Editorial | Deliveroo’s exit offers lesson on competition in Hong Kong

Food delivery is one of the few industries that thrived during the pandemic. But like many other businesses, platforms offering such on-demand services are undergoing tough restructuring expedited by changing consumption and work patterns.

The exit of Deliveroo from Hong Kong has not only affected its customers and workers; it also says a lot about surviving a challenging market as the city’s sluggish economy continues to put businesses to the test.

Announcing that its service would end on April 7, the London-based company said its business in the city did not make money last year. It said there were several dynamics specific to the Hong Kong market that led the board to consider strategic options, without elaborating further.

The city represented 5 per cent of the group’s gross transaction value last year, and had a 5 percentage point negative impact on international gross transaction value growth.

It would not serve the best interests of shareholders to continue the Hong Kong operations, the group said in a statement.

The pull-out, after a nine-year stint, was not the first. Uber Eats bowed out in 2021 after Deliveroo and Foodpanda, a unit of Berlin-based Delivery Hero, expanded their presence.