日本电子商务网站乐天公司（Rakuten）首席执行官三木谷浩史做客《财富》（Fortune）编辑部，推广他的新书《市场3.0：重写无国界商业的规则》（Marketplace 3.0: Rewriting The Rules Of Borderless Business）。他在这本书中详细阐述了乐天公司的全球化战略。由三木谷浩史创始于1997年的乐天公司是日本最大的电子商务网站，市值高达135亿美元，年销售额逾40亿美元，是世界上最大的互联网公司之一。今年初，乐天公司斥资2.5亿美元，收购了美国购物网站Buy.com，并将其更名为Rakuten.com Shopping。

    乐天为什么不是亚马逊

    尽管乐天一直被誉为“日本的亚马逊（Amazon）”，但三木谷浩史声称，这种比较并不是非常准确。亚马逊的经营方式侧重于产品和顾客，一直在竭力改善分销环节和产品选择。乐天更关注的则是购物体验自身。这家公司奉行“以诚待客”（Omotenashi）原则，即提供日本式的高品质和个性化服务。“在日本，如果你去当地的一家咖啡店、杂货店或任何一家商铺，你都能享受到一种非常高水平的个性化服务，”三木谷浩史说。“互联网也应该这样。”

    三木谷浩史表示，乐天尝试为它的用户创造一种个性化的购物体验。这家公司允许其网站上的每位卖家以独特的布局、图片和促销活动定制各自的页面。随后，这些供应商可以持续编辑、更新页面，同时与客户直接沟通。三木谷浩史说：“我们想让他们觉得这里的确有个大活人在为他们服务。”

    为了凸显这种差异，乐天公司在宣传材料上放置了两幅图像，一幅是绘有几个不同品牌标志的售货机，以此象征竞争者的经营模式，另一幅是一个拥有许多不同商铺，产品琳琅满目的路边市场，以此象征其自身的经营模式。“我们希望避免标准化，”三木谷浩史说。“我们正在创造更多发生在买家和卖家双方之间的故事、体验和沟通。”

    面向小公司的大网站

    鉴于日本近九成的网民都是乐天网的注册用户，希望走向全国的零售商们当然无法承受不进驻这家网站的代价。目前，已经大约有4万家不同的企业和服务商进驻了乐天网。

    尽管东芝（Toshiba）、阿迪达斯（Adidas）和服饰品牌Forever 21这类大公司都开设了各自的页面，但乐天网的主要经营方式是，为小企业和本地企业家提供一个销售网点。这种营商理念与以出售手工针织物而闻名的网购公司Etsy非常类似，只不过乐天的规模比后者大17倍，上线时间也早了14年。三木谷浩史笑着说：“Etsy和 Fab正式上线之前真的应该仔细研究一下乐天的模式。”

    Hiroshi Mikitani, CEO of the Japanese e-commerce site Rakuten stopped by the Fortune offices to promote his new book Marketplace 3.0: Rewriting The Rules Of Borderless Business, where he outlines his company's strategy for globalization. Founded by Mikitani in 1997, Rakuten is the largest e-commerce site in Japan and with a market cap of $13.5 billion and annual sales of over $4 billion; it is one of the biggest Internet companies in the world. In the U.S., it bought Buy.com for $250 million and rebranded it to "Rakuten.com Shopping" earlier this year.

    Why it's not Amazon

    While it has been called the "Amazon.com of Japan," Mikitani says that comparison wasn't quite accurate. Amazon's (AMZN) focus has always been on the product and the customer, by improving distribution and choice. For Rakuten, it's more about the shopping experience itself. The company works on the principle of "Omotenashi," which is the Japanese concept of providing high quality and personal service. "In Japan, if you go to a local coffee shop, or a grocer or any local business, you will find a very high level of personal service," says Mikitani. "The internet should be that way as well."

    Mikitani says Rakuten tries to create a personal shopping experience for its users by allowing each seller on the site to customize their page with unique layouts, pictures and promotions. The vendors can then edit and update the page constantly as well as communicate directly with the customer. "We want to make them feel like there really is a person in there," says Mikitani.

    To underscore the comparison, Rakuten's promotional material shows picture of a vending machine with several different brands signifying competitor models and a picture of a roadside market with many different stalls and products to signify its own model. "We want to avoid standardization," says Mikitani. "We're creating more stories, experiences and communication between people who buy and people who sell."

