Rakuten Ichiba adds six more countries

Japanese online marketplace Rakuten Ichiba is expanding its offering: sellers from five European countries, and from New-Zealand, will now also be able to supply Rakuten’s 100 million members.

Six new countries

The Japanese online giant announces that as of today, its international seller program is expanded to merchants from Belgium, Finland, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland. With a market share in Japan of 27 % and gross sales of more than six trillion yen (35 billion euros), Rakuten Ichiba claims “unmatched scale and influence” in Japan.

Rakuten wants to “build a borderless marketplace that benefits both merchants and consumers. Welcoming sellers from Belgium, Finland, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland is an important step in expanding global opportunities and bringing greater product diversity to our customers.”

Of the 124 million Japanese citizens, more than 100 million are said to have an active account with Rakuten. The marketplace is undergoing a double European expansion: not only is the company now opening up the Japanese market to merchants from five more European markets, it also wants to expand its offering to customers from more and more European countries. Earlier this month, Rakuten launched its platform in Spain.