Kaodim, the locally established online home services marketplace, will be ceasing all of its operations in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines starting 1 July 2022. This was announced by the company’s CEO and co-founder Choong Fui Yu in a note published on its official blog earlier today.
Choong explains that Kaodim’s decision to shutter its doors was due to the prolonged COVID-19 lockdowns that lasted over two years. This resulted in operational disruptions, labour shortages and high running costs, which have greatly impacted both its business and quality of service. He adds that the company’s situation continued to worsen due to inflation and ever rising costs.
“This has affected customer demand, service provider fulfilment, margins and in turn, our earnings,” Choong writes. “Ultimately, we feel that we can no longer grow the business meaningfully for the long term, in line with our mission and ambitions.”
The CEO further states the company will honour its obligations to employees by providing notice and severance payments. In an address to its customers, service providers, investors and partners, Choong iterates that ceasing operations is the better decision than “having to compromise on the level of service that [Kaodim] have constantly strived for and delivered”.
As pointed out in Kaodim’s updated FAQ page, all accounts and data registered under the company will be deleted after 30 June 2022. In addition, bookings between customers and service providers that have been made for a later date will no longer be managed by the platform, and all payments must be made directly to service providers by cash or inter-bank transfer.
A startup company founded in Malaysia back in 2014, Kaodim eventually grew and expanded its presence across other Southeast Asian countries including Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Unfortunately, with its upcoming closure, the company’s establishment as an online home services marketplace will soon come to an end eight years after its formation.
