Japanese giant e-retailer launches Singapore website
Online shopaholics, take note: Now, you can find all things oshare for the current season on Japanese the e-commerce giant Rakuten’s website. Oshare (say, oh-shar-ray) is the Japanese slang for stylish or fashionable.
Rakuten brings the best of Japanese and local merchants’ products. The e-retailer’s three-day launch event held at Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza in March also saw local celebrities such as Wong Li-Lin, Keagan Kang and Paul Foster in attendance.
Mr Okamoto Shingo, Head of Singapore e-Commerce Business, Rakuten, explains, “One key reason why we chose to start up our Singapore operations was that we saw a tremendous response from Singapore consumers on our global marketplace.”
“We thus wanted to create a Singapore e-marketplace that offers consumers access to high-quality Japanese products that are not readily available elsewhere, with the added benefits of lower shipping rates and shorter delivery times than when purchasing from our global marketplace,” Mr Shingo added.
“Through this event, we hope to introduce the Rakuten brand to even more people in Singapore, and enable more people to experience and enjoy what we have to offer,” he said.
Cart Away Your Picks
In Japan, Rakuten has over 75 million users on its site purchasing an extensive array of products available. Apart from clothing, it also markets cosmetics, household items and electronics, among others.
The Singapore site currently features 150 Japanese and local merchants with about 100,000 products from across a broad range of categories – fashion, food, health and beauty products, electronics, kids’ and babies’ products, toys and games, furniture
and more. Rakuten Singapore aims to have up to 300 merchants on its site by the end of this year.
Start-Up Perks
If you find the seller name Rakuten Direct on the website, you’ll see the latest Summer collection from Japan from brands such as MACKDADDY, Dip Drops, BLONDY ReLISH and rosebullet plying their wares online for the most fashionable Japanese threads.
Here is a piece of good news for Rakuten fans and customers: You will be awarded 200 Rakuten Super Points for every sign-up on the website, with every 100 points worth $1. You can use the points to offset your online buys ten days from credit date. This promotion will end on Apr 30.
Much like the Japanese version of eBay, aspiring online retailers can set up shop by signing up to be a seller on Rakuten.
Visit www.rakuten.com.sg
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