After receiving several complaints, a Beijing consumer rights organization said on Tuesday that it had asked Missfresh (MF.O) to work on plans to refund its customers and explain how it will rectify its business.
In a statement posted to its website on Tuesday, the government-backed Beijing Consumer Association claimed that many Missfresh users had voiced complaints regarding the platform’s “abnormal operations.” Increasing pressure on the grocery start-up backed by Tencent Holdings (0700. HK) and Tiger Global.
The company’s stock has lost 98% of its value. In late July, local media reported that the company had abruptly laid off hundreds of workers and had failed to pay salaries, which led to labor arbitration complaints.
In response, Missfresh informed the local media that it had conducted layoffs due to business restructuring, canceled its one-hour delivery service, and moved towards a next-day model.
The business established the industry standard for one-hour fresh food delivery services in China; however, this model is labor and resource intensive. It raised $273 million when it went public on the Nasdaq in June of last year.
The difficulties faced by the grocery delivery company coincide with China’s tech industry’s slowing growth due to pandemic precautions and tighter regulatory oversight.
