Rakuten wesentlich besser als Rocket

- und daher habe ich mir nach dem Einstieg bei Alibaba, die inzwischem mehr als 20% gut gemacht haben, auch einige Rakutens gekauft.

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/  

Earnings call: Rakuten Group sees growth in Q1, mobile unit nears profit

2024-05-17

Rakuten Group (TYO:4755) Inc. (RKUNY) reported a robust start to FY 2024, with its Q1 earnings call revealing an 8% year-on-year revenue increase to ¥513.6 billion. The company's strategic project, Rakuten Mobile, is on the verge of profitability and saw a substantial rise in subscribers, contributing to a ¥9.6 billion increase in M&O service revenue. Rakuten's non-GAAP operating income saw a significant jump, with a ¥43.5 billion year-on-year improvement.

The successful issuance of US$2 billion and ¥50 billion in senior notes has alleviated liquidity concerns. Growth was noted across Internet, Fintech, and Mobile segments, with the Fintech segment, including Rakuten Bank and Rakuten Securities, showing notable revenue and profit increases. The company's ecosystem is beginning to enhance both profitability and revenue, with further plans to expand cashless payment services and integrate various financial services.

https://za.investing.com/news/...obile-unit-nears-profit-93CH-3154004
 

Branded Viber Gems debut in APAC: Nido Mother’s Day campaign in the Philippines on Rakuten Viber

Mariia Martyrosian Global PR & Marketing Innovations Director at Rakuten Viber
May 13, 2024

https://stage.forbusiness.viber.com/en/blog/post/...on-rakuten-viber/
 

Japan’s Rakuten Mobile making gains with Open RAN

Breakeven in sight for Open Ran operator in long campaign against established carriers NTT Docomo, KDDI and Softbank

By SCOTT FOSTER MARCH 30, 2024

Rakuten Mobile, Japan’s upstart mobile telecom network operator, sees light at the end of the financial tunnel as subscriber growth heads toward breakeven on an operating cash flow basis in 2024.
Breakeven will be a milestone for the Open RAN (Radio Access Network) standard that allows for various companies to supply different parts of a telecommunications network.

Open RAN gives telecom service providers more flexibility and independence from large suppliers of complete proprietary systems such as China’s Huawei, Sweden’s Ericsson and Finland’s Nokia, and smaller national champions like South Korea’s Samsung and Japan’s NEC and Fujitsu.

https://asiatimes.com/2024/03/...n-mobile-making-gains-with-open-ran/
 

Rakuten Viber and Share Treats join forces to deliver a unique gifting experience in the Philippines

Mariia Martyrosian Global PR & Marketing Innovations Director at Rakuten Viber
May 9, 2024

Rakuten Viber, a global leader in private and secure messaging and voice-based communication and a leading chat app in the Philippines, has partnered with Korean online-to-offline casual mobile commerce company Share Treats to introduce the first-of-its-kind gifting experience in South East Asia with Treats on Rakuten Viber. Filipinos can now greet and treat the special people in their lives directly in the Rakuten Viber app, as well as request gifts for any occasion, be it a birthday, a regular fine day, or an upcoming holiday like Mother’s Day.

Thanks to their partnership with Rakuten Viber, Share Treats has become the first company to introduce the gifticon technology (a combination of ‘gift’ and ‘icon’) in the Philippines. With this technology, which originated in South Korea, online gift-giving is as easy as sending a message — and comes with a plethora of options to suit every taste and budget.

With Treats on Rakuten Viber, users can now send online gift cards to their friends and family: from beloved food chains like Jollibee, Dunkin’, The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Auntie Anne’s, The Bistro Group and McDonald’s — to essential staples like the convenience store giant 7-Eleven and trusted pharmacy Mercury Drug. They can also share online gift passes for shopping destinations, such as The SM Store and Lazada, or services, like the FoodPanda food delivery and motorcycle taxi app Angkas. They can even give vouchers for e-wallets such as GCash and Maya or gift codes for GrabGifts.

https://stage.forbusiness.viber.com/en/blog/post/...-the-philippines/

 

https://corp.rakuten.co.jp/event/...futuretogether/supersummerseries/  

Rakuten TV ist auf einer Vielzahl von Geräten verfügbar. Du kannst den Dienst auf folgenden Plattformen nutzen:

Smart-TVs: Rakuten TV ist auf vielen Smart-TVs von Marken wie Samsung, LG, Sony und Panasonic verfügbar.

