Hugo App will shut down in Jamaica next month, following its acquisition of the delivery service by Delivery Hero, which is based in Germany.
“The decision has been made that Hugo App will be closing operations in Jamaica,” said Miguel Vaquero of Hugo App Limited in correspondence issued on Friday and seen by the Financial Gleaner. “Therefore, at April 30 we are forced to terminate the commission agreement entered between you and Hugo App Limited,” he said.
A manager at Hugo told the Financial Gleaner that Delivery Hero would eventually issue a press release on the operations. As to whether Hugo would transition to Hero in this market: “As the card that is circulating around states, it is a permanent closure,” the person said in response.
A contracted deliveryman for Hugo said the riders knew of the company’s pending lockdown, but only indirectly through a message group.
“I was not told directly by email but in a group. We were instructed of the closure in the group,” said a 22-year-old rider contracted to Hugo, who declined to give his name on concern that it could affect his prospects for future employment. “The riders in the group said that they would either join other companies or work for themselves.”
The rider, decked in his purple, branded gear, indicated that he too would probably join a rival provider. The prospects include Quickcart, Cutdiline, 876Get, 7Krave, Big6Delivery and others.
“Hugo was good to me,” he said, explaining that he netted $300 per delivery.
Delivery Hero’s acquisition of El-Salvador-based Hugo was announced from last October. The value of the purchase was not disclosed.
Hugo was founded by Alejandro Argumedo, Ricardo Cuellar and Juan Maceda in 2017, according to its website. The company grew its core markets to El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic and Jamaica; and since 2020, it also ventured into the transport of people, and financial services.
Hugo enter Jamaica during the pandemic, at a time when online services were climbing amid lockdowns, and soon became one of the most popular delivery services in operation.
steven.jackson@gleanerjm.com
