Rakuten have announced a 75% acquisition of Ikeda, a leading provider of e-commerce services to many of Brazil’s largest retailers.
Ikeda’s SaaS (Software as a Service) platform enables customers to help develop tailored ecommerce solutions and also provide consultancy services to retailers with over 100 major clients in Brazil. Rakuten brings a BtoBtoC (Business to business to consumer) marketing model where products can flow from the manufacturer through the retailer to the end customer. This should fit well with an ecommerce solution providing and end to end supply chain direct from the factory to the consumer.
With 40% of Latin America’s internet users and the largest economy, Brazil is expected to increase its online sales, boosted by the growth of the middle class and consumer technology purchases. Ecommerce in Brazil is forecasted to grow at 18% annually, with total sales expected to reach approximately US$22 billion by 2016.
Rakuten are expected to add to their growing list of international purchases which already include buy.com and Priceminister. They’re expected to build and launch a platform in the UK and Germany by the end of the year.
