Grocery delivery service Milk Run has announced in an all-staff email that it is closing down, with trading to cease on Friday April 14. According to the Australian Financial Review (AFR), the company’s founder and CEO, Dany Milham, cited deteriorating economic conditions when he addressed company staff.

The new announcement comes after Milk Run had let go of around 20 per cent of its staff in February. In his email, Milham reportedly explains that he has opted to fold the startup while it still has cash to pay suppliers and offer severance packages to all 400-plus members of staff.

“Since we announced our structural changes in February, economic and capital market conditions have continued to deteriorate, and while the business has continued to perform well, we feel strongly that this is the right decision in the current environment,” Milham, wrote in the email, according to the AFR.

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“We’ve always been committed to doing things the right way, and winding down the business while we still have a sufficient cash balance enables us to ensure our people and suppliers are paid in full.”

“I’m so proud of the amazing business we have built and of the growth we have achieved,” Milham continued in the email to staff. “We set out to change the face of grocery delivery in Australia, while staying true to our values, people and culture, and we did that thanks to the passion, dedication and hard work of so many of our people, who should be really proud of what we have achieved together.”

Milk Run was an early adopter in Australia of the ultra-fast delivery model and joins the fallen ranks of direct competitors Voly and Send, both of which shut down in 2022.

Broadsheet has reached out to Milham and the Milk Run legal team for further comment.