Rakuten wesentlich besser als Rocket
Look Out Amazon, Here Comes...Rakuten?
Japanese e-commerce firm Rakuten announced on Tuesday it is acquiring Ebates for $1 billion.
The acquisition, which Rakuten hinted at last week, is part of the Japanese company’s push to grow its base beyond its domestic market and hopefully, become a global player. Having made some $1.2 billion acquisitions to date along these lines, this is Rakuten’s most ambitious move to date.
However, investors are dubious that the company can absorb yet another foreign acquisition, much less one the size of Ebates, despite Rakuten’s strong cash position.
Then there is the ever-present Amazon, which dominates the e-commerce market in the U.S. Few believe it will falter in the face of Chinese giant Alibaba, much less a Rakuten-Ebates combo.
Rakuten Goes Forth
Not surprisingly, Rakuten says it is undaunted. For starters, it has assembled a very interesting mix of acquisitions. There is messaging app Viber, which it purchased for $900 million in February, the Canadian ebook offering Kobo, Spanish video service Wuaki.tv, Viki, a digital content platform and Buy.com.
Now it has picked up Ebates.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikamorphy/2014/09/...ere-comes-rakuten/
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/...munotherapy-keytruda-132646669.html
Published by C. Diep, Mar 1, 2024
In the fourth quarter of 2023, the number of member IDs registered at Rakuten amounted to almost 141 million. The most recent figure constitutes an increase of over four percent compared to the fourth quarter of the previous year. The Japanese e-commerce company is headquartered in Tokyo, where it was founded in 1997.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/223349/rakuten-members/
Wed, May 29, 2024
Product updates will help advertisers and publishers leverage automation, data transparency, AI and more
NEW YORK, May 29, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Rakuten Advertising, the leading global affiliate marketing network, revealed product and organizational updates to realize the company's Affiliate Intelligence vision. Focused on expanding the use of data and AI to aid human intelligence, Affiliate Intelligence is an ongoing initiative to stimulate growth in advertiser and publisher relationships with solutions that build on innovative insights and strong industry partnerships to enable exceptional campaign performance.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/...ntelligence-delivers-120200108.html
Open RAN Market Size and Growth:
The global Open RAN market size was estimated to be USD 1,647.5 million in 2022.
It is projected to experience a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 33.0% from 2023 to 2030.
Open RAN refers to a nonproprietary version of the radio access network (RAN) that allows interoperation between cellular network equipment provided by different vendors.
Operators can choose hardware and software solutions from various vendors, leading to reduced equipment and operational costs.
The O-RAN ALLIANCE, founded by major telecom players, aims to reshape the RAN industry toward more open, intelligent, and virtualized fully interoperable mobile networks.
Short-Term and Long-Term Projections:
In the near term, Open RAN revenues are expected to account for 7-10% of overall RAN revenues by 20242.
Despite current challenges, the long-term forecast remains optimistic:
By 2028, Open RAN is projected to constitute 20-30% of worldwide RAN revenues, a significant increase from the initial projection for 2024.
Operators are gradually integrating more virtualization, intelligence, automation, and O-RAN components into their RAN strategies.
North America is anticipated to lead the Open RAN market throughout the forecast period, while Europe is expected to double its share of Open RAN revenue2.
Virtualized RAN (V-RAN):
V-RAN progress is slower than Open RAN, but V-RAN revenues are expected to reach between $2 billion to $3 billion by 2025.
In summary, Open RAN is poised for substantial growth, offering cost-effectiveness, flexibility, and improved network performance. Keep an eye on this dynamic sector as it continues to evolve!
https://www.bing.com/...p;adppc=EDGEDSP&PC=EDGEDSP&showconv=1
Apr. 16, 2024
Internet advertising revenues reached their highest recorded level of $225 billion between 2022 and 2023 (increasing 7.3% YoY), showing resilience in the face of continuing economic uncertainty. That’s according to the newly released IAB/PwC Internet Advertising Revenue Report: Full Year 2023.
Now in its 28th year, this highly-anticipated report is considered the industry benchmark for US advertising revenue across digital media platforms and publishers. It includes actionable insights throughout all digital platforms, from video and audio, to social media, retail media, and more.
https://www.iab.com/insights/internet-advertising-revenue-report-2024/
The rollout of this feature began in the U.S., the Philippines, Ukraine, Japan, Bulgaria, and Poland, with more countries expected to follow. This development reflects Rakuten Viber’s commitment to innovation and improving user experience, which could potentially make 2024 a standout year for the company.
https://www.bing.com/...p;adppc=EDGEDSP&PC=EDGEDSP&showconv=1
May 29, 2024
The Thai Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP) collaborates with e-commerce platforms from around the world through the "TOPTHAI" project to increase awareness of Thai products. As the latest partner in this collaboration, Rakuten Ichiba has established the TOPTHAI Store, the first sales page dedicated to Thai products on a Japanese e-commerce website. This report includes a special message from the Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand so keep watching until the end!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zsVm6bFWTo
May 30, 2024
https://symphony.rakuten.com/blog/...ture-and-customer-delivery-roles
Alexandra Pastore
Thu, May 30, 2024
Rakuten is looking to enhance its place in the luxury shopping arena and is launching a paid membership program for luxury shoppers this September.
Called Rakuten+, the program will allow invite-only shoppers to earn 10 percent cash back from participating brands and retailers year-round. The program is meant to be a channel for luxury brands to speak directly to shoppers, and participating designer brands will be able to leverage the higher cash back offers to grow their audiences and inspire repeat purchases.
