Rakuten and Gentosha Collaborate to launch GINGER mirror, a Free Smartphone Fashion Magazine Linked with E-Commerce

Tokyo, April 13, 2015 - Rakuten, Inc. and Gentosha Inc. today announced the launch of GINGER mirror, a free online fashion magazine for women, produced by Rakuten and Gentosha in collaboration with Brangista Inc.^*1, the e-magazine publisher that oversees the publication of GINGER, a women’s magazine published by Gentosha. This is the first time for an e-commerce company and a publisher to collaborate on the publication of an online magazine in Japan.

GINGER mirror is a free online fashion magazine optimized for smartphones^*2 aimed at busy women in their late 20s and 30s who wish to enjoy the latest fashions despite having limited time and budget. The magazine showcases reasonably priced fashion items that can be bought on Rakuten Ichiba.

In recent years, the ratio of purchases made on mobile devices^*3 on Rakuten Ichiba has been increasing, especially in the fashion genre. By presenting Rakuten Ichiba fashion items to readers through a smartphone-optimized online magazine and providing a simple system for users to purchase the featured items, the number of purchases of fashion products made through mobile devices is expected to increase.

The first edition of GINGER mirror, to be released on April 14, will feature model and actress Nanao on the cover and under the theme of “Spring Fashion Cost Performance Buying Guide” will introduce around 400 hot fashion items and accessories across 100 pages.

Rakuten will continue to strive to create new added value for the wide array of reasonably-priced products offered on Rakuten Ichiba, harnessing the know-how of Gentosha in producing women’s magazines to bring even more gloss and appeal to its products.

*1 A leading e-magazine publisher offering e-magazines from a wide variety of genres
*2 The magazine is optimized for viewing on the iPhone and Android smartphones
*3 Including feature phones, smartphones and tablets

* iPhone is a registered trademark of Apple, Inc.
* Android is a registered trademark of Google, Inc.