????日本商人通常都謙恭內(nèi)斂，所以，他們很少會在衣服上打上“打倒亞馬遜”這樣的標語。不過，三木谷浩史個性驕傲，與眾不同，他不能算是一位典型的日本CEO。

????作為日本最大互聯(lián)網(wǎng)公司、世界第三大電商——樂天市場（Rakuten）的領(lǐng)頭人，46歲的三木谷浩史特立獨行，很早就拋棄了日本人隱忍的經(jīng)商傳統(tǒng)。這位哈佛（Harvard）畢業(yè)生、年輕的革新者偏愛更具侵略性的盎格魯撒克遜式行事風格。他并不懼怕熱血沸騰的企業(yè)家精神，與“老一輩日本”商人不同，他享受外界的關(guān)注。

????因此，在7月份舉辦的東京書展上，“打倒亞馬遜”T恤首次亮相，并且，三木谷浩史與與加拿大電子閱讀器制造商Kobo聯(lián)合推出了一款電子書閱讀器，被視為日本進軍電子書市場的第一次成功嘗試。之前的多次嘗試一直未能付諸實施。

????用日文寫的“打倒亞馬遜”標語或許只是一句玩笑。但不論在日本市場還是國際市場，樂天都是亞馬遜唯一真正夠格的競爭對手，因此這個標語在調(diào)侃當中也透露出樂天的決心。正如三木谷浩史反復強調(diào)的那樣，打造全球最大的互聯(lián)網(wǎng)公司是他唯一的目標。如今，在擁有全球第三大電子書制造商Kobo之后，他終于開始對亞馬遜的領(lǐng)地發(fā)起大規(guī)模進攻。他用帶有日本口音的美式腔調(diào)，講述著對電商網(wǎng)站和Kobo的未來規(guī)劃。他說：“我們的計劃是進行大規(guī)模擴張。”不久前，樂天以3.15億美元的價格收購了Kobo。

????他接著說：“我們涉足的國家已經(jīng)達到10個，但我們的計劃是在未來五年將業(yè)務擴大到27個國家以上。可以確信的是，明年，Kobo閱讀器將在超過27個國家上市銷售。”

????日本國內(nèi)出版商并不希望與外來者打交道，在與他們的協(xié)商過程中，樂天充分利用了作為日本民族企業(yè)這一身份，成功狙擊了亞馬遜的日本業(yè)務。與亞馬遜放棄倉儲功能不同，三木谷浩史采取“B2B2C”商業(yè)模式，并且在日本大獲成功。如今，隨著Kobo電子書閱讀器的到來，他希望將這種商業(yè)模式擴展到海外市場。他說：“亞馬遜憑什么取得成功？它只不過是一個巨型自動售貨機，完全以產(chǎn)品為中心。他們創(chuàng)建一個龐大的目錄，經(jīng)銷商在上面販賣，但一旦某種商品熱銷，亞馬遜馬上就會成為經(jīng)銷商的競爭對手。大部分電商網(wǎng)站采用的都是這種戰(zhàn)略。亞馬遜就像一個超級市場，但樂天則堅持以店鋪為中心。”

????三木谷浩史一直依靠零售商友好模式來贏得經(jīng)銷商和投機者。他在英國和法國已經(jīng)取得了成功。他還表示，法國已經(jīng)開始采用樂天市場的商業(yè)模式。他認為：“亞馬遜最大的敵人就是它自己的商業(yè)模式。”