Dana Marineau, chief marketing officer at Rakuten Rewards, said that as a company whose core audience is Millennial women, Rakuten recognizes the significant role that designer and luxury retail plays for its members. With that in mind, the company has made substantial marketing investments to this audience and aligned itself with top designer brands.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/...launches-invite-only-173000494.html
May 31, 2024
Rakuten Payment announced its strategy to consolidate its app, Rakuten Pay. The first stage of this strategy is to integrate the Rakuten Pay, Rakuten Point card, and Rakuten Edy apps into one starting December 2024. As Japan's point economy transforms, Rakuten Pay is strengthening its role as the gateway into other Rakuten fintech services. Check out the video for the full details of the strategy and recent achievements of the rapidly growing Rakuten Pay.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-t7E3SYv_Y
May 31, 2024
At Futurenet World 2024, Rakuten Symphony's Rahul Atri joined GSMA's Jawad Jalal Abbassi for an engaging Fireside Chat titled "Beyond Connectivity - Redefining the Telco." Watch to explore the full discussion and what it means for Rakuten Symphony to redefine an industry.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkXLsifZsu8
May 29, 2024
In his first interview since being appointed as Rakuten Symphony's Chief Architect, Sagiv shares his vision of bringing a cohesive approach between our OSS, RAN and Cloud Business Units and provide the highest quality, most efficient and industry leading solutions to our customers and partners.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2n3-4oM4YFk
Tokyo, May 31, 2024 - Rakuten Group, Inc. today announced it achieved carbon neutrality, or net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, from Rakuten Group business operations, including all consolidated subsidiaries, in 2023. To commemorate the achievement, the company launched the Rakuten Green Empowerment website, introducing ways for Rakuten members to live a more environmentally conscious lifestyle through the Rakuten Group’s services.
https://global.rakuten.com/corp/news/press/2024/...&category=corp
Cabify increased its revenues by 30% in 2024 and contemplates a future IPO
Wednesday, May 29, 2024
Cabify increased its gross profit by 40.9% in 2023 to US$ 111.1 million and placed its turnover at just over US$ 899 million, this is 30.7% more than a year ago, according to to know this Wednesday the company itself in its 2023 impact report.
The company maintains the break-even point in terms of gross operating profit (Ebitda) globally, improving the results of 2022.
The mobility company thus recorded the third consecutive year with a growth in the company's business volume above 30%, after registering an increase of 32% in 2022 and 44% in 2021.
https://www.americaeconomia.com/en/...%2520ride-hailing%2520vertical.
Tuesday, June 04, 2024 10:00 AM Singapore
Please join S&P Global Ratings analysts for a live interactive webinar on Tuesday, June 4, 2024, when they will discuss the outlook change to stable for Japan-based Rakuten Group.
https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/4611125/7B59DB44ABFD7DFEC3C09F350EE98FB9
This is a 30.7% increase in revenue from $688 million in 2022 and marks the third consecutive year where the company increased its total gross revenue by more than 30%.
Cabify was founded in Madrid in 2011 and offers electric cars and e-mopeds in seven countries and more than 40 cities around the world.
“The goal is to facilitate mobility of people within cities,” Cabify CEO Juan de Antonio said in a press conference held in Madrid today. “This gross revenue becomes a foundation for us to continue growing in a sustainable and profitable way in the future.”
Cabify reached economic profitability in the last quarter of 2019 and again in 2022. In 2023, the company’s gross profit rose to $111.1 million, a 40.9% increase from 2022.
https://zagdaily.com/trends/...ue%2520by%2520more%2520than%252030%25.
https://momiberlin.com/2024/05/23/...ten-vibers-exciting-summer-sale/
Mariia Martyrosian
Global PR & Marketing Innovations Director at Rakuten Viber
May 17, 2024
In collaboration with Rakuten Viber and our partner FYI Marketing House, Greek beverage company Loux , 'celebrated' Easter with an immersive marketing campaign on Rakuten Viber. Loux became the first local brand in Greece to use branded Viber Gems for an Easter celebration.
Viber Gems are special animations activated by specific holiday-related words and phrases in users' conversations. So, this year, as millions of people in Greece sent Easter greetings to each other, phrases like "Happy Easter", "Many Happy Returns", and "Xristos Anesti" activated a branded Loux animation with the Easter basket.
Perfect for holiday marketing, corporate branded Viber Gems offer a unique brand placement opportunity. They increase brand visibility, while staying immersive and creating a pleasant and positive association between the brand and a holiday period full of festive vibes. During the Easter period of 2024 in Greece, 13 million Loux-branded Viber Gems were created within just 5 days, making the brand a part of the nationwide celebrations. This was an excellent way to leverage the new holiday marketing tool, as well as Rakuten Viber’s tremendous presence in Greece, which is one of the company’s key markets.
https://www.forbusiness.viber.com/en/blog/post/...gn-with-viber-gems/
Saturday, June 1, 2024
Rakuten Viber is offering its first-ever summer sale on local food, beauty, and fashion finds starting May 24. The sale, in partnership with Globe and Go Negosyo, will run every weekend from May 24 to June 9. Users can support local businesses and snag incredible deals, steals, and surprises from 60 dynamic micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in food, beauty, wellness, and fashion. The sale also provides an exciting opportunity to win a beach getaway.
According to Senior Director for APAC at Rakuten Viber David Tse, the summer sale aims to further support MSMEs by linking them with engaged shoppers on the app. “We’re excited to launch our first-ever summer sale because it’s another way for us to highlight Filipino businesses and help grow their customer base,” says Tse. “We are equally thrilled to offer more incentives for both our dedicated sellers and loyal users by running a special giveaway for each, encouraging more to participate and shop local.”
https://www.trend-hotspot.com/business/...he-season-with-summer-sale/