Walmart starts Japanese web shop with Rakuten

Walmart is moving onto the Japanese e-commerce market: the American retail giant is joining forces with Rakuten to sell its products on the latter’s Rakuten Ichiba market place.

Strategic alliance

In the shop on the Rakuten Ichiba marketplace, Japanese customers can choose from 1200 Walmart products. The digital store will initially be focused on fashion, outdoors items and toys. To keep prices transparent, the prices shown will include shipping, import duties and taxes. “We are very excited to be working with Walmart to bring a diverse product lineup of American brands at affordable prices to Rakuten Ichiba users in Japan” says Shunsuke Yazawa, CEO of the Rakuten marketplaces. Walmart’s new Japanese subsidiary Seiyu GK will offer customer support.

Walmart intends to use its partnership with Rakuten to expand in Japan. Simultaneously, Rakuten’s e-reader platform Kobo provides Walmart with the opportunity to offer a wider collection of books in their dedicated web shop for e-books and audio books. The Walmart webshop on Rakuten Ichiba is part of that strategic alliance, says Walmart International’s vice president Nathan Kring: “The two companies are leveraging their unique strengths and assets to expand consumer reach and enhance the way customers are served in Japan and the United States.”