The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

and FAY SIMMONS

Tribune Business Reporters

SEBAS Bastian last night said his Aeropost logistics business is closing its Bahamas operations because this is the only one of its 30-plus territories “where we did not experience material growth”.

The Island Luck co-founder, in a messaged reply to Tribune Business inquiries, confirmed the decision “was not made lightly” but added that the shipping and freight forwarding provider had elected to deploy resources away from jurisdictions “not aligning with our projections and goals” following its early 2024 switch to a new business model.

Disclosing that The Bahamas operation has “a lean team”, he added that Aeropost is seeking to minimise the impact on affected employees by transferring around half - four to other affiliated businesses within the group. Only four to five workers will be “furloughed”, which likely means terminated or made redundant.

Mr Bastian did not delve into why The Bahamas appears to be Aeropost’s only non-performing territory after the imminent closure was announced to clients on Friday via e-mail blast and an announcement posted on the company’s website.

However, he confirmed: “We at Aeropost have made the difficult decision to cease our operations in The Bahamas. This choice was not made lightly, as we have deeply valued the opportunity to serve thousands of customers in this region over the past years. Our commitment to fulfilling the shopping and cross-border needs of our Bahamian customers has always been at the forefront of our efforts.

“Despite our best efforts, The Bahamas remained the only market among the 30-plus countries we operate in where we did not experience material growth. This stands in contrast to the overall success and expansion Aeropost is experiencing globally.

“As we are currently enjoying record growth due to our strategic partnerships and logistics services, particularly with our Asian distributors, it became imperative to focus our resources and efforts on markets where we are seeing significant and sustainable growth.”

Mr Bastian said Aeropost had earlier this year switched its focus from operating an e-commerce platform to becoming a “pure” international shipping, freight forwarding and cross-border courier style operation, which required it to examine performance in all jurisdictions where it as a presence.

“At the beginning of this year, we strategically pivoted from operating a marketplace to becoming a pure logistics technology company. This transition has already led to a record-breaking second quarter, underscoring the effectiveness of our new direction. Consequently, this necessitated a reevaluation of our operations in regions where growth was not aligning with our projections and goals,” he explained.

“In The Bahamas, we operated with a lean team, and we are committed to supporting our employees during this transition. Four of our team members are being redeployed to affiliate businesses within our group of companies, while only four or five individuals will be furloughed.

“We remain grateful for the support and loyalty of our Bahamian customers and partners over the years. We believe this decision, while challenging, will ultimately allow us to strengthen our primary markets and continue delivering exceptional logistics solutions globally.”

Aeropost, in a notice to its Bahamian customers, warned that all packages and shipments destined for The Bahamas must arrive at its Miami warehouse by June 14 - in 11 days time - otherwise they will not be processed for delivery. If that deadline is missed, clients will have a further 14 days to June 28 to request that the item be returned to the seller, after which all remaining goods will be destroyed.

“After careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to close our operations in The Bahamas. We are grateful for the opportunity to have served thousands of customers in The Bahamas, fulfilling their shopping and cross-border needs over the past years,” Aeropost said.

“All packages that arrive at our Miami warehouse by this date [June 14] will be shipped to The Bahamas and available for pickup at our main warehouse located at 106 University Drive, Thompson Boulevard. After June 14, any incoming orders will no longer be processed for delivery to The Bahamas.

“If your order arrives in Miami after June 14, you will have the option to request a Return Merchandise Authorisation (RMA) from the seller, and we will return the item for you. This request must be submitted by June 28. After this date, any unclaimed items will be deemed abandoned and will be destroyed.

“We understand that this may cause inconvenience and apologize for any disruption it may cause. Our customer service team is here to assist you with any questions or concerns during this transition. We appreciate your business and look forward to serving you in other markets.”

Mr Bastian, who is The Bahamas’ non-resident ambassador to Central America, unveiled ambitions for Aeropost to become an “Amazon-like” presence among 60m consumers across the Caribbean, Latin American and Central American region when he confirmed his acquisition of the e-commerce platform in early December 2021.

He raised nearly $19m from investors to finance the Aeropost acquisition via Click Partners LP, a British Virgin Islands (BVI) domiciled limited partnership described in promotional material as a “digital, e-commerce, logistics and operations expert”.

It was initially designed as a vehicle that allowed small businesses to sell their products online through its portal while offering “the lowest bar” to market, offering direct selling as well as acting as a middle-man between other vendors and consumers in 39 territories which, at that point, included The Bahamas.

The abrupt closure of Aeropost’s Bahamas operations comes less than eight months after the company confirmed its expansion into freight forwarding services via a sales tax-free US address. It launched its Aeropost Courier arm, known as Click to Collect, to offer freight forwarding services and allow Bahamian shoppers to ship goods acquired from US online stores as well as Aerospace’s online marketplace.

Aeropost said that besides its sales tax-free US address it would also provide weight-based shipping; advanced order tracking; a simplified returns process; secure transactions; multiple payment options, including Visa, MasterCard, American Express and PayPal; and a ClickBox smart parcel locker pick-up at more than 20-plus locations, including 24-hour package pick-up at all Esso locations.

The Bahamian unit operated two hub locations - one on Carmichael Road and the other on Thompson Boulevard. Smart parcel lockers were placed throughout Nassau, including at Boyd Road, Cable Beach, Carmichael Road, Charles Saunders Highway, Mall at Marathon, Robinson Road and Wulff Road and East Street, to give per- sons more convenience in picking up their shipments.

Those lockers were also available at eight Esso service station locations: Faith Avenue, Oakes Field Road, South Beach, East Street and Soldier Road, Village Road, Mackey Street, Blue Hill Road, East Bay Street and Fox Hill Road. In August 2023, Aeropost Bahamas added a ClickBox smart locker location at the University of The Bahamas’ Oakes Field Campus.