Walmart has opened its first e-Commerce store in Japan through a partnership with Rakuten. The Walmart Rakuten Ichiba Store will offer Japanese shoppers a wide array of U.S.-branded products, including apparel, outdoor goods and toys, with more products being added over time.
Orders will be fulfilled in the U.S. and shipped directly to Japanese customers, with shipping, duties and taxes included in the product price. Walmart will provide customer support through Seiyu GK, the retail giant’s Japanese subsidiary.
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“We are very excited to be working with Walmart to bring a diverse product lineup of American brands at affordable prices to Rakuten Ichiba users in Japan,” said Shunsuke Yazawa, Executive Officer and VP of the Marketplace Business at Rakuten in a statement. “Through the opening of the Walmart Rakuten Ichiba Store, we hope to make Rakuten Ichiba an even more attractive destination for online shoppers in Japan.”
The online store represents the latest development in the partnership between Walmart and Rakuten that began in January 2018. Since then, Walmart launched an online grocery delivery service through Rakuten’s online marketplace, while Rakuten began selling Kobo eBooks, audiobooks and Kobo eReaders in U.S. Walmart stores and online.
Rakuten also has worked with Seiyu to open an online delivery service called Rakuten Seiyu Netsuper. The retailer’s delivery options were further boosted by its acquisition of Curbside, a mobile ordering and pickup startup, which added Curbside’s retail partners to the Rakuten user network.
