Mickey’s Voice
Insights from our CEO
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Why brick-and-mortar stores are here to stay
Physical retail has a bright future. This may sound counterintuitive – especially coming from a company like Rakuten, which was founded as an e-commerce marketplace. But as Rakuten has grown and expanded its services to include banking, credit cards, communications, media and other services around the world, we are able to see the way in which physical retail will thrive going forward. It will do…
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Why wait until tomorrow for today’s results?
How was your day? If you need to wait until tomorrow to have all the information to answer that question, you are far, far too late. In today’s fast-moving world, companies and individuals must have the information to assess their progress. And while in the past it may have been appropriate to get a daily report, now that time frame is much tighter. At Rakuten, we set a series of key performance i…
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Diverse talent to unlock Japan’s innovation potential: Hiroshi “Mickey” Mikitani
Why is McDonald’s Japan’s service so good, and yet there are no truly global Japanese service companies? Why is Tokyo considered one of the world’s most attractive cities, and yet it lags behind as a tech and business hub? In a powerful keynote speech delivered at the Rakuten Technology Conference on October 28, 2017, Rakuten Founder and CEO, Hiroshi “Mickey” Mikitani, addressed these…
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The heart of a brand: Starting with your team
What is at the heart of your brand? From a business perspective, a brand is a way we communicate with customers – a way to convey to them what we offer and why that is valuable. But brands are also something we all live and work with every day, so they can feel much more personal and encapsulate so much more than just a logo or a name. In fact, the brand is a way we build a relationship of trust w…
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Tackling cancer with innovation: Mickey speaks with Dr. Hisataka Kobayashi
Hiroshi “Mickey” Mikitani in conversation with Dr. Hisataka Kobayashi, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) senior investigator who is working on the development of a new cancer treatment called near-infrared photoimmunotherapy. Mickey introduces Dr. Kobayashi and their conversation here. Mr. Mikitani, what prompted you to get involved in supporting cancer research? MIKITANI: Four years ago, my…
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Driving innovation in the medical world: Tackling Cancer
For many people, Rakuten is first and foremost an internet services company. In reality, however, Rakuten is much more than that – we also invest in and support the growth and expansion of startups that provide innovative new services and technologies. I myself have invested in numerous technologies and services that I believe have the capability to change the world. One of those investments is As…
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Why we are partnering with the Golden State Warriors
In just a couple of days, I’ll be court-side as the 2017-18 NBA season tips off with a must-see clash between the reigning champions the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets. It will be a very special moment for Rakuten – the first regular season match played by the Warriors since we became their jersey-badge partner, and one of the first games Rakuten.TV will show live in Japan as…
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New possibilities at Sun Valley and beyond
I was in New York City in July and was delighted to see people from all walks of life wearing FC Barcelona shirts bearing the Rakuten brand. With the launch of our partnership with the legendary European football club, awareness of our brand is growing in all corners of the planet – and not just among consumers. Business leaders are noticing too. That same month, I attended the annual Allen &…
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Hunters, farmers and bureaucrats: Balancing personality types for team success
I was fortunate enough to have dinner recently with Nobel Prize winning economist Myron Scholes and we talked about the kind of people an organization needs to succeed. We discussed the mistake leaders often make of focusing too narrowly on skills when it comes to hiring. While skills are important, it’s also critical to recruit with personality types in mind. Scholes described three personality t…
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Brand unification: An optimistic perspective
In July, we launched a groundbreaking project to unify our brands across the globe. As Rakuten has grown from a Japanese e-commerce company into a global innovation company, with unique Japanese roots, we have added many unique and inspiring businesses to our ecosystem. Now we are entering a new stage of connecting those dots to provide a user experience that is unified by the Rakuten brand. Rakut…
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