Rakuten, Inc. - Statistics & Facts
1997 signaled the start of the success story of Rakuten with the birth of the leading Japanese B2B2C marketplace, Rakuten Ichiba. In less than three decades, the company developed into a technology conglomerate and expanded the reach of the “Rakuten” brand into other industries and to over 30 countries. The company strived to create a virtual shopping mall that offers its over 140 million members a one-stop solution for numerous services in demand in the digital economy. In April 2020, Rakuten further became the fourth mobile provider in Japan’s telecommunications industry with the launch of “Rakuten Mobile”, but the company is facing an uphill battle as operations remain in the red.
However, not all investments achieved the same level of initial success. With the introduction of Rakuten Mobile as the fourth operator, the company aimed for the mobile phone subscriber base of established operators in Japan through rebate and bonus programs. While the incentives contributed to a growth in Rakuten’s market share, the segment remained unprofitable as of fiscal 2023 as operating losses outweighed profits in the internet service and FinTech segments.
The Rakuten shopping mall
Rakuten has built a service ecosystem resembling a virtual shopping mall. Expansions through M&A and joint ventures as well as the unification of services under the core “Rakuten” brand in 2017 was the baseline of this strategy. Nowadays, the core brand has become one of the most popular online brands based on reach in Japan, and services in the fields of financial technology, entertainment, travel, and marketing are just a few examples of the businesses united under the group company.The consumer strategy of the Rakuten ecosystem
The consumer strategy is built on the “Rakuten ID” system to promote cross-usage functionality across services. Consumers can sign up once for an account on any eligible service and continue using the same account for over 70 other services in the ecosystem. Customer integration is further enhanced by a common loyalty point system across services, which has become the most used reward point program in Japan.The base, the financial success, and an ambitious investment
The internet service segment with the e-commerce business at its center forms the basis of the tech conglomerate’s operation and was the focus of investments in the early years after its founding. With the diversification of services outside retail e-commerce, acquisitions in other industries followed. The FinTech segment covering banking, payment, and insurance services boosted Rakuten’s presence in the financial sector, as the company successfully penetrated online banking and credit card services with Rakuten Bank and Rakuten Card.However, not all investments achieved the same level of initial success. With the introduction of Rakuten Mobile as the fourth operator, the company aimed for the mobile phone subscriber base of established operators in Japan through rebate and bonus programs. While the incentives contributed to a growth in Rakuten’s market share, the segment remained unprofitable as of fiscal 2023 as operating losses outweighed profits in the internet service and FinTech segments.
