Cabify launches a new business division so that big brands can advertise
03/25/2024
Cabify has begun its particular journey in the advertising sector with the launch of Cabify Media, the new division that connects big brands with millions of people who use Cabify every day. Spain is the first market where this new portfolio of services for advertisers is already offered, while the arrival of this division in Latin America is planned for this year.
Cabify Media will make it easier for brands to connect with their audiences at different times and media during their mobility experience. These companies will be able to convey their messages through digital formats such as the application itself and also on offline media, both inside and outside the cars that connect to the platform.
Libuda
: Supreme Court agrees with Cabify in Madrid
Supreme Court agrees with Cabify in Madrid licence battle
Jan 31, 2024By Mark Nolan
The Supreme Court has once again upheld an appeal presented by Maxi Mobility, a subsidiary of Cabify, against the denial by the Community of Madrid of a request processed in 2018 to obtain 1,000 VTC authorisations, ordering that the process be opened again.
This ruling reproduces a similar one published a week ago, which ruled in the same way about another 1,000 licences, so these judicial resolutions open the door for Cabify to add another 2,000 VTC licences in the Community of Madrid.
Rakuten Offers $1.25 Billion Junk Bond in Return to US Market
Alicia Clanton, Gowri Gurumurthy and Takahiko Hyuga Tue, April 2, 2024 at 6:25 AM GMT+2
Rakuten Group Inc. is returning to the high-yield bond market with a $1.25 billion offering, in the latest move by the debt-laden Japanese online retailer to try to bolster its finances.
The Tokyo-based conglomerate is considering selling dollar bonds, and the debt’s size and terms will be decided based on market demand, a company spokesperson said Tuesday. The five-year deal may price later this week, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Early pricing discussions for the new issuance are for a yield in the mid-10% area, people with knowledge of the matter said.
With about ¥700 billion ($4.6 billion) in bonds due in the rest of 2024 and next year, Rakuten “is getting serious, rather than just assuming that things will work out” on debt repayment, said Takashi Fujiwara, general manager of the fixed income investment division at Resona Asset Management Co., which managed about ¥48 trillion in assets as of September. The planned dollar bond sale is a “positive sign,” he said.
Libuda
: After strong rally in debt sold earlier this year
Rakuten offers US$1.25 billion junk bond in return to US market
Published Tue, Apr 2, 2024 · 07:38 AM
JAPANESE technology firm Rakuten Group is returning to the high-yield bond market with a US$1.25 billion offering after a strong rally in debt it sold earlier this year.
The company is using proceeds from the sale of five-year bonds to repurchase debt due later this year and later, according to a source with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified because the deal is private. Early pricing discussions are for a yield in the mid-10 per cent area, sources with knowledge of the matter said.
Representatives for Rakuten and Goldman Sachs Group, which is leading the deal, did not respond to requests for comment.
Intel Names Top 27 Americas Partners Who Are Driving Growth, Embracing AI
BY DYLAN MARTIN MARCH 29, 2024
In an interview with CRN, Intel’s Jason Kimrey says the Intel Partner Alliance Partner of the Year Awards recognize those are who not only driving revenue growth but who are also building innovative solutions and business models on top of embracing the chipmaker’s AI strategy.
Japan-based Rakuten Symphony won the edge award “for catalyzing the industry’s shift toward higher levels of automation, simplification and industrialization in network operations with Symware 2.0, powered by fourth-gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors with Intel vRAN Boost and Rakuten’s Cloud Native Orchestrator, with Intel vRAN Boost,” the company said.
Libuda
: More background information about reorganisation
Rakuten Bank is looking to expand its customer base and revenue streams while leveraging the Rakuten Ecosystem to efficiently acquire new customers and collaborate with other group companies. The bank's strategic goals include becoming a leading fintech company, offering banking services designed for individual and corporate customers' needs, and providing convenient, technology-driven solutions.
As part of its growth strategy, Rakuten Bank is considering a reorganisation to support closer collaboration with other fintech companies within the group. For individual customers, the reorganisation aims to provide comprehensive financial services aligned with customers' lifecycle stages, while for corporate customers, it aims to enhance the penetration of Rakuten Bank's services within the fintech field's corporate customer base.
Both Rakuten Group and Rakuten Bank will evaluate the proposed reorganisation to ensure it aligns with their objectives of sustainable growth and enhanced enterprise value. Discussions will continue to refine the strategy and assess its potential impact on the overall business ecosystem.
