You’re Not Going To Believe This One: Buy.com To Change Its Name to Rakuten.com

[the_poet]

http://www.thedomains.com/2013/01/1...ne-buy-com-to-change-its-name-to-rakuten-com/

:lol:

 

[Domainace]

Rakuten is hugely successful, and has done that in a two decade slump in Japan. I wouldn't second guess their strategy. The user experience is far superior to Amazon, for one thing. And I like Amazon.

 

[RyanAM]

...you have got to be kidding me.

Why would they.... eh, not my business. They do as the will.

 

[mjnels]

Rakuten is hugely successful, and has done that in a two decade slump in Japan. I wouldn't second guess their strategy. The user experience is far superior to Amazon, for one thing. And I like Amazon.

awesome.. so like amazon/ebay can individual sellers seller on it?

 

[Domainace]

awesome.. so like amazon/ebay can individual sellers seller on it?

Yes, basically it's filled with individual sellers/shops. It's going to be tougher for them in the US because there's already competition. In Japan, they took the lead the way Amazon did - but their profit margins I think are much better.

 

[buyresaledomains]

their traffic just dropped 90% indefinitely.

 

[DnEbook]

Why give up such a premium domain name? wow.

Agreed .....

 

[kleszcz]

The acquisition of company is their strategy and they change the brand to "rakuten + name". New branding is always awful but they are success in business so far. "Rakuten" is stronger than "Buy" in Japan. They are making a brand. Good decision.

 

[Domainace]

I wonder would there even be a thread like this if, say, Orbitz owned travel.com but decided to expand with Orbitz.com instead. It's the same issue, a well-known brand name choosing to stay with their brand, except that Rakuten is many times bigger than Orbitz.

 

[hollywood]

I wonder would there even be a thread like this if, say, Orbitz owned travel.com but decided to expand with Orbitz.com instead. It's the same issue, a well-known brand name choosing to stay with their brand, except that Rakuten is many times bigger than Orbitz.

Couldn't have said it better myself, repped.

Besides in two years this decision will be moot. Your voice activated screen will go to whatever destination you can pronounce.

 

[JB Lions]

Doesn't matter how well they did in Japan, we're talking about the U.S. market. Buy.com is much better than Rakuten, which doesn't even pass the basic radio test and buy.com was already known. There are companies that when they move into other markets/countries, adapt their name a bit.

 

[mjnels]

google doesnt pass the radio test.

 

[JB Lions]

google doesnt pass the radio test.

Maybe if you're 2 or dyslexic.

 

[mjnels]

Maybe if you're 2 or dyslexic.

so what is this word: googol

 

[JB Lions]

Was going to be Google's name, except when Sean heard it out loud, he typed in Google, because that's how it sounds like. Poodle, is not poodol.

As far as this topic:

Rakuten.com

vs.

Buy.com

Which is shorter, easier to spell, already branded here in America?

 

[mjnels]

Was going to be Google's name, except when Sean heard it out loud, he typed in Google, because that's how it sounds like. Poodle, is not poodol.

except googol is an actual word. your poodle example is backwards. poodol isnt a real word.. googol is.

you're only thinking its so easy to spell because its burned in our brains now.

 

[JB Lions]

except googol is an actual word. your poodle example is backwards. poodol isnt a real word.. googol is.

you're only thinking its so easy to spell because its burned in our brains now.

Except, when in your life, before Google, did you ever use googol? Nobody knew that word. It's literally:

10,*000,*000,*000,*000,*000,*000,*000,*000,*000,*000,*000,*000,*000,*000,*000,*000,*000,*000,*000,*000,*000,*000,*000,*000,*000,*000,*000,*000,*000,*000,*000,*000,*000.

Plus, the stuff I added to my last post.

As far as this topic:

Rakuten.com

vs.

Buy.com

Which is shorter, easier to spell, already branded here in America?

From that example, if you think Rakuten, ok. I'm going with Buy.com, that choice just makes more sense.

