Sumitomo Corporation Enters Malaysia and Vietnam E-Commerce Markets

Sumitomo Corporation (Head Office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Kuniharu Nakamura) announced today the establishment of Sumisho Ecommerce Malaysia Sdn. Bhd (Head Office; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; President and CEO: Tetsunori Nagashima) for the purpose of developing e-commerce business in Malaysia. In addition, Sumitomo Corporation announced an investment in Vietnam e-commerce company Tiki Corporation (Head Office: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; President and CEO: Tran Ngoc Thai Son).
 
Sumitomo Corporation’s E-Commerce Initiatives
Placing strategic importance on e-commerce as a business sector, Sumitomo Corporation has aggressively developed its e-commerce business mainly through subsidiary Soukai Drug Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; President: Noriaki Komori). Soukai Drug is one of the largest online household product retailers in Japan, offering more than 120,000 items in a broad range of categories from mineral water and health food to detergent, fabric softener and pet care products. The online retailer has also won for four consecutive years the award of “Rakuten Ichiba Shop of the Year,” issued by Rakuten Inc., Japan’s largest e-commerce platform operator.
 
Through Sumisho Ecommerce Malaysia and Tiki Corporation, as well as existing businesses in China and Indonesia, Sumitomo Corporation will strive to expand its e-commerce operations in Asia, in line with its medium-term management plan, “Be the Best, Be the One 2014,” which specifies retail business in Asia as a strategic focus of the company.
 
Building E-commerce in Malaysia
With a GDP per capita of over 10,000 U.S. dollars, Malaysia continues to achieve strong economic growth. Furthermore, Malaysia’s Internet penetration rate of 60% exceeds that of neighboring countries, leading to expectations of further growth in the country’s e-commerce market. Through Sumisho Ecommerce Malaysia, Sumitomo Corporation will launch an e-commerce service in December 2013 that offers a wide range of household products. Initially, the online shop will primarily serve customers in Kuala Lumpur, but is planning to steadily expand its coverage area for deliveries. The exact launch date of the e-commerce website will be announced at a later time. 
 
Investment in Leading E-Commerce Company Tiki Corporation
Tiki Corporation was established in 2010 as an e-commerce operator selling books and other items online. In just three years since its establishment, the company has already grown into one of the largest e-commerce operators in Vietnam, winning in fiscal year 2012 awards for “best customer service,” “best delivery,” and “best online book store” from the Vietnam E-commerce Association.
 
Sumitomo Corporation Group has acquired a 30-percent stake in Tiki Corporation and will take one board seat in the company. While the e-commerce market in Vietnam is still at an early stage, the number of customers is increasing rapidly, particularly in big cities. In partnership with Sumitomo Corporation, Tiki will enhance and expand its offerings to meet growing demand in the market. Sumitomo Corporation will support Tiki’s expansion efforts with the online retail expertise and merchandise sourcing capabilities it has developed through its operation of Soukai Drug. 
 
E-Commerce Initiatives in China and Indonesia
In China, Sumitomo Corporation’s online store Pindian, which launched in April 2012 and serves customers in greater Shanghai, has achieved five-fold growth in order volume over the last year. The online store, available in Chinese, Japanese and English, is visited by Chinese customers, its main target, and many Japanese expatriates living in Shanghai. Currently, more than 20 percent of Japanese households in Shanghai shop at Pindian. 
 
In Indonesia, Sukamart, which launched in December 2012, has grown its product lineup from an initial 1,000 items to over 4,000. Aiming to achieve even faster and more reliable delivery, the online store has started to use its own delivery vans and motorcycles in select parts of Jakarta.
 
Leveraging the experience and expertise of e-commerce operations it has developed to date, Sumitomo Corporation will provide a high-quality e-commerce shopping experience to growing high- and middle-class customers in Asia, aiming to grow its e-commerce business to total annual sales of 100 billion yen worldwide.