    A big site for small companies

    With nearly 90 percent of Japan's Internet users registered on Rakuten, retailers wanting to reach the country simply can't afford to not sell anything on the site. Currently it hosts 40,000 different businesses and services.

    While it has pages for major companies such as Toshiba, Adidas and Forever 21, Rakuten built much of its business by providing a point of sale for small businesses and local entrepreneurs. It's a similar concept to Etsy, only Rakuten is 17 times larger and 14 years older. "Etsy and Fab really should have closely studied Rakuten before they started," says Mikitani with a smile.

    Mikitani cites an example of a local farmer who approached him with the novel idea of selling eggs on the Internet. The farmer believed that customers would pay a premium for higher quality, organic eggs that were guaranteed to be fresh. Using the Rakuten platform, he posted pictures of his feeding process, proving the eggs were organic and showcasing his practice of delivering eggs the day they were laid. Customers responded in a big way and Mikitani says the farmer currently makes "more money than many Internet startups, selling only eggs."

    三木谷浩史举了当地一个农民的事为例子。这位农民告诉三木谷浩史，他想用一种非常新奇的方式在互联网上卖鸡蛋。他相信，客户愿意为高品质、绝对保鲜的有机鸡蛋支付高价。他用乐天这个平台发布了许多照片，展示他的养鸡流程，以证明这些鸡蛋都是有机产品，还特别展示了他的一贯做法：母鸡产下鸡蛋当天就交付客户。乐天网的客户反响热烈，这位农民现在“挣的钱比许多互联网初创公司都要多，但他其实只卖鸡蛋，”三木谷浩史说。

    乐天网提供的卖家排名体系能够对他们的成功产生巨大的影响力。“我们真的是一个孵化器，人们相信我们的监管体系，”三木谷浩史说。“我们认为我们的角色就是放大商家的各种特征。”

    这家公司也为那些不太擅长使用互联网的供应商提供各类培训，比如为他们开设一些课程，指导他们学会数码摄影、网络设计和营销。

    称霸全球市场的雄心

    乐天或许不愿意跟亚马逊进行比较，但这并不意味着它不敢挑战这家电商巨头的霸主地位。这家公司已经实施了好几项策略性收购，试图在多个平台上与它展开正面较量。去年，乐天收购了加拿大电子书阅读器服务商Kobo公司，后者拥有加拿大最畅销的电子阅读平台，而且正在迅速地赢得欧洲的市场份额。此外，它还收购了Wuaki.tv，希望借助这家西班牙流媒体点播视频服务商来挑战Netflix公司和亚马逊尊享计划（Amazon Prime）的市场地位（特别是在欧洲）。

    除了在美国收购Buy.com之外，乐天公司还在德国、巴西、法国、泰国、马来西亚、印度尼西亚和台湾等地收购了多家电网网站。

    这家公司还有一项交易更有趣：向照片分享网站Pinterest投资5,000万美元。三木谷浩史表示，鉴于Pinterest独特的个性化和创造策划理念，对于像乐天这样的电商公司而言，它是一个最好的社交媒体网络。三木谷浩史说。“类似于Pinterest这样的需求创造者将变得比那些提供最终交易的平台更加重要。”（财富中文网）

    译者：任文科

    Rakuten's system of providing rankings for its sellers is hugely influential in their success. "We are really an incubator, people trust our curation," says Mikitani. "We see our role as amplifying the characters of the shop."

    The company also offers training for less Internet-savvy vendors by offering them classes on digital photography, online design and marketing.

    Plans for global domination

    It might avoid comparisons to Amazon, but that doesn't mean Rakuten isn't afraid to take it on. The company has made several strategic acquisitions to compete with the e-commerce giant on several platforms. Last year it acquired Canadian ebook reader company Kobo, which has the best selling e-reading platform in Canada and is quickly gaining market share in Europe. It also bought Wuaki.tv, a Spanish on-demand streaming video service that could challenge Netflix or Amazon Prime, especially in Europe.

    Along with acquiring Buy.com in the U.S., Rakuten has bought out e-commerce sites in Germany, Brazil, France, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Taiwan.

    One of the more interesting deals the company has made is a $50 million investment in Pinterest. Mikitani says Pinterest's idea of personalization and creative curating made it the best social media network for an e-commerce company like his. "Creators of demand like Pinterest will become more important than those who provide the final transaction," says Mikitani.