Orders and Revenue Fall at Just Eat Takeaway
World's fastest delivery van, Macy's mauled, urban loading zone data
We’re seeing some sorry financial results from Just Eat Takeaway.com and Macy’s, but cheer up: Ford just showed off the world’s fastest delivery van, and there’s some fascinating new data on loading zones in big cities.
Oh and have you seen the latest partners we just announced are headed to Curbivore? Say hello to DoorDash, Starship, Waymo, Tern, Gigs and Tranzito — a real who’s who of industry leaders. Snag your $195 ticket before prices jump on Friday!
This week’s edition is brought to you by Woolpert.
Today:
JET Jettisons Growth Ambitions
It’s A Man, It’s A Plane, It’s SuperVan
Chart Time | Loading Zone Woes
Macy’s Leaving SF & 149 Other Locations
3PD | Just Eat Takeaway Adjusted EBITDA Hits €324 Million
Just Eat Takeaway.com continues to cut its way towards profitability, as its 2023 Financial Results showed an Adjusted EBITDA of €324 million ($351M,) but an IFRS (basically GAAP for Europeans) loss of €1,846 million, driven by impairment losses of €1,539 million from past equity funded acquisitions and amortization of consumer lists, technology platforms and development costs. The company is touting that it’s returned to revenue growth in every market but North America, but that looks to be coming off of higher prices, not more orders. Their charts (below) are worth scrutinizing.
The Big Picture: JET notes it’s bought back 7.3% of its shares so far, and CEO Jitse Groen says the company will consider more buybacks in Q4. But while the company projects it’ll stay free cash flow positive in 2024 (a milestone it hit in the second half of last year,) it seems like a particular failure of imagination to essentially plow all those proceeds right back into buying shares. JET says it expects “Constant currency GTV growth excluding North America in the range of 2% to 6% year-on-year” but “excluding North America” means ignoring 42% of its business. Add that back in and it’s likely GTV will be flat or down in 2024; wouldn’t the company be better off in the long term if it reinvested some cash into restoring growth?
PARTNER | Struggling with Last-Mile Chaos? 61% of Businesses Feel Your Pain
Is your last mile delivering headaches instead of packages? You're not alone. A staggering 61% of delivery businesses struggle with outdated tech, delays, inefficiencies, and skyrocketing costs.
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If those tips piqued your interest, it's time to have a conversation. Meet with us at Curbivore or contact us today to see how Woolpert Digital Innovations’ location-based strategies fit into your last mile solutions.
VEHICLES | Is This the Fastest Delivery Van Ever Created?
Ford just put out a concept vehicle that’s breaking world speed records, and no it’s not a Mustang; meet the SuperVan 4.2, which just set a number of records at the iconic Bathurst 500 race in Australia. The magnificent minivan produces over 4,400 pounds of downforce at 150 miles per hour, allowing it to beat more traditional sports cars like a modded Mercedes AMG GT and an unrestricted Audi R8.
The Big Picture: Given that this panel van isn’t likely to be bringing you your ecommerce or groceries, what’s the big deal? Think of it as an impressive test platform for the technologies that will make it onto a humbler delivery vehicle near you. The electric motors and battery packs have proven themselves, and the light weight modifications made to the E-Transit body are valuable lessons on how to get any boxy vehicle to be more aerodynamic. Let’s just hope the clock-watching dispatchers at Amazon don’t get overly inspired…
CHART TIME | Overloaded…
Showing off the prowess of its new Smart Delivery Suite, INRIX has published data showing off the loading zone mix of the country’s largest cities. San Diegans unloading an order of new surfboards (or say, restocking an AAV) look to have ample room, while apparently Portlandians are really going to struggle to find a spot to load the coffee truck (no wonder they love their bikes so much.)
RETAIL | Macy’s & the Middle Class — Both Shrinking
Iconic retailer Macy’s just put out its sorry 2023 financial results, showing net sales of $23.1 billion, down 5.5% YoY. While brick-and-mortar were down “only” 5%, digital sales fell 7% (the internet’s just a fad, right?) In response to mounting activist investor pressure, the company’s launching “A Bold New Chapter” where it’ll close 150 Macy’s locations, while opening 15 upmarket Bloomingdale’s and 30 cosmetics-oriented Bluemercery stores. Although the company hasn’t released a full list of store closures, it did note that it’ll be axing its famous location in San Francisco’s Union Square, where the company and its corporate predecessors have been an architectural icon for about 100 years.
The Big Picture: Macy’s is the iconic middle class retailer, a market that just doesn’t exist like it did decades ago, with shoppers largely having moved up or down the latter. It also doesn’t help that Macy’s has done a lousy job of chasing consumers online. While the company does offer DoorDash Drive-powered same-day deliveries on its own website, using the feature is a convoluted mess. If the company offered its inventory directly on DD or UE, that would let it make better use of its primely-located, large urban stores. As for San Francisco, the city is mourning the loss of the retailer, coming hard on the heels of Nordstrom leaving 865 Market St. But ‘Friscans may want to note that their own heavy-handed laws actually make it quite hard for new retailers to serve the city; the Formula Retail Ordinance essentially bans chain stores from operating in 80% of the city.
A Few Good Links
Uber, Lyft threaten to leave Minneapolis over possible pay changes. 27-store Dierbergs Markets debuts new shopping app by Swiftly (not the Swiftly that does transit software) Shadowfax raises $100M for instant delivery in India. Starbucks begins negotiations with workers union. GM likely to bring Cruise to Texas, where they don’t mind a li’l corporate malfeasance now and then. Nuro chooses ARM for next gen vehicle chips. No more robot chicken — Mitsubishi sells KFC Japan stake. Kroger’s anti-competitive behavior in Colorado. Chipotle ups tech investments. Crumbl launches app for Vision Pro. Shaq leaving Papa Johns board, say it ain’t so! Wendy’s walks back plans to raise prices during peak demand, will only lower when slower. Darden kills off China Coast chain. Family Dollar pays $42M for rats in its distribution center. Grocery Outlet (gross out, to those in the know) sees sales surge 6% in Q4. Ped deaths dip down. Ecom roll-up player Thrasio files for Chapter 11.
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