Australian parcel delivery company Sendle has abruptly ceased operations, leaving thousands of small businesses across the country scrambling to fulfil orders, rebook deliveries and absorb unexpected costs. The company halted all bookings without warning, notifying customers via email on Sunday that it was stopping all parcel bookings “effective immediately” from January 11.
In the message, Sendle warned that any parcels already collected and in transit would only be delivered “at the discretion of the delivery partner,” while all bookings scheduled for pick-up on January 12 or later would be cancelled. The company offered no explanation for the sudden shutdown. Customers with questions about existing deliveries were directed to contact delivery partners including eBay, Shopify and WooCommerce.
A banner on Sendle’s website confirmed the closure, while the company’s social media accounts have been disabled. A follow-up email to customers said: “Our team is no longer available to respond to inquiries, and this email account is no longer being monitored.” Sendle claims to have shipped more than 65 million parcels across Australia, the US and Canada, and had built a strong following among small businesses by positioning itself as a cheaper, more convenient alternative to Australia Post.
Small business owners say they were blindsided by the decision. Bubka co-founder Alicia Segal said the closure had left her business “high and dry” after it had begun shifting more deliveries away from Australia Post. 3D printer filament brand Siddament said it was already thousands of dollars out of pocket. The Brick Store said it relied on Sendle for 90 per cent of deliveries because of its convenience and cost, and now had to rebook 27 orders with Australia Post during an already hectic week.
The collapse comes just months after Sendle merged with two US-based logistics companies, FirstMile and ACI Logistix, to form a new entity known as FAST Group, headquartered in California. However, the merger has since unravelled. According to US logistics publication FreightWaves, Sydney-based Federation Asset Management froze redemptions from its ‘Alternatives Investment Fund II’ late last year after discovering “significant deficiencies” in the financial statements of ACI Logistix following the merger. The fund reportedly had about 64 per cent of its capital tied up in FAST Group and was estimated to be worth $23.8 million in October.
