Rakuten enters German market

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Rakuten Inc on Thursday announced that it has acquired an 80% stake in Tradoria, one of Germany’s leading online e-commerce platforms. Tradoria was founded in 2007 and employs a unique business model that encompasses a web store, marketplace and checkout in a single product for small and medium-sized merchants. It saves the merchants all complex technological processes and provides all necessary tools and support to successfully launch their online business.

The business model is based on monthly subscription fees and transaction fees. Currently, over 4,400 shops offer approximately 8 million products across a broad range of categories.

“Tradoria is a fast growing company that shares Rakuten’s vision of empowering merchants and consumers,” said Hiroshi Mikitani, CEO ofnRakuten. “Our distinctive B2B2C business model represents a fresh approach to the future of global e-commerce and we are excited to join with like-minded companies. Together, we will help each other grow in Europe and continue to open new markets worldwide to our merchants.”

“Rakuten is a dominant force in e-commerce with years of experience and a rapidly expanding global presence. Our shared vision and business models make this a perfect fit and we are looking forward to bringing new opportunities to our merchants and their customers,” said Tradoria CEO Tobias Kobier.

The acquisition comes one year after Rakuten took its first step into continental Europe with the acquisition of PriceMinister in France and sets the stage for continued expansion across Europe. PriceMinister CEO Pierre Kosciusko-Morizet commented, “Inmthe past year, we have seen significant synergies with the Rakuten Group that have helped extend our respective businesses globally and drive growth. We look forward tonworking alongside Tradoria and Rakuten in building Europe’s strongest e-commerce platform, offering merchants and consumers a seamless and borderless online shopping experience.”

Germany’s e-commerce industry is the second largest in Europe and is expected to exceed 37 billion euros in 2014. With 61 million online consumers, Germany has the biggest online population in Europe, 13 million more than the UK. Two-thirds of the online German population bought online in 2010, spending an aggregate of almost 20 billion euros. The German e-commerce market is expected to grow 12% in 2011.