Carrier buys last mile start-up Stuart
Last-mile delivery startup Stuart has been bought by GeoPost, a subsidiary of La Poste for an undisclosed sum.
GeoPost already held a stake int he firm having led funding before the start-up was launched and has now acquired the whole company.
It is expected Stuart will remain an independent brand and GeoPost subsidiary.
Stuart recently launched in the UK. You can read an interview with the UK MD David Saenz here.
Paul Cuatrecasas, CEO of Aquaa Partners, said: "This appears to be a potentially savvy acquisition. The larger established mail and logistics companies, including La Poste which owns GeoPost, have been caught on the broadside by tech companies who are disrupting last-mile delivery.
"So far, many of the postal companies have struggled to compete with the speed of delivery and customer experience offered by app-based platforms. There has been growing churn in customers from the traditional delivery companies to newer technology-driven companies.
"This acquisition means not only that La Poste has bought up potential competition, but the technology, team, and know-how that comes with Stuart could offer La Poste a competitive edge in the marketplace to potentially drive growth over other large competitors, like DPD, Parcelforce, and UPS."
