London-based startup Quiqup has announced plans to expand into Manchester and Dubai.
The company organises on-demand and same day courier delivery for businesses, including store-to-door and last-mile services.
This national and international expansion follows Quiqup’s £20m Series B funding round, secured in May 2017.
The round was led by JOBI Capital, and intended to support its international expansion, strengthen its operations and build out its products and services through advancements in its proprietary tech. The company, which now has a headcount of over 150 employees, has further launches planned for the future.
CEO and co-founder of Quiqup, Bassel El Koussa, said: “We chose these cities for our first expansion outside London because of their strong local retail environments and their huge potential for growth. While online retail in Manchester and Dubai may not be as mature as in London, consumers are tech savvy and there’s pent up demand for more convenient and faster delivery options.
“The flexibility behind our tech and our algorithmic capabilities allow us to bring Quiqup’s range of services to new locations quickly and efficiently. Our early trials have received an overwhelmingly positive response,” he added.
Since it was founded in 2014, the company claims to have seen a 170% growth year-on-year and delivered over 1,000,000 orders. It offers a range of delivery services, depending on the type of business.
For smaller businesses, it offers store-to-door delivery to help the companies reach more customers. For larger businesses, Quiqup offers same-day deliveries from stores or warehouses for its customers by integrating its last-mile logistics solutions into their existing e-commerce platform.
It will offer two services to its 100 new trial business partners in Dubai and Manchester: Quiqdash (a web app that allows small to medium sized business to instantly order or schedule a delivery) and its API integration service (that incorporates Quiqup’s delivery service into retailers’ existing e-commerce channels), allowing customers to still order directly from the retailer. The company has also been hiring locally in both cities, recruiting both drivers (“Quiqees”), and live support and other non-delivery staff.
The partners Quiqup has been working with in Manchester and Dubai include New York Diner, Hempology, Salut Wines and Italian Express in Manchester and Level Shoes, Wojooh, Virgin Megastore, Boggi, Pizza Express, NKD Pizza, and Just Salad in Dubai.