Rakuten acquires fit specialist, Fits.me

By

Obi Anyanwu

Published
Jul 13, 2015

Japanese e-commerce company Rakuten, Inc. on Monday announced that it has acquired a 100% stake in fit preference specialist, Fits.me. Rakuten aims to enhance its e-commerce experience and offering and marketing solutions with the acquisition.

“Fits.me represents both the fun and functionality of shopping online and is a natural complement to our growing portfolio of e-commerce and marketing services,” commented Rakuten founder and CEO Hiroshi Mikitani. “Not only does the virtual fitting room provide customers with a more realistic shopping experience, it also empowers merchants with the valuable data they need to continually improve their service.”
 
Fits.me pioneered the virtual fitting room technology and changed the way brands sell clothing online, including Thomas Pink, QVC and Pretty Green. The virtual fitting room allows customers to better understand what clothes fit them and how they should fit before they make their purchase. This also helps companies reduce product returns, better understand their customers and create a loyal customer base.

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Fits.me CEO James B. Gambrell added, “We are excited to join Rakuten, with its leading e-commerce marketplaces and cutting edge marketing services platform Rakuten Marketing, as we build out our ambitious product plans and accelerate our planned growth in Europe, the USA and now Asia.”
 
Heikki Haidre and Paul Pällin and several investors founded Fits.me in 2010 in Estonia. The company will operate as a stand-alone business within Rakuten, and continue to collaborate with current and future clients.