rakuten 10-28-05 1
Harvard Business School case on Rakuten (rev. Oct 28, 2005) describing the founding by Hiroshi Mikitani (1997), the development of Rakuten Ichiba as a merchant-hosting online mall, its merchant support systems (RMS, Rakuten University, ECCs), customer acquisition tools (Rakuten Ichiba News, affiliate network, Super Points), and diversification into portals, travel (Mytrip.net, Ctrip stake) and financial services (DLJdirect acquisition → Rakuten Securities). The case covers competitive positioning versus Yahoo! Japan and Amazon, financial performance through 2003–2004, organizational culture (Five Concepts), and strategic choices about international expansion and business selection.
Questions this document answers
1997
16,200 merchants (July 2004, company data)
8.4 million products (July 2004, company data)
Revenues ¥18,082 million; operating profit ¥4,750 million (year ended December 31, 2003)
Acquired Mytrip.net in Sept 2003 for ¥32.3 billion; acquired DLJdirect SFG Securities in Nov 2003 for ¥30 billion (renamed Rakuten Securities)