Streaming-Geräte: Du kannst Rakuten TV auf Streaming-Geräten wie Amazon Fire TV, Google Chromecast und Roku verwenden.

Spielekonsolen: Die Dienstleistung ist auch auf Spielekonsolen wie PlayStation und Xbox verfügbar.

Mobile Geräte: Lade die Rakuten TV-App auf dein Smartphone oder Tablet herunter, um unterwegs Filme und Serien zu streamen.  

https://dollarsprout.com/rakuten-review/  

https://pay.rakuten.co.jp/campaign/2024/0501-ichiba/  

The company is focused on improving profitability and expanding its core business for mid- to long-term financial soundness.

Rakuten Mobile aims to increase ARPU through various strategies, including increased data usage and promotion of services within the ecosystem.

Rakuten is committed to becoming the "Red Hat of the mobile world" and plans to leverage its acquisition of Robin.io to enhance its cloud strategy.

https://za.investing.com/news/...obile-unit-nears-profit-93CH-3154004
 

in the first days of June 2024.  

https://www.rakuten-sec.co.jp/web/company/...se/pdf/press20240520.pdf  

Given its 71 percent user penetration rate in the Philippines, it would be hard to find a single Filipino who is not yet a user of the leading communications app Rakuten Viber.  This application is one convenient tool for maintaining connections, both in my professional and personal life.

As a leading app in the Philippines, Viber stands out for its reliability, user-friendly features, and ability to bring people together. Just last year the super app reported 106 percent growth in the Philippines owing to new features focused on serving both individual users and businesses.

https://businessmirror.com.ph/2024/05/20/my-daily-app-companion-viber/
 

May 20, 2024

Rakuten Music's venture into discovering and nurturing new musical talent culminates in the major debut of Apollo, grand prize winner of their first-ever audition. Find out more about future superstars Apollo and tsuna, including their background and pre-debut songs, and the unique strategy of Rakuten Music to add value to their music-related IPs including collaboration with Rakuten NFT.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peC8l5NRqxQ

 

The company is focused on improving profitability and expanding its core business for mid- to long-term financial soundness. And so achieve profitability on annual consolidated non-GAAP OI basis in fiscal 2024. And also for Rakuten Mobile, monthly EBITDA-based annual increase as well as annual basis as well.  

Recovering Lost Sales: Reducing Cart Abandonment with Viber Business Messages

Mariia Martyrosian, Global PR & Marketing Innovations Director at Rakuten Viber
May 16, 2024

Reducing cart abandonment and boosting sales is much easier with Viber Rich Business Messages. By using personalized offers and reminders, time-sensitive updates, and remarketing tactics, businesses can engage customers, recover lost sales, and increase revenue. With a large user base and high engagement rates, Rakuten Viber provides a wide reach and the right tools for maximum impact. By optimizing campaigns using data-driven insights in real time, businesses can enhance their cart recovery tactics and achieve even better results.

Don't miss the chance to re-engage customers and maximize revenue. Contact our team today, and we’ll help you implement effective cart abandonment solutions with Rakuten Viber.

https://www.forbusiness.viber.com/en/blog/post/...-business-messages/

 

Rakuten’s OSS Reboot - Innovating with AI to reinvent the telco

Appledore Research 2024

https://8924028.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/...20Note%25200224.pdf
 

Appledore Research 2024

https://appledorerg.com/rakuten-oss-reboot?_fsi=M6B6whBJ
 

Rakuten Symphony hat kürzlich eine Neuausrichtung seines OSS-Portfolios bekannt gegeben. In Zusammenarbeit mit OpenAI nutzt das Unternehmen seine Expertise und Technologie, um die Telekommunikation neu zu gestalten. Appledore Research hat dazu eine optimistische Forschungsnotiz veröffentlicht und fragt: "Ist dies die Zukunft des OSS?" Rahul Atri, der Leiter des OSS bei Rakuten Symphony, setzt auf Vereinfachung und Automatisierung von Betriebsprozessen unter Verwendung von KI. Er ist überzeugt, dass Telcos in Zukunft kein eigenständiges OSS mehr benötigen werden.
Rakuten Symphony hat bereits einige Erfolge bei der Neuausrichtung seines OSS-Portfolios erzielt. Durch die Nutzung von KI und Automatisierung zur Vereinfachung von Betriebsprozessen konnte das Unternehmen effizientere Abläufe erreichen. Rahul Atri, der Leiter des OSS bei Rakuten Symphony, ist zuversichtlich, dass Telcos in Zukunft kein eigenständiges OSS mehr benötigen werden.

