It's confirmed! Foodpanda quits Vietnam

The company says it wants to focus on its other markets because profitability is priority, reports Tech in Asia

It’s not just a rumour. Rocket Internet’s online food delivery service Foodpanda has shut down in Vietnam.

Tim Schefenacker, Foodpanda’s global head for communications, told Tech in Asia today: “Yes, I can confirm that we have decided to close down our business in Vietnam.”

“We saw a smaller and rather long-term opportunity in Vietnam compared to our other markets and therefore want to focus stronger on [the latter], given Foodpanda’s focus on profitability,” he explained, offering no specifics.

A “notice of termination” from Foodpanda informing its restaurant partners of its decision was making the rounds on social media.

In the notice dated December 2, Foodpanda’s general director for Vietnam Truong Duy Linh said the company was suffering from a ‘financial situation’ and ‘facing many difficulties’.

He further said that five days following the announcement, the company would cease all business activities in the country, primarily its website Foodpanda.vn.

Foodpanda launched in Vietnam under the HungryPanda banner in 2012, a time when competition in this sector was already heating up around Asia. In Vietnam, the company had to work hard to deal with strong homegrown brands Vietnammm and Eat.vn.

Eat.vn is backed by one of Vietnam’s most prominent online media companies, VC Corp. Takeaway, one of the world’s biggest online food delivery services, bought a stake in Vietnammm, bringing the rivalry to a whole new level.

All companies were said to have been amping up their marketing and advertising spend in the country. Genk reported that up to the end of 2014, Foodpanda was aggressively fighting for its share of the market and was even advertising on TV.

This is an excerpt from Tech in Asia. You can read the full article here.