Rakuten LinkShare Affiliate Marketing Network Launches in Australia

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Rakuten LinkShare today announced the continued expansion of its international presence with the launch of its affiliate marketing network in Australia. The performance marketing network already operates in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Japan.

“Launching our services in Australia is a key part of our global strategy as we work to meet the global online marketing needs of our advertisers and publishers,” said Yaz Iida, chief executive officer, Rakuten LinkShare. “A combination of local and global resources, expert service, proven technology, and a vast network of quality publishers will enable online retailers to grow their businesses among consumers throughout Australia.”

The company entered the Australian market to meet the requirements of local online retailers in Australia as well as global advertisers looking to expand their reach to Australian consumers. According to the National Australia Bank Online Retail Sales Index, online retail spending is experiencing strong growth and reached $11.7 billion for the year ended June 2012.

Rakuten LinkShare is launching its Australian presence with a strong portfolio of local advertisers including: Appliances Online, Dyson Australia, oo.com.au, and styletread.com.au. In addition, global advertisers at the time of launch include ASOS, Farfetch and Hotwire.com.

“Performance marketing presents a low-risk, measureable way to enter the Australian market and it delivers great opportunities to reach the Australian consumer while achieving a target return on ad spend,” said Prue Thomas, senior marketing manager, Australia, ASOS Global Limited. “By working with Rakuten LinkShare in Australia, we have a true global partner who can help us build relationships with the best local publishers and help fine-tune our online campaigns to drive traffic and conversion among Australian shoppers.”

For publishers, the launch of the Rakuten LinkShare network in Australia presents an opportunity to work with the #1 ranked affiliate marketing network. The company has already established ties to leading and emerging brands across a wide variety of categories, therefore enabling publishers to thrive in this burgeoning ecommerce market. Australian publishers in the network include asperity.com.au, rewardscentral.com.au, ilovecoupons.com.au, starthere.com.au, Sophiehart.com and Virgin Australia Velocity.

“Having an established global leader like Rakuten LinkShare operating locally will raise the standard of affiliate marketing for publishers across the board,” said Peter Harris, general manager, Appliances Online. “Innovation by affiliate marketers will provide Australian consumers with a greater opportunity to compare and research products and services."

For more information visit: au.linkshare.com.

About Rakuten LinkShare Corporation 
Rakuten LinkShare provides online retailers and other businesses with expert online marketing services and solutions. Rakuten LinkShare's cost per action (CPA) affiliate marketing network, search marketing services, lead generation campaigns and retargeting solutions can acquire new customers, increase revenue and drive overall results while achieving target return on ad spend. Rakuten LinkShare clients are Fortune 500 and other prominent companies doing business online, including J.C. Penney, 1-800-Flowers.com, American Express and Avon Products. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in New York City, with offices in San Francisco, Chicago, Tampa, London, Tokyo and Sydney. For more information, please visit: www.linkshare.com.

About Rakuten
Rakuten, Inc. (JASDAQ: 4755), is one of the world's leading Internet service companies, providing a variety of consumer- and business-focused services including e-commerce, e-reading, travel, banking, securities, credit card, e-money, portal and media, online marketing and professional sports. Rakuten is expanding globally and currently has operations throughout Asia, Western Europe, and the Americas. Founded in 1997, Rakuten is headquartered in Tokyo, with over 10,000 employees and partner staff worldwide. For more information, visit http://global.rakuten.com/group.

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