Rakuten president Hiroshi Mikitani said in an interview he gave to The Nikkei that his company will enter a handful of countries in Europe plus Brazil and India this year. According to Mikitani, further acquisitions in those markets are possible, too.
These countries would follow Japan, China, Indonesia, the US, France, Taiwan, Thailand and other places where Rakuten already has a presence, in parts through a joint venture with a local company.
The final goal for Rakuten is still to build a global and integrated virtual mall that makes it possible to connect buyers and merchants independent of their respective location.
Mikitani also said he wants to see Rakuten growing its sales from US$12 billion to US$120 billion “in the medium term”.
