Japanese e-commerce leader Rakuten has added takeaway meals to its “Rakubin!” express delivery service, which can deliver goods in as little as 20 minutes to customers in central Tokyo, and will sell goods direct to China through an online store on JD Worldwide.
In response to user demand, Rakuten has added the “meals” category to the Rakubin! Service, which was the most requested category by its users, and has teamed up with Spaghetti no Pancho, Curry House CoCo Ichibanya and Kyoka Bento, three restaurant chains affiliated with Rakuten Delivery and Rakuten Takeout, the home delivery service of the Rakuten Group, to deliver freshly-made products in as little as 20 minutes.
Through this tie-up with Rakuten Delivery and Rakuten Takeout, Rakubin! aims to increase its number of food merchants, and is also considering collaboration with other Rakuten Group services.
Rakubin! is an express delivery service that can deliver products in as little as 20 minutes from time of order. It provides a round-the-clock service 365 days of the year for convenience store and pharmacy products, as well as for some Rakuten Ichiba and Rakuten CAFÉ items.
The service is currently available in Shibuya, Meguro, Setagaya, and Minato wards (certain areas excluded) in the Japanese capital.
The service is free for purchases totalling 2,500 yen or more, where the customer takes delivery from the courier vehicle at the specified location. For purchases under 2,500 yen, the fee is 390 yen (tax inclusive). This rises to 770 yen, including tax, when the courier delivers the product to the customer directly at their home or elsewhere.
Meanwhile, Rakuten and JD.com, China’s largest direct online sales company, have announced the signing of an agreement to establish a Rakuten online flagship store on JD Worldwide, JD.com’s cross-border platform.
With the goal of bringing the best Japanese products to Chinese consumers, Rakuten launched a beta version of a new online marketplace on JD Worldwide this month. Plans are underway to expand the merchandise range over time, with an initial focus on categories such as cosmetics, snacks and health food products.
Masato Takahashi, Managing Executive Officer of Rakuten, said: “The new partnership between Rakuten and JD.com will promote cross-border trade by connecting Chinese consumers with authentic and popular Japanese products from a top selection of Rakuten’s merchants from around Japan, both small and large. Rakuten will continue to work to expand our offering to Chinese consumers.”
“This cooperation with Rakuten continues to expand our offer of authentic and high-quality imported Japanese products, which have proven very popular,” said Haoyu Shen, CEO of JD Mall. “Our focus remains on partnering with the most trusted retailers in key overseas markets to meet the growing demand for premium imported products.”
JD.com claims to have the largest fulfilment infrastructure of any e-commerce company in China. It operates 7 fulfilment centres and a total of 166 warehouses in 44 cities, and in total 4,142 delivery stations and pickup stations in 2,043 counties and districts across China, staffed by its own employees.
