S.Korean food delivery firm Baemin to withdraw from Vietnam next month
S.Korean food delivery firm Baemin to withdraw from Vietnam next month
South Korean food delivery Baemin will leave the Vietnamese market on December 8 this year, putting an end to its four-year operation in the country, due to an economic downturn and fierce competition in the sector.
Food delivery app Baemin has operated in Vietnam for four years, providing livelihoods for many local laborers, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo: Bong Mai / Tuoi Tre |
Beamin said customers can still place orders on its app until December 7.
As the sands of time are running out, the firm advised its customers to use up their reward points and coupons.
“Baemin will eternally be grateful for the love, favor, and support that you have given to Baemin during our journey of delivering food throughout Vietnam over the past four years," Baemin wrote in its announcement to its customers.
"Baemin is extremely happy and proud to accompany you in every tasty meal.
“Baemin wishes you full of joy like a full stomach. Baemin loves you so much and will miss you a lot.”
In another announcement to its partners, which are restaurants, the food delivery platform shared that the decision to withdraw from Vietnam was triggered by the global economic difficulties and the stiff competition in the Vietnamese market.
The enterprise is committed to fully paying its debts during the remaining time in Vietnam and returning advertising and marketing payments that other firms had made in advance for December.
The South Korean food delivery service entered the Vietnamese market in June 2019, beginning its operation in Ho Chi Minh City.
Over the past four years, Baemin has impressed local consumers with creative, cute, dynamic, and friendly advertising campaigns.
Besides ordering food, customers can experience other services on the Baemin app, such as buying groceries online.
Baemin is an online application operated by Woowa Brothers Vietnam, a member of a joint venture between Woowa Brothers, a leading food delivery company in South Korea, and Delivery Hero, a leading delivery platform in the world, providing services in more than 50 countries.
In September this year, the platform announced plans to scale down its Vietnam operations.
Earlier, Niklas Östberg, co-founder and CEO of Delivery Hero, told Reuters that the company’s prospects in Asia were optimistic, except in Vietnam, where he believed the business operation was unlikely to ever be profitable.
As of last year, Grab held 45 percent of the market share in the food delivery segment in Vietnam, followed by ShopeeFood with 41 percent and Baemin with 12 percent, according to market research firm Momentum Works.
