Jul 28th - Rakuten to enter German market

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 of
Rakuten. “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 to
working 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.

Jul 28th - Japan; Plans in place for analog's radiowaves

A message of thanks was broadcast by NTV in the immediate moments before analog broadcasting ceased at 11:59 p.m. Sunday.

The digitalization of TV broadcasting across the nation Sunday, except in three disaster-hit Tohoku prefectures, promotes more effective uses for airwaves previously occupied by analog broadcasting.

Transmitting information digitally uses two-thirds the bandwidth of analog as a result of higher compression rates. The freed-up bandwidth will be used for multimedia broadcasting to portable terminals, which is set to commence in April 2012.

Within the new multimedia service, a joint company established by NTT Docomo Inc., private key TV stations and other companies will provide paid programs such as movies, live sporting events and news programs to portable terminals and personal computers.

Due to the increasing number of smartphone users, the availability of airwaves has become increasingly tight. Part of the bandwidth freed by the digitalization of TV broadcasting will be used for next-generation mobile phones with large transmission capacities.

Freed bandwidth will also be used for intelligent transport systems that provide pinpoint locations of vehicles via wireless technology, contributing to road safety and the development of automotive technology.

Jul 28th - Softbank profit surges five fold on brisk smartphone sales

Softbank Corp, the sole carrier of Apple’s iPhone in Japan, said quarterly profit surged almost fivefold due to strong demand for smartphones.

Net profit totaled 94.79 billion yen in the first quarter of the fiscal year through March 2012, the Tokyo-based company said. That compares to 19.44 billion yen during the same period last year.

Softbank’s mobile business, which is Japan’s No. 3 cell phone carrier, gained on rivals by adding a net 730,000 subscribers during the quarter. The company credits most of the rise to the popularity of the iPhone and Android handsets.

Sales rose 9% to 764.2 billion yen, and operating profit climbed 12% to 175.83 billion yen. Softbank did not release financial forecasts for the full fiscal year.

While revenue and operating income are expected to climb, the company said it cannot yet estimate future earnings amid plans to further increase subscribers.