Deliveroo’s founder to deliver on expansion
▶ Will Shu believes UAE’s innovation culture will help his business grow
Will Shu is not your average multinational chief executive.
Dressed in T-shirt and shorts, the Deliveroo founder still takes time out to deliver takeaways in London on his bike to ensure that, even from the executive office, he has his finger on the pulse.
Speaking during a trip to see the company’s operation in Dubai, he reflected on its fast growth and the rise of satellite kitchens scattered around major cities to speed up deliveries and allow restaurants to share resources.
The former investment banker’s relaxed look is as unlikely as it is refreshing for the head of an emerging mega-brand.
Deliveroo operates in more than 200 cities in 12 countries, employing more than 30,000 riders on bicycles and mopeds who deliver food from more than 20,000 restaurants.
In Dubai, the company has partnerships with 1,200 restaurants and more than 600 riders on its books.
Those numbers will swell when the new Dubai airport expansion kicks in and satellite kitchens open to connect those living in more remote areas of the city.
The first Deliveroo Editions is now open in Jumeirah Lakes Towers. Equipped with six fullsize custom kitchens, it is a far cry from a similar short-term shipping container concept of “dark kitchens” that opened in London this year.
The concept aims to reach customers beyond boundaries and deliver the city’s favourite foods to communities farther afield within 20 minutes or so.
A new food-delivery service at Dubai International Airport offers food at the gate for waiting airline passengers.
“We view Dubai as a centre of innovation and are excited about the new airport service,” Mr Shu said from the Oberoi Centre in Business Bay, a base for Deliveroo Dubai.
“People are passionate about food in the same way they are about music and film. Food is emotional and there is a certain brand loyalty.
“Our data tells us which restaurant will succeed in different areas. We know that delivering food from our Edition Kitchens is about five minutes faster. Dubai has incredible restaurants and it’s clear people here are passionate about food.”
Deliveroo opemed in Dubai in 2015, two years after the first riders picked up their orders from restaurants in London, where Mr Shu now lives. He co-founded the company with his friend, Greg Orlowski.
Online orders are delivered by couriers, with Deliveroo charging customers and the restaurants from where meals are collected.
Mr Shu, 37, worked as an investment banker in New York before being transferred by Morgan Stanley to the financial district of Canary Wharf in London.
It was there he came up with the Deliveroo concept. He was eating most meals at his desk, but there were few quality restaurants delivering food in his area.
Customer experience, Mr Shu says, is at the heart of what Deliveroo is trying to achieve and Dubai’s love of food and convenience is the perfect partner to fast-track the company’s ambitious plans.
He still rides his bike near his Notting Hill home, delivering food to unsuspecting customers to experience what his riders have to go through every day.
Little tweaks based on those experiences are helping to shape the company’s future.
“I do cycle deliveries every week in Notting Hill where I live,” Mr Shu said. “It’s good for fitness and it gives me the opportunity to speak to riders and restaurants to see how things are working. I love it.
“Customers, riders and restaurants have no idea who I am. People tell me what they really think when I ask them how things are working.”
As with taxi service Uber and other companies at the heart of the “gig economy”, where employees often work without a contract, Deliveroo has also faced criticism.
The UK government commissioned an independent review of modern working practices to develop new workers’ rights and responsibilities.
Unlike some cities, Deliveroo riders in Dubai are considered full-time employees so they are provided health insurance.
“For many of our restaurant partners, they don’t have the capital to expand so we are helping them to do that,” Mr Shu said.
“We are building the technology while helping to develop the restaurants’ supply chain and labour force. You need several kitchens to reach your customers in Dubai.”
The company has become famous for using cyclists in London, but because of the road network and summer heat that is unlikely to take off in Dubai any time soon.
Drones have also been ruled out as an option to help reduce delivery traffic on congested roads.
“I think the concept of delivering to your door using drones is still some way off,” Mr Shu said. “Yes, Deliveroo contributes to the traffic but it would be worse if everyone was in a car.
“Ninety-nine per cent of our riders are using either bikes or motorcycles.”
In Dubai the company has partnerships with 1,200 restaurants and more than 600 riders on its books