Our New Logo: Speed and Unity
I flew into San Francisco Airport from Asia recently and had an experience that made me realize how important it is to tell Rakuten’s brand story.
As I went through customs, the agent asked me what I did for a living. I said, “I work for Rakuten.”
“Oh,” he responded. “I know Rakuten. Golden State Warriors sponsor! What do you do for Rakuten?”
I answered, “I’m the CEO.”
At this point, the customs agent was very pleased and he waved over his colleagues. “Look, this is the CEO of Rakuten.”
Everyone working there seemed to know Rakuten and our connection with the Warriors. I was delighted. And then the agent said to me, “So, what is Rakuten?”
It was a moment that underscored for me the need to advance our story, especially considering the diversity and global nature of our services. One of the ways we are doing that is through our new logo. Yesterday, as the Golden State Warriors took the court for their home opener, they wore on their jerseys a badge featuring the new Rakuten logo. We are immensely proud of our association with the Warriors and very pleased to be continuing as a partner for the new season.
Our new logo tells the story of what we hope to achieve in the coming year.
- The dash underscoring the R is more than just a line – it represents the Japanese character for “ichi,” which means “one.” It communicates our unity – with dozens of Rakuten group companies and services under one brand – and over 20,000 employees around the world. It is also a message we send to our partner companies and our customers. We are united with you, too, in pursuit of your dreams.
- The new dynamic dash has taken the place of the circle that was previously the background to the R, highlighting the core values that include “Speed!! Speed!! Speed!!” In today’s fast-moving world, that’s as important as ever.
- At its core, a new logo is a change. And we are changing. We celebrate our two decades of growth and commit ourselves to new challenges ahead – new businesses we will enter, new innovations we will launch, new markets we will create. I’m always excited about the disruptive innovation that we see out there on the horizon.
We partnered with the Golden State Warriors because we share common values with the team – a passion for innovation, for teamwork and for excellence. As they embark on their new season, we are proud to support them in their quest to win a third straight championship.
Our logo is the representation of our redefined expectations. It literally underlines our ambition to take on society’s next great challenges. With all our partners in sports, in business and in our marketplace, we have big plans to achieve great things together.
