Ambitious Vancouver-based grocery-delivery app Tiggy has closed its North Vancouver store and paused its Toronto operations but remains open in Vancouver.
Some customers on social media have speculated that the company was closing its Vancouver operations but the company's app this afternoon showed that it was still accepting some orders.
CEO Eugene Bisovka told BIV in April that his company operated six commercial sites in Vancouver and one in North Vancouver. He said that he planned to expand the geographic footprint of his business, which aims to deliver groceries to customers within 15-minutes of orders being placed.
Tiggy customer Janelle Bell told BIV that she ordered food on July 2 to a North Vancouver address and several hours later received a message from Tiggy saying that "the store has closed permanently and your order has been refunded."
BIV has seen a screenshot of that conversation with a Tiggy representative named Jelisbert.
Bisovka did not immediately respond to BIV's request this morning for an interview. Publicist Victoria Kirk told BIV that Tiggy's six Vancouver stores remain open and that the company was "pausing" Toronto operations.
The company's six Vancouver depots have enabled it to operate in Vancouver's downtown core as well as parts of the west side that are north of around 37th Avenue, and into the northwestern part of East Vancouver. These locations tend to be around 3,000 square feet, and each has been stocked with up to 2,600 different kinds of food, or sizes of food – what is known in the industry as store keeping units (SKUs.)
Tiggy's grocery depot sites, which are not open to the public, have also stocked items such as pastries from local bakeries and brewed coffee made on site.
Operating hours at the company's depots can be unpredictable. While Tiggy's depot on Granville Street was open this afternoon for deliveries in the vicinity, this was not the case for customers who were based in East Vancouver, said two people in East Vancouver.
Those customers saw messages on their apps saying that Tiggy was "temporarily closed" – the same message that appeared for potential customers in the downtown area this morning.
Bisovka in April said that his company had received $11 million in venture funding
The company launched in Vancouver in September with one grocery depot, and quickly added more, Bisovka said in April. North Vancouver and Toronto operations launched earlier this year. Bisovka in April suggested that operations could sprout to Burnaby.
Bisovka said in April that his company had hired approximately 150 delivery drivers in Vancouver.
