You’re Not Going To Believe This One: Buy.com To Change Its Name to Rakuten.com
On Jan. 31 Buy.com is changing its name to Rakuten.com
No its not April’s fools day.
In May 2010 a Japanese company Rakuten bought Buy.com for $250 million. Now that company is going to rebrand Buy.com as Rakuten.com Shopping.
If you go to Buy.com today you will see the name “Rakuten” right above Buy.com
The Buy.com URL will remain, but consumers who go to the site will be redirected to Rakuten.com starting Jan. 31.
The company’s vast holdings have since expanded to include e-commerce subsidiaries in Austria, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Spain, Thailand, United Kingdom and the U.S.
Several of those carry the Rakuten.com name, including those in Brazil, Austria and Germany and more are likely to be rebranded.
Although Rakuten is not a household name in the United States, the company is a significant player in the online global marketplace.
Its Japanese site, Rakuten Ichiba, racked up more than $34 billion in gross purchases in 2011, the most recent year for which figures were available.
“In the long term, Rakuten is going global,” said Roger Andelin, president and chief technology officer of Buy.com. “We want to be known for global shopping – a place where shoppers can connect with merchants all over the world. That is where this is heading.”
“We’re very confident that marketplace model of Rakuten in Japan that is now being taken worldwide is a fabulous shopping model,” Andelin said.
Source of story ocregister.com