Virtual sushi: Rakuten brings online shopping mall to the UK

The man billed as Japan's answer to Richard Branson, who built the country's biggest e-commerce company, is seeking to repeat the trick in the UK when he launches his online shopping mall concept here next year.

Rakuten may not be a name that trips off the tongue yet but if Hiroshi Mikitani, its founder and chief executive, has his way then it soon could be. He has set his sights on the UK's booming internet commerce market, which accounts for 10 per cent of the country's retail sales and is worth around £40bn per year.

Rakuten is a phenomenon in Japan where it has annual sales of more than 800bn yen (£3.3bn). Its online site acts as a shop window for more than 20,000 Japanese retailers, selling everything from eggs to fine wines.

It attracts customers, who can choose from some 10 million items, by undercutting high-street prices.

Mr Mikitani, a former banker who established Rakuten in 1997 with four friends, said: "Our intention is to launch in the UK by next year."

He plans to start by offering a selection of cult Japanese products, including fashion, cartoons and food. "Then we will add more local products," he said.

Rakuten highlighted its ambition to become a global player with the $425m (£215m) acquisition of the US internet marketing agency LinkShare two years ago. It recently opened a LinkShare office in London.

Although the Rakuten name is virtually unknown in the UK, Mr Mikitani, the poster boy of Japan's high-flying internet community, is adept at building brand awareness. Two years ago he set up the country's first new baseball team in 50 years, the Rakuten Golden Eagles. He claimed the $100m the company has sunk into building the stadium and getting a team together is worth up to $70m a year in free advertising.

Rakuten has expanded fast in Japan, offering a range of online services from travel to personal finance. But in recent months its growth has faltered. It was tarred by the corruption scandal at its former internet rival, Livedoor, and has also struggled to integrate some of its recent acquisitions. For the past two years it has also been embroiled in an abortive attempt to move into terrestrial broadcasting by buying Tokyo Broadcasting System.

Rakuten differs from other internet players such as Amazon because it does not hold any inventory itself. It charges monthly fees to the merchants on its site and takes a cut of between 2 and 5 per cent on the value of any goods that customers buy.

UK retail analysts warn that Rakuten could struggle in a saturated British online market. But Bryan Roberts, at Planet Retail, said the Japanese company could provide a useful route to market for some smaller suppliers.