 

[mjnels]

Rakuten.com

vs.

Buy.com

Which is shorter, easier to spell, already branded here in America?

From that example, if you think Rakuten, ok. I'm going with Buy.com, that choice just makes more sense.

Buy.com of course is easier to spell... however, there never has really been a huge trend using generic domains among giant brands. not as much as domainers want there to be anyway.

so we're back to the discussion of whats rational and what people are really doing despite what many see as rational.

 

[JB Lions]

We're not talking about trends, focus on the topic at hand, that's what I'm talking about.

This is a giant using a generic as a brand. It's worked for them. Again, it's short, easy to spell, already branded. That makes more sense to me. Just because Rakuten or some other company is big and has had past success(es), doesn't mean they always make the right decisions. Big companies like Walmart, McDonald's, change the name up in other countries. Some stick with it everywhere. We'll see how this turns out but I know if you go up to 10 random people and ask them to spell each word, they'll struggle more with Rakuten.

 

[Domainace]

Honda came with no name change, and they didn't pass the radio test (handa or honda?)
Toyota didn't change their name, but that's an easy one.
Mitsubishi didn't change their name, and that doesn't exactly roll off an American's tongue.
Orbitz, of course, also fails the radio test.

I don't see where Rakuten is any more difficult that many web 2.0 names. It might be mangled in the way Hyundai is, but that hasn't hurt Hyundai.

After a brand has passed a certain size, such as Rakuten has, I don't see any reason to adopt a generic. The generic is for the company that's trying to catch up. Rakuten has heaps of money for brand promotion. A generic, such as buy.com, makes more sense for a company that wants to catch up at a lower cost.

To date, though, I can't think of a single giant company that used a generic to get there. I know that's sacrilege to some domainers, but I think there are limits to how far a generic domain can take you.

@JB I just saw your new post. I haven't seen Walmart change their name overseas. They buy chains, such as Asda in Europe, or Seiyu in Japan, and don't immediately switch over to Walmart. That's because they are buying established brands in those markets. Mcdonald's also doesn't change their name as far as I know. They may adapt to local pronunciation, but that's about it.

I don't think that buy.com was well established enough for Rakuten to stay with it. Was there a lot of customer loyalty to that name?

 

[JB Lions]

"I don't think that buy.com was well established enough for Rakuten to stay with it. Was there a lot of customer loyalty to that name?"

36th in the top 500 - http://www.internetretailer.com/top500/list/

"They buy chains, such as Asda in Europe, or Seiyu in Japan, and don't immediately switch over to Walmart."

Yep

http://www.ehow.com/info_8425002_walmarts-name-different-other-countries.html

"Walmart's first international store was a Sam's Club in Mexico. Today, other Walmart store names in Mexico include Bodega Aurerra, Bodega Aurerra Express, and Superama. The company's other international brand names include BestPrice Modern Wholesale in India, Asda Supercentre in Great Britain, Seiyu in Japan, and TrustMart in China."

"In most cases, Walmart decides to keep the name of the local retailer so shoppers will be familiar with the brand."

That's my point. People here are already familiar with the name.

"To date, though, I can't think of a single giant company that used a generic to get there. I know that's sacrilege to some domainers, but I think there are limits to how far a generic domain can take you."

That would be more for pure online type merchants, such as Buy.com. Most big merchants existed before the internet, so they use their established brand. Then you have some that came about with the internet - Buy.com, Shoes.com, Hotels.com, Art.com, Cooking.com etc., all on that top merchant list. While they have a generic keyword, they've built it up as a brand.

Who knows, looks like they've done it successfully in Germany, rebranding Tradoria and Brazil rebranding Ikeda. So you can find examples of both strategies working.

But when you read comments about this, it's typically what you read here - https://www.appeagle.com/Buy.com-changes-name-to-Rakuten-shopping

Pretty negative to the name change. You also have to consider some Americans are not exactly fans of Asian countries buying up American companies, sometimes there is a little backlash. Might just go to Amazon.

