KUALA LUMPUR, October 31, 2012 -- Rakuten Inc. (JASDAQ: 4755), Japan’s top e-commerce company today announced that its Malaysian Internet shopping mall, Rakuten Online Shopping is set to launch on November 1, 2012 at 09:00 Malaysia Standard Time. With over 11,000 goods from top local retailers available at launch and expanding daily, the service provides consumers in Malaysia with an entirely new online shopping experience that is entertaining and interactive.
Rakuten Online Shopping has recruited some of Malaysia’s top retailers to offer a diverse mix of product categories, including consumer electronics, computer and IT, healthcare, fashion apparels, jewellery and accessories. Customers can expect an exciting line-up from over 40 top retailers at launch, including Senheng Electric, Best Denki, CARiNG Pharmacy, Toys ‘R’ Us, and Poh Kong among others, with more merchants and products being added each day.
“Rakuten Online Shopping brings to the market a unique and interactive online shopping experience,” said Rakuten Online Shopping President and Chief Executive Officer Masaya Ueno. “At Rakuten, our philosophy is ‘Shopping is Entertainment.’ We believe that shopping online can and should be as exciting and interactive as a live market and not simply the vending-machine-like experience that most sites offer.”
Unlike existing shopping sites, Rakuten Online Shopping is a virtual mall populated with multiple stores that cater to various segments of interest. It employs Japan’s world famous customer service standards and innovative collaborations with reliable partners to deliver a trusted shopping environment that is efficient, hassle-free and secure.
Aside from the ability to shop anytime, customers are also treated with exciting promotions by the mall and individual merchants. It also features the award-winning Rakuten Super Points loyalty rewards programme that incentivise shoppers with points for all purchases that are redeemable as payment for future purchases.
“The launch represents a significant first step in our journey towards growing Rakuten into a full Internet services company in Malaysia. We aim to build an ecosystem here that is similar in Japan, where we now offer over 40 different Internet services, in addition to e-commerce, all connected by Rakuten Super Points.” added Ueno.
Going forward, Rakuten will continue to grow its base of merchant partners across key industries to expand its product categories in Malaysia. Utilising a proven business to business to consumer (B2B2C) model, merchants are able to build online storefronts on the marketplace and sell directly to consumers.
“Rakuten Online Shopping is a WIN-WIN model for consumers and merchants,” said Ueno. “We aim to foster continued e-commerce growth and elevate the maturity of the industry by empowering more retailers to open their businesses online, strengthening local expertise and transferring knowledge to local merchants.”
In May 2012, Rakuten announced plans to launch Rakuten Online Shopping in Malaysia, expanding its footprint in Southeast Asia and marking its third e-commerce market entry in the region following TARAD.com in Thailand in 2009 and Indonesia’s Rakuten Belanja Online in 2011. Malaysia was also Rakuten’s first greenfield entry in its global e-commerce expansion. With the launch of Rakuten Online Shopping, the company is set to tap the encouraging Internet retailing market in Malaysia which is expected to exceed MYR1.9 billion (USD 623 million) by 2016[1].
About Rakuten
Rakuten, Inc. (JASDAQ:4755), is one of the world’s leading Internet service companies, providing a variety of consumer- and business-focused services including e-commerce, e-reading, travel, banking, securities, credit card, e-money, portal and media, online marketing and professional sports. Selected by Forbes as the World’s 7th Most Innovative Companies of 2012, Rakuten is expanding globally and currently has operations throughout Asia, Western Europe, and the Americas. Founded in 1997, Rakuten is headquartered in Tokyo, with over 10,000 staff worldwide. For more information, visit https://global.rakuten.com/group.
[1]Euromonitor International, 2011