Das Affiliate-Netzwerk Rakuten bietet seit Kurzem eine Affiliate Intelligence unter dem Namen Rakuten Advertising an, welche KI, Daten, menschliche Intelligenz, Beziehungen, Verbindungen, Bewusstsein und Kreativität zusammenbringt, um ungeahnte Potenziale im Affiliate Marketing auszuschöpfen. Dazu zählen u. a. Features, wie das Aufzeigen innovativer Insights, Partnerschaften und Performance, die auf Basis von menschlicher Intelligenz in Zusammenarbeit mit KI für individuell zugeschnittene Kooperationen und Erfolgsstrategien je Partnerprogramm sorgen sollen.
Um die Erfolgschancen in der Nutzung von Rakuten Advertising im Rahmen einer Affiliate-Partnerschaft zu veranschaulichen, wurde eine Studie in der Zusammenarbeit zwischen shopping24 und dem Merchant Superdry durchgeführt. Unter Reduzierung des CPCs für shopping24 bei gleichzeitigem Einsatz eines ROAS-Trackers seitens Rakuten Advertising konnten eine Steigerung des ROAS um 219 % in den ersten vier Wochen nach Kampagnenstart und eine Umsatzsteigerung von 104 % erreicht werden. All diejenigen, die jetzt neugierig auf Rakuten Advertising sind, können hier mehr dazu lesen.
Libuda
: Rakuten SQREEM's Astonishing AI Ad Service
"Bibs" as Keyword for Valentine’s Day campaign?? Rakuten SQREEM's Astonishing AI Ad Service
April 02, 2024
Have you heard of Rakuten SQREEM's unique ad services? According to AI analysis, a keyword that influences people to purchase loungewear is... "fast food chain"? Rakuten SQREEM uses open data from around the world, including purchasing data from Rakuten Ichiba, to derive keywords unimaginable to humans, which can help to enhance ad effectiveness.
Libuda
: NOW Telecom, Rakuten Symphony team for 5G Open RAN
NOW Telecom, Rakuten Symphony team for 5G Open RAN pilot
At Mobile World Congress 2024, Philippine telco NOW Telecom signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Rakuten Symphony to establish a collaborative framework for deploying a 5G Open RAN pilot in the Philippines.
Under the terms of the agreement, signed on Monday, Rakuten Symphony and NOW will collaborate with the aim of developing disaggregated networks and open interfaces for the pilot. Both companies will contribute expertise, resources, and technology to jointly develop 5G and related ICT solutions for NOW Telecom’s network.
Number of Rakuten members* from 1st quarter 2014 to 4th quarter 2023 (in millions)
Rakuten Group's number of member IDs 2014-2023
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.
New spring, new me: Rakuten Ichiba unveils 2024 shopping trends
14 hours ago 3 min read
Spring in Japan is a time of new beginnings: The first of April marks the start of not only the financial calendar, but also the school year, and for many, a new job. It’s a flurry of moving houses, buying supplies and preparing for new stages in life.
Last week, Rakuten Ichiba delved into its platform data to analyze the latest market trends, publishing insights on the freshest fads for spring 2024.
Trend #1: No one’s got time for that
Rakuten Ichiba’s first major data point revealed a 2.3x spike in sales of “time-saving” home appliances in 2023 compared to 2019. A survey of shoppers revealed that some 70% of Gen Z-ers (~28 years old) were embracing the “time-saving” lifestyle, compared to around 40% among the 30-40 year old crowd. From robot vacuums and smart-home devices to travel hangers that dry your garments – shoppers are getting creative with how they save time.
Pre-prepared frozen foods are also having a moment: In 2023, sales of frozen goodies like breads and soups skyrocketed to almost 5x higher than 2019 levels. Who has time to cook these days? Just zap and enjoy!
Trend #2: Bargain-hunting to beat back inflation
With prices on the rise, inflation is on everyone’s minds, and bargain hunting is in. Used goods are one affordable option that shoppers are exercising this spring: Rakuten Ichiba reported a 30% uptick in used home appliance sales from 2019 to 2023, while used smartphones and tablets saw around a 50% boost.
“Irregular” items, such as those with damaged packaging, are also in the spotlight, recording a 20% jump over 2019. Rakuten Ichiba recently added a new “Irregular/Outlet” section to their New Lifestyle Fair campaign page, so that savvy shoppers can stretch their yen even further!
