SkipTheDishes switching gears on grocery delivery service, laying off staff

A Skip Express Lane location in Winnipeg is shown in this undated handout image. SkipTheDishes is tested the new business model to help it sell household goods and groceries directly to customers. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-SkipTheDishes

SkipTheDishes is rolling out changes to its grocery delivery services, laying off staff in the process.

The company told CTV News in a statement that “changes” to Skip Express Lane, the company’s grocery and essentials delivery offshoot, have resulted in staff reduction.

“While business decisions that impact people’s jobs are never simple or easy, we are committed to helping these impacted individuals in any way we can, and are incredibly grateful for the contributions they have made to the business,” said Paul Sudarsan, senior vice-president of partnerships with SkipTheDishes.

The company did not respond to inquiries as to how many employees will be affected.

Skip launched Express Lane in 2021—a grocery and household item delivery service that promised your bread and toilet paper at your doorstep in 25 minutes or less.

The first “fulfillment centre” was opened in Winnipeg, the city where the company was founded. These “dark” or “ghost warehouses” stored Express Lane’s groceries, snacks and personal care items. Several other hubs followed across Canada.

At the time, the company said Skip Express Lane was expected to create about 1,000 jobs across the country.

Skip’s website currently lists two of these fulfillment centres still in operation in Winnipeg.

“At launch, Skip Express Lane filled an important gap in the grocery and retail market,“ Sudarsan said, adding the company has since evolved to offer delivery from more grocery and retail stores.

“Skip Express Lane will always be an important chapter in our story, and we’re incredibly proud of what our teams were able to build right here in Canada.”

‘Demand has softened’

Express Lane’s shuttering comes days after Skip announced it had partnered with Loblaw to add its retail banners, like No Frills and Real Canadian Superstore, to its delivery slate.

It is only the latest in a string of deals Skip has inked with national and multi-national retail giants in recent years, like Walmart Canada and Shoppers Drug Mart.

All were aimed at expanding the company’s retail network.

Sylvain Charlebois, food professor and director of Dalhousie University’s Agri-Food Analytics Lab, reckons SkipTheDishes fell behind U.S. competitors like UberEats and DoorDash in recent years. Express Lane and its large brick and mortar footprint were collateral damage of that outpacing, he posits.

“(SkipTheDishes) had all this infrastructure to actually support across the country so it probably was a little overwhelming for them, and demand has softened,” he said.

“People are out there shopping for bargains, and you’re not going to be online.”

With files from CTV’s Joseph Bernacki