 

[Domainace]

I'll stand on the giants not using a generic. Your list of the top 500 showed buy.com as the only pure generic in the top 100. And buy.com numbers pale next to Rakuten. The other ones (shoes.com, etc.) are big, but not giant.

Your last comment on backlash is something I often forget about though. Japanese and Germans don't welcome the idea of Walmart taking over their local supermarket, and I assume that's why they haven't changed the names over. Most Japanese have no idea that Seiyu is Walmart-owned. Backlash could be a problem.

Of course, the other reason Rakuten is so eager to move into the US is because, although Japan is facing economic collapse the yen had been ridiculously strong. It makes sense to move that strong yen overseas while the illusion lasts - so they'll still have a business when Japan goes into the dumps.

Either way, we'll see. Another smart retailer in Japan is Uniqlo, and they've been doing fine internationally without a name change.

 

[nfcarcade]

I'll stand on the giants not using a generic. Your list of the top 500 showed buy.com as the only pure generic in the top 100. And buy.com numbers pale next to Rakuten. The other ones (shoes.com, etc.) are big, but not giant.

Your last comment on backlash is something I often forget about though. Japanese and Germans don't welcome the idea of Walmart taking over their local supermarket, and I assume that's why they haven't changed the names over. Most Japanese have no idea that Seiyu is Walmart-owned. Backlash could be a problem.

Of course, the other reason Rakuten is so eager to move into the US is because, although Japan is facing economic collapse the yen had been ridiculously strong. It makes sense to move that strong yen overseas while the illusion lasts - so they'll still have a business when Japan goes into the dumps.

Either way, we'll see. Another smart retailer in Japan is Uniqlo, and they've been doing fine internationally without a name change.

Whatever...still sounds like Rasputin. Or, in the southern USA could even pass for Racoon Town. For you non-Americans, it would sound like "Raaa Kooon tonn". I was prom king of Rakuten High.

 

[Domainace]

Whatever...still sounds like Rasputin. Or, in the southern USA could even pass for Racoon Town. For you non-Americans, it would sound like "Raaa Kooon tonn". I was prom king of Rakuten High.

Except, unfortunately, I am an American. And I like raccoons

 

[Ms Domainer]

*

The world does not revolve around the U.S. We tend to be egocentric, looking at everything through the lens of English language and American culture.

The rest of the world has its own way of viewing business and culture.

Rakuten is probably trademarkable in the U.S., whereas Buy.com is probably not, at least for selling products. I can certainly understand why a company would want to be able to brand and trademark its business.

Are they giving up the domain Buy.com? If not, I don't see the problem--it can always redirect to the new site.

If they sell it off, that would be a MAJOR mistake, but what do I know?



*

 

[Ronald Regging]

The Japanese government keeps the Yen strong in order to appease the older generation (similar to our Baby Boomers), who have worked hard their entire lives and want to have strong buying power. However, this has caused something like 30 years of stagflation and the industries are drying up, because the strong Yen makes it impossible for them to compete in a global market. This is the reason that China constantly debases it's own currency in order to boost exports all over the world. So, it makes perfect sense for Rakuten to spread it's operations and buy up companies in other countries. They can then operate in those markets and currencies and remain competitive while running all of the business operations from Japan.

However, Rakuten already had a solid international customer base, this way just makes it cheaper and quicker for those customers, which reinforces customer loyalty. This helps to strengthen their brand tremendously and then with the extra traffic from buy.com, they are probably hoping to pick up new customers and widen their product offerings through new shop vendors and partnerships, etc...

It seems like a good move to me. Had they kept the Buy.com domain, it would have most likely only served to dilute their brand with an already established international customer base in exchange for nothing... Buy.com was a dying/dead brand.. I can't remember the last time I've ever been there or even heard mention of it. But, now, they get all the traffic, plus all of the brand exposure and the vendor partnerships, etc...