Stockholm-based Instabox, a company that claims to transform last-mile deliveries for e-commerce, announced on Thursday that its Dutch operations Instabox Netherlands B.V., Red je Pakketje B.V., and their subsidiaries have declared bankruptcy.
A court in Amsterdam has approved the application for bankruptcy and a Trustee has assumed responsibility for the companies and their employees, customers, and partners.
Last year, Instabox made its debut in the Dutch market by acquiring Red je Pakketje, an Arnhem, Netherlands-based logistics company that provides same-day deliveries.
A total of 984 employees of Red je Pakketje and Instabox Netherlands have been affected by the bankruptcy.
“This is obviously a very difficult decision to take as we know it comes with negative impacts for staff, customers, and partners. We have an increased focus on profitability, and after analysing past and future performance, we have come to the conclusion that we will not reach proper profitability within our planning horizon,” says Alexis Priftis, CEO of Instabox AB.
The announcement comes a few days after Instabox merged with Budbee to form Instabee, at a value of approximately €1.66B.
The bankruptcy trustee, Mr. S. Voermans of Levenbach Advocaten, says that a possible restart is being considered. And while several interested parties have already registered for this, the name Instabox will no longer be used.
Red je Pakketje: What you need to know
Founded in 2016 by Sam Rohn, Tijs van Driel, and Kay Rohn, Red je Pakketje is an online platform providing parcel delivery services in the Netherlands, focusing on same-day deliveries to customers at night. It also offers next-day evening delivery and international shipping services, and allows users to track their parcels in real time.
Talking about the bankruptcy, Sam Rohn of Red je Pakketje says, “I am deeply shocked and deeply moved by the news. With the withdrawal of Instabox Netherlands, Instabox is also pulling the plug on what used to be Red je Pakketje, the company to which I – along with many others – have given my soul and bliss for more than 7 years.”
Speaking about the reasons behind the bankruptcy, he says, “This is something that was decided completely outside of me/after my departure. So I really don’t know anything about it. It is best to contact the curator.”
Instabox: What you need to know
Founded in 2015 by Alexis Priftis, Staffan Gabrielsson, and Johan Lundin, Instabox is a logistics company available through select online retailers where packages are delivered to smart box locations, often the same day a user places their order.
The company operates one of the widest locker networks in the Nordics. With partners like H&M and IKEA, Instabox claims to deliver e-commerce goods to millions of consumers, mainly through lockers and emission-free bike deliveries.
Instabox operates more than 4,500 automated parcel machines in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, and Germany. The company has consistently grown by more than 300 per cent per year since its inception.
In April 2022, Instabox raised $190M ( approximately €174.5M) at a valuation of over $1B. The company’s aim was to use the funds to continue investing in sustainable solutions, optimise its technology, and increase its European footprint.
01
No early-stage VCs, no economy: Cottonwood’s Alain le Loux on Fund IV, early-stage deep tech startups, science IP-based innovation