Trend #3: AR furniture
Buying big furniture pieces online can be daunting – how will it actually look and fit? Rakuten Ichiba’s survey revealed that among those who had never purchased large items online, around 60% admitted to feeling this very hesitation.
Rakuten Ichiba thinks it has the solution: In 2023, the platform launched an alternate reality (AR) tool, allowing users to virtually place furniture and visualize how it might look before taking the plunge. The future of shopping is now!
Trend #4: Grab a disaster backpack
Disaster prep is part of life in earthquake- and typhoon-prone Japan. Yet Rakuten Ichiba’s research revealed that around 30% of customers had nothing stocked away. Many stated that they either hadn’t gotten around to it, that they didn’t know what to prepare, or that they didn’t have space.
Among those who had prepared, the most common items were water, a flashlight, emergency food, chargers, and batteries. Rakuten Ichiba saw a 2.7x leap in sales of disaster goods during the first few months of 2023 compared with the same period in 2019, with “compact” and “waterproof” floating up as trending keywords. Emergency goods as housewarming gifts also seem to be on the rise! With spring just around the corner, we hope these trend predictions have given you some of your own ideas for shopping in the new season.
Libuda
: Rakuten TV and the success of free FAST channels
Rakuten TV and the success of free FAST channels: interview with Marcos Milanez
April 4, 2024
Streaming it changed the way we watch content forever. Films, sports, series, cartoons: everything passes through the internet. But not necessarily through a monthly subscription. Rakuten TV in fact, it offers both titles for purchase or rental, but also a wide range of free content: sia on demand which through channels FAST, like the one on Science Fiction that launched just last month. TV channels that follow users' tastes. And that, above all, they are free and supported by ads.
An interesting alternative for many users, who perhaps have grown tired of the ever-increasing costs of streaming subscriptions — and of infinite scrolling to find a movie or series to watch. Marcos Milanez, Chief Content Officer of Rakuten TV, gives us an in-depth look at this type of streaming offering.
TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Rakuten Group Inc. said Monday that it will begin talks with publicly traded unit Rakuten Bank over reorganizing the group’s fintech businesses.
The group is aiming to consolidate its banking, credit card, securities, insurance and other finance operations in October.
Rakuten Group hopes to boost its earning power by further improving the management efficiency of its robust finance businesses through the reorganization, after the group incurred losses for five consecutive years due to its sluggish mobile phone business.
“There is greater synergy when [finance operations] are together than when they are apart,” Rakuten Group Chairman and CEO Hiroshi Mikitani told reporters in Tokyo Monday after a ceremony for the company’s newly hired employees.
Libuda
: Rakuten Could Combine Bank and FinTech Operations
Rakuten Could Combine Bank and FinTech Operations
BY PYMNTS | APRIL 1, 2024
Research by PYMNTS Intelligence has shown that consumers like the idea of combining banking and other financial services into one place, or more specifically, one app.
Close to 7 in 10 consumers in the U.S. and Australia said they would merge their digital retail and grocery shopping and bill tracking into a one-stop app, with convenience-focused consumers overwhelmingly saying they prefer to manage their banking, investment and various shopping activities via an everyday app.
“Consumers expect an everyday app to deliver sought-after convenience: 59% of U.S. consumers and 37% of their counterparts in Australia cite seamless payment integration as a top benefit of using an all-in-one app,” PYMNTS wrote last year. “In addition, significant shares of consumers in both markets view an everyday app as a potential solution to minimize their app-related security concerns.”
Meanwhile, PYMNTS recently examined the trend of collaborations between traditional banks and emerging digital players in a conversation with Dave Scola, CEO, U.S. at Form3.
While the continued shift to online channels in banking is “certainly here to stay,” he said, that doesn’t mean banking has moved entirely into the digital realm, as there are still interactions that customers want to have face to face with their banks — mainly for high-value transactions.
And those visits, Scola added, offer banks a chance to cross-sell other products and services. “Banks are loath to give this up — and understandably so,” said Scola. “They will want to preserve this as much as they can, going forward.”
Libuda
: Advertising business grew to 206.5 billion yen
Advertising business in FY2023 grew to 206.5 billion yen
Revenue in the advertising business in FY2023 grew to 206.5 billion yen, achieving double-digit growth of 12.9% YoY, as well as reaching the full-year sales revenue target of 200 billion yen.
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