According to Internet World, the Japanese marketplace Rakuten has tried to establish its own platform in Germany for more than ten years. With the closure of the marketplace, the business model will be switched to the open ecommerce platform Club R, which is similar to a shopping club in which traders and buyers meet. Rakuten is doing a similar thing in the UK and Spain. The company's officials confirmed the closure of the platform in Germany.
Furthermore, the company stated that through the open ecommerce platform, customers can browse offers from hundreds of retailers and brands and collect Rakuten Points, which they can exchange for films on Rakuten TV, shopping credit at major brands, and many more.
Although Rakuten Germany will continue to support its trading partners in processing orders until 15 October, the closure announcement comes as a complete surprise to many of the approximately 5,500 active Germany-based retailers, as just recently, Rakuten Germany attracted new dealers with an introductory offer – in the Multichannel Rockstars group, some salespeople reported that they even had introductory talks with the sales team just a few days ago.
Moreover, retailers were shocked by the decision and complained about it, as Rakuten brought them solid sales – some exceeding the sales made through eBay's platform. Besides, in the course of the marketplace closure, terminations will also be issued. However, Rakuten has not yet announced how many employees will have to leave.
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