Latest news with #RakutenGroup
Bloomberg
10-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Rakuten Hires Banks for Yen Bond Offering of About $1 Billion
Rakuten Group Inc. hired banks for a yen bond offering of about 150 billion yen ($1 billion), according to one of the underwriters on the deal, Daiwa Securities Co. The Japanese e-commerce giant is targeting both retail investors and institutional investors, according to the announcement. The institutional notes will be sold as sustainability debt.
Straits Times
11-06-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Nintendo sells record 3.5 million Switch 2 consoles in four days
The numbers, released by the company on June 11, bode well for its target to sell 15 million units by March 2026. PHOTO: AFP TOKYO - Nintendo sold 3.5 million-plus units of the Switch 2 in just four days, a record-breaking start for the company's first new console in eight years. The numbers, released by the company on June 11, bode well for its target to sell 15 million units by March 2026. They also reinforce analysts' projections that Nintendo may be able to sell far more if it can pump up supply. Catching up with runaway demand is the first major challenge Nintendo now faces. President Shuntaro Furukawa has apologized after customers came away from lotteries for the Switch 2 empty-handed. The company has asked its partners to speed up production of the console. It's also secured agreements from Japanese online marketplace operators such as Rakuten Group, Mercari and LY Corp. to discourage resellers from taking advantage of the hardware's scarcity. A chronic shortage may spur consumers to turn elsewhere and flatten momentum. Nintendo's priority is to sustain launch momentum for as long as possible, Mr Furukawa told analysts at an earnings briefing in May. That's more difficult due to the Switch 2's higher retail price compared with its predecessor and growing weakness in the global economy. Mr Furukawa has also warned the company may consider raising the console's price in the future, depending on US President Donald Trump's tariff measures. Nathan Naidu, technology analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence said Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft could be more affected than other gamemakers by tariffs because they also have hardware businesses. 'Prices for the Nintendo Switch 2 could still be hiked by 7-8 per cent for US buyers – 30 per cent in our worst scenario – despite the 90-day tariff 'truce,' our scenario shows, given the high US duties on the main production countries,' said Mr Naidu. BLOOMBRG Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Japan Times
11-06-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
Nintendo sells record 3.5 million Switch 2 consoles in four days
Nintendo sold 3.5 million-plus units of the Switch 2 in just four days since its release on June 5, a record-breaking start for the company's first new console in eight years. The numbers, released by the company Wednesday, bode well for its target of selling 15 million units by March next year. They also reinforce analysts' projections that Nintendo may be able to sell far more if it can pump up supply. Catching up with runaway demand is the first major challenge Nintendo now faces. Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa has apologized after customers came away from lotteries for the Switch 2 empty-handed. The Kyoto-based company has asked its partners to speed up production of the console. It has also secured agreements from Japanese online marketplace operators such as Rakuten Group, Mercari and LY to discourage resellers from taking advantage of the hardware's scarcity. A chronic shortage may spur consumers to turn elsewhere and flatten momentum. Nintendo's priority is to sustain launch momentum for as long as possible, Furukawa told analysts at an earnings briefing in May. That's more difficult due to the Switch 2's higher retail price compared with its predecessor and growing weakness in the global economy. Furukawa has also warned the company may consider raising the console's price in the future, depending on U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff measures.
NHK
29-05-2025
- Business
- NHK
Government-stockpiled rice starts reaching retailers
Government-stockpiled rice sold through no-bid contracts has started to reach major retailers in Japan. The program will soon be opened to smaller sellers including local supermarkets and rice shops. On Thursday, a shipment of the grain arrived at a polishing plant in the northeastern prefecture of Miyagi. The facility belongs to a retailer affiliated with household goods maker Iris Ohyama. The affiliate has signed a contract to buy 10,000 tons through the program. Iris Ohyama says it started accepting orders on its website at 1 PM on Thursday, but it sold out the amount allocated for the day in about 45 minutes. The firm says it will accept orders again on Friday, starting from 1 PM. The grain is expected to hit store shelves on Monday priced at 2,160 yen, including tax, or about 15 dollars, for a 5 kilogram bag. Internet retail giant Rakuten Group also started selling the released rice on Thursday through a dedicated webpage. The firm is allotting rice for sale by the day. The first batch sold out quickly. Agriculture Minister Koizumi Shinjiro says that his ministry is working to set separate slots for local rice shops and smaller supermarkets. The ministry is aiming to sell the reserved rice to a wide variety of retailers so that the crop will reach a wider population.
Straits Times
28-05-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Japan pauses stockpile sales as retailers snap up rice
The rush to snap up the reserves usually stored for natural disasters comes as the government tries to assuage the impact of inflation on households. PHOTO: AFP TOKYO – Japan paused its sale of rice reserves after seeing a fast response from retailers, in a positive sign for the government's efforts to temper soaring rice prices and ease consumers' cost-of-living concerns ahead of an election this summer. Major players including Rakuten Group and Pan Pacific International Holdings, the parent company of popular discount store Don Quijote, were among the some 70 retailers to secure a portion of the 200,000 metric tons of the staple grain on sale on May 27, according to the Ministry of Agriculture. The rush to snap up the reserves usually stored for natural disasters comes as the government tries to assuage the impact of inflation on households, which have seen rice prices nearly double over the past year, ahead of an upper house election that could be punishing for Mr Shigeru Ishiba's minority government. Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi told reporters late on May 27 that he was 'very grateful' for the response and the speed at which retailers bought up the rice, adding that he hoped the next round of sales could start on May 30. The government is set to unload a total of 300,000 tons of stockpiled rice with a fixed wholesale price of about 10,000 yen (S$89) per 60kg, instead of auctioning it as had been done in earlier reserve releases. Mr Koizumi has said that he hoped selling directly to retailers at a set price would halve the current rice price for consumers of more than 4,000 yen per 5kg to around 2,000 yen. BLOOMBERG Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
