Rakuten, Kodansha to launch smartphone-based fashion magazine BeViVi

ntttttttttttt

Rakuten Inc and Kodansha Ltd have announced that the two companies will launch BeViVi, a smartphone-based internet fashion magazine. The first issue will be published on Oct 23.

BeViVi is an internet fashion magazine optimized for smartphones that aims to make online shopping more fun. Built around the concept of “You can buy now with ViVi,” the magazine is targeted at women in their teens and 20s and features fashion items from Rakuten Ichiba selected by the editorial department of Kodansha’s popular magazine ViVi.

After viewing the magazine content and Rakuten Ichiba products, users can easily purchase items they like from within the magazine. In addition, Rakuten members can also earn and spend Rakuten Super Points.

The use of smartphones continues to grow at a rapid pace, and there are many users in their teens and 20s who use smartphones, not PCs, as their main device. Rakuten and Kodansha have collaborated on several projects that bring together Kodansha’s popular magazines with Rakuten Ichiba products. By leveraging Kodansha’s strong, trend-setting editorial power and with Rakuten Ichiba’s wide product lineup, the two companies aim to provide high-quality smartphone content that matches the reading habits of young smartphone users.

The magazine will be created in cooperation with Brangista Inc., a leading company in the digital magazine industry which has been publishing digital magazines that can be read by anyone free of charge since 2007. More than 200 famous actors and actresses have appeared in Brangista’s digital publications, and the company now publishes more than 20 digital magazines. For the launch of BeViVi, Brangista will leverage its technology and creative abilities developed over 10 years of digital publication production to create the magazine.

The first issue of BeViVi will feature ViVi models Alissa Yagi, Tina Tamashiro and emma on the cover. The issue will have 50 pages and introduce approximately 300 fashion items from the current fashion season.