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    When former CEO Kalanick's trial-and-error approach led to success of Uber Eats

    Synopsis

    Uber is banking on its Eats vertical to increase the company’s valuation.

    Travis KalanickAgencies
    Former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick
    After an underwhelming debut at the New York Stock Exchange, Uber could do with some extra calories. The ridehailing company’s booking growth has been anaemic in the past few quarters, but it is banking on its Eats vertical to whet investors’ appetites and increase the company’s valuation. “When I first joined Uber, the company was more associated with ride-hailing and Eats was this interesting part-time endeavour. It has since exploded into a truly significant business,” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told a news magazine.

    Before zeroing in on food, Uber tried to leverage its vast logistics network to peddle consumer goods like deodorant and diapers. The pilot project did not take off. However, the law of averages soon worked in favour of former CEO Travis Kalanick’s trial-and-error approach. On the day of its launch in August 2014, Uber Eats née Fresh sold hundreds of meals in an hour in downtown Los Angeles, much more than the eight deodorants it sold in a day.


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