Pulverised by steep financial losses and hostile new regulations, operators of France's once-thriving "dark stores" are pulling down the shutters for good, reports the BBC.
On Wednesday, top brands Getir and Gorillas ceased to exist in France.
The city-centre depositories, promising instant deliveries of popular grocery items, blossomed during Covid lockdown.
But after complaints from locals and fears of unfair competition, the dark stores can no longer be classified as shops, but only as warehouses.
The new rules came into force on 1 July, but already the two main companies in "ultra-quick commerce" - Getir, a Turkish firm, and Germany's Flink - had announced they were leaving France.
In a statement, Getir, which also owns Gorillas and Frichti, said the decision was "inevitable because of the difficult economic climate, a hostile regulatory environment and an absence of potential buyers".
A commercial court in Paris has now officially placed Getir and Gorillas in liquidation, with the loss of some 1,300 jobs. It gave Frichti three more months to find a possible buyer. The court will rule on Flink's fate later in the summer.
At their peak, 12 different operators ran some 80 locations in Paris alone.