Grand opening of e-commerce business SOUKAI.my in MalaysiaTapping the EC market in ASEAN countries

Sumitomo Corporation (Head Office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Kuniharu Nakamura) has officially announced the grand opening of its e-commerce (EC) business in Malaysia (website name: SOUKAI.my) that will provide EC service retailing consumer goods throughout the country. Sumisho Ecommerce Malaysia Sdn. Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Sumitomo Corporation Group, will manage this business.

Malaysia, with a population of about 30 million and a per capita GDP exceeding $10,000, offers a market featuring an Internet penetration rate of over 60 percent and more Internet users than its neighboring countries. Malaysia’s EC market has grown remarkably fast – by 240 percent from 2011 until 2014, which is an average 135 percent growth per year – and this has drawn other major Japanese EC companies to enter the market. However, EC accounts for less than 1 percent of total retail sales, which means there are high expectations for future growth and expansion. The mission of SOUKAI.my is to “deliver unique products through Japanese quality service,” and the site features an extensive lineup that includes many products imported from Japan and elsewhere. SOUKAI.my has tied up with Yamato Transport (M) Sdn. Bhd., which offers home delivery service (TA-Q-BIN) with plans to provide the same level of service available in Japan, including designated date/time delivery and cash on delivery service.

Sumitomo Corporation is actively expanding its EC business in Asia based on the experience with Soukai Drug Co., Ltd., which has grown into a major EC site for consumer goods in Japan. SOUKAI.my, as well as Pinstore.cn in China and Sukamart.com in Indonesia, will be run as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sumitomo Corporation Group. In addition, Sumitomo Corporation holds a 30% stake in Tiki, an EC site in Vietnam which handles books and daily goods, and its businesses in all these countries are rapidly expanding. In its Medium-term Management Plan started in 2013, Sumitomo Corporation positioned “retail business in Asia” as one of the company’s strategic industrial focus areas. By actively developing and extending its EC business into Asia’s promising markets, Sumitomo Corporation aims to achieve combined domestic and overseas annual sales of 100 billion yen by 2020.