Zap! It's over for one-hour delivery service
Financial Times; Feb 21, 2001
By THOROLD BARKER
ZapitOver.com has become the latest one-hour delivery service to close, after it failed to raise the Pounds 250,000 needed to continue trading.
It follows a string of competitors, including the consumer arm of Urbanfetch and BagsofTime.com that shut up shop last year because of losses and problems with raising fresh cash from investors.
A farewell message on its website yesterday read: “Zap, It’s Over! . . . Yes, it’s true. After months of toil in the rapid-delivery market we’ve finally reached the end. We’ve watched all our competitors go bust and still soldiered on, but due to lack of investment we have to close.”
The London-based company was founded in June last year by 86 Ltd, a new-media consultancy, with about Pounds 250,000 of capital. It operates a one-hour food, drink and gift delivery service around London and has 10 employees in Farringdon.
It was originally called WapitOver, but changed the name because it was concerned that users would think they could only order with a Wap phone.
The company averaged about 35 deliveries a day when it needed about 100 to break even. Until it closes at the end of the month it is selling off its stock of gift items.
Separately, Lastorders.com, which started life in 1999 delivering beer and other drinks to online customers, is winding up after failing to convince investors of its strategy to change into a business-to-business internet company. It raised Pounds 2.5m from institutions last year.
James Oliver, co-founder, said he would try to raise further money once the wind-up was complete to pursue his B2B idea allowing big drinks brands to sell directly to the public.
Copyright: The Financial Times Limited
