Rakuten acquires Fits.me
Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten has acquired the Fits.me virtual fitting room provider.
Rakuten said it expects the addition of the tech start-up to strengthen its e-commerce offering by providing more personalisation for shoppers while driving operational insights and efficiencies for retailers.
Fits.me will operate as a stand-alone business within Rakuten and will continue to support current and future clients.
“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,” said Rakuten founder and chief executive 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 was founded in Estonia by Heikki Haldre and Paul Pällin and VC-backed by institutional investors Conor Venture Partners, Entrepreneur’s Fund, Smartcap, Contour Venture Partners and Primary Venture Partners, as well as chief executive James Gambrell and several angel investors.
Gambrell added: “Rakuten built its business by empowering merchants and brands to deliver authentic and engaging shopping experiences, which is exactly the vision of Fits.me. Many fashion retailers are still using basic segmentation techniques, but our fit preference insights help them deliver genuine personalisation, which improves customer loyalty and lifetime value.”
