling its Foodpanda business in Japan.
With the moves, Delivery Hero said it can shift resources to markets with more attractive growth opportunities,
Delivery Hero, which trades on the DAX blue-chip share index, operates in around 50 countries across Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and North Africa.
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