Bisher gibt es keine spezifischen Bedenken oder Kritikpunkte zur Neuausrichtung des OSS-Portfolios bei Rakuten Symphony. Die Branche reagiert positiv auf die Nutzung von KI und Automatisierung zur Vereinfachung von Betriebsprozessen.
 

I believe that EBITDA is a useful indicator for evaluating the cash flow generation ability of the Rakuten Group's.

EBITDA (Calculated by adding depreciation and amortization expenses, etc. to Non-GAAP operating income)  in millions of Yen  

Three months ended March 31, 2024: 52,766

Three months ended March 31, 2023: 3,500
 

EBITDA in 2024 will be after my estimates a minimum of 250,000 million Yen = $ 1.7 billion. But it can reach $ billion, too.  

reach $ 2 billion, too.  

Rakuten, eBay team up to test US market for used Japanese fashion goods

May 22, 2024

Japan's Rakuten Group is partnering with eBay to test U.S. demand for used Japanese fashion goods, made all the cheaper with the yen trading near a 34-year low.

The tie-up, which started on May 8 with just seven vendors on Rakuten's second-hand goods unit Rakuma, aims to capitalise on the currency effect and also a move toward bargain hunting as cost-of-living pressures around the world crimp spending.

In exchange for commissions on sales, eBay lists Rakuma's selected goods for sale on its site, while a Rakuten-contracted vendor handles shipping and customer service in the U.S.

After the U.S., eBay's next biggest markets are Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Germany, and its "ultimate goal" would be to expand Rakuma offerings to those countries, said Naoki Kitamura, eBay Japan's head of category management.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/...en-ebay-team-test-us-074305121.html
 

The advertising business recorded an increase in revenue (total sum of advertising sales in Japan recorded in each segment: Internet Services, FinTech and Mobil as group transactions) with sales of 51.8 billion yen, up 7.2% YoY in Q1 FY2024.

https://global.rakuten.com/corp/news/press/2024/0514_01.html
 

Rakuten and eBay to trial demand for used Japanese fashion in US

Thu, May 23, 2024

Users of eBay's US site will be able to purchase some products listed on the Rakuma official shop. The focus is initially on used fashion and accessories.

Reuters quoted Rakuma general manager Kenichiro Hasegawa: "Because of the use of cases and covers ... these second-hand goods are in quite good shape. To say something is 'used in Japan' gives some immediate value."

Rakuten Rakuma believes that listing on eBay will enable it to expand its sales channels and promote overseas sales for store operators.

Rakuten has yet to set a sales target for the venture, but success with the initial vendors could lead to an expansion to include all Rakuma shops and users on eBay.

According to eBay Japan category management head Naoki Kitamura, the company aims to broaden the availability of Rakuma's offerings to Canada, Australia, the UK and Germany.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/...ay-trial-demand-used-124909039.html
 

More O-RAN standards please, says Rakuten Symphony

22 May 2024

Japan’s Rakuten Mobile built an Open RAN network when the standards body, the O-RAN Alliance, was just in its infancy. More development of standards is needed to encourage Open RAN adoption, especially for operators of brownfield networks, according to Rahul Atri, Managing Director and President of OSS at Rakuten Symphony.

“We are glad that standards are coming through now and people are paying more attention, especially the big boys,” said Atri. “Standards open the opportunity for Rakuten and for the larger community to share capabilities. We believe that standards are a starting point. When we set up the Rakuten network in 2018, we had to go forward and start solving our problems. Now, we are converting those capabilities into platforms and applications which are more aligned to the Open RAN standards.”
Rakuten Symphony partners with Open RAN software vendor AirHop, and uses its apps on the Rakuten Symphony Symworld marketplace. The firm plans to integrate apps from other such partners into its RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC).

Only a handful of commercial operators have greenfield open RAN networks, which means that Rakuten Symphony’s client base will be largely brownfield – another reason why standards are so important to the firm, Atri said.

“It’s also more important when you’re a brownfield to go with standards. For example, if there are no standards, the likes of Nokia and Ericsson will want to charge extra to the brownfield customers for integration. So, the standards are a way to make everyone agree to certain level of compatibility integration, so that all the people can come online and solve a business problem.”

https://rethinkresearch.biz/articles/...please-says-rakuten-symphony/