Japan-based online retailing giant Rakuten is to rename Buy.com as Rakuten Shopping. From January 31, the computer and general merchandise etailer Buy.com will redirect to Rakuten.com – i.e. Rakuten Shopping, the marketplace for online sellers to list their goods for sale.
“Rakuten’s core business is a B2B2C marketplace model that we established in Japan and are exporting around the world,” says Mark Kirschner of Rakuten Inc. “We are really very focused on expanding our scope, our scale and our geography.” Rakuten’s Play.com, the UK eCommerce and marketplace website, will also cease direct sales operations to focus on its marketplace.
Third-party sellers will pay Rakuten a commission on each product they sell on the Rakuten.com website. Rakuten purchased Buy.com for $250 million in 2011. The company bought Play.com in the same year for approximately $39 million.
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