Japanese e-commerce platform Rakuten has announced plans to close a number of global operations as part of a new strategic focus.
As of March 2016, the company will shutter its marketplaces in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. It is also looking to sell off its Thailand-based platform Tarad.com, which it acquired in 2010.
The closures will mean the loss of about 150 jobs, although the company said it will provide redundancy compensation above the legal requirements and will help to find new jobs for those affected.
Rakuten’s regional Asian headquarters in Singapore will remain operational, as will its e-commerce business in Thailand, which is reportedly performing well.
According to Rakuten’s Vision 2020 statement, the closures are part of a strategy that will see the company focusing more on its stronger markets in Japan and Taiwan.
In place of the South-East Asia marketplaces, Rakuten is looking to focus on a consumer-to-consumer app called Rakuma — a marketplace app that enables transactions between individuals (similar to Carousell).
Rakuten is also an investor in Singapore-based C2C marketplace Carousell. It’s unclear at this stage how the company will integrate the competing Rakuma into the region. Rakuten has not yet commented on this rollout.
As part of its strategy realignment, Rakuten’s operations in Brazil will shift from a marketplace model to a SaaS model.
Rakuten’s Vision 2020 is focused on three core principles: strong, smart and speed. The decision to refocus the company’s strategy in the emerging markets of Brazil and South-East Asia may represent the still-evolving nature of e-commerce in these markets. By focusing on mobile apps and SaaS in emerging markets, the company looks to be shoring up its future in these uncertain markets.