????樂天市場日本業(yè)務的統(tǒng)計數(shù)據(jù)似乎也為三木谷浩史的話提供了佐證。1997年，三木谷浩史成立了樂天市場，并且很快將其打造成日本最大的在線零售商，員工超過了8,000人。目前，公司市值約130億美元，2011年，公司年收入比2007年上漲了177%，達到47.5億美元。公司提供的商品數(shù)量甚至超過日本大多數(shù)超級市場、百貨公司和便利店的總和。網(wǎng)站上的商品從雞蛋到武士鎧甲，應有盡有。而據(jù)估計，亞馬遜在日本的銷售額僅為19億美元。盡管這位日本最年輕的億萬富翁熱衷虛張聲勢，但他也并非“常勝將軍”。公司與中國搜索引擎百度（Baidu）合作，試圖進軍中國市場，結(jié)果慘敗而歸。目前，公司已經(jīng)放棄了與百度的合作業(yè)務。日本科技行業(yè)顧問塞爾坎?托托認為，寓意“樂觀主義”的樂天市場要實現(xiàn)自己的雄心壯志，未來肯定會遇到更多困難。他說：“最近，樂天市場關(guān)閉與中國百度的合資企業(yè)，可能不會是該公司在海外市場遭遇的首次大潰敗。”他補充說，之前還沒有任何一家日本的網(wǎng)絡公司或手機公司能夠在美國站穩(wěn)腳跟。

????不過，三木谷浩史的優(yōu)勢在于，除了在海外市場表現(xiàn)非常出色的優(yōu)衣庫（Uniqlo）外，從來沒有一家公司能像樂天市場一樣，通過英語優(yōu)先戰(zhàn)略成功完成國際化。三木谷浩史解釋道：“為了融入全球市場，我們啟動了一個所謂‘英語化’項目。我們把公司的交流用語從日語轉(zhuǎn)換成英語。許多（日本）人認為這種想法太過瘋狂，但等到他們轉(zhuǎn)變觀念，他們也會追求這種改變。”

????與此同時，出人意料地與其他公司進行聯(lián)合也證明了三木谷浩史非常善于尋找機會。比如圖片分享網(wǎng)站Pinterest，用戶可以在該網(wǎng)站設計精美的虛擬釘板上張貼照片。托托解釋道：“與Pinterest合作的主要目的是通過這個網(wǎng)站向未登錄樂天市場的用戶展示網(wǎng)站銷售的商品，將這些用戶變成買家，最終成為樂天市場的會員。”

????Pinterest可以幫助樂天市場吸引更多外國買家（畢竟圖片不存在語言障礙），同時也能給網(wǎng)站帶來更多日本消費者。但美國公司Pinterest為什么要與樂天市場合作？三木谷浩史稱，這是一種化學反應。作為企業(yè)家中的創(chuàng)業(yè)家，他喜歡Pinterest的地方在于它只有幾名員工。“而Pinterest與樂天市場對互聯(lián)網(wǎng)的看法相同。我們的與眾不同讓他們印象深刻，于是促成了我們的合作。”

????為了挑戰(zhàn)美國互聯(lián)網(wǎng)零售業(yè)大鱷，樂天市場正在大批招募外國人，并與全球的非日本企業(yè)展開合作。打倒亞馬遜看起來困難重重，但很明顯，三木谷浩史一定會不斷嘗試。“五年內(nèi)，我們的規(guī)模將達到目前的5-6倍。日本還有許多與我們一樣的公司，比如優(yōu)衣庫；另外，許多雄心勃勃的日本公司正在崛起，他們將開創(chuàng)日本電商行業(yè)的先河，給后來者帶個好頭”

????譯者：劉進龍/汪皓

????"Destroy Amazon" is not the kind of slogan often brandished on the typically courtier-like Japanese boss's attire. But Hiroshi "Micky" Mikitani is no normal Japanese CEO.

????As head of Japan's biggest internet company,Rakuten, and the third largest ecommerce marketplace company worldwide, the maverick 46-year-old long ago rejected the tenebrous style of business that has shaped Japan. Instead, this Harvard-educated, young iconoclast has opted for a more aggressive Anglo-Saxon modus operandi. Mikitani is unafraid of red-blooded entrepreneurship and, unlike "Old Japan" bosses, he enjoys the limelight.

????Hence the "Destroy" T-shirt, which made its debut at Tokyo's book fair in July where Mikitani launched, with Canadian e-reader maker Kobo, Japan's fist successful attempt to jumpstart the e-book business which never really materialized in Japan.

????The Amazon (AMZN) taunt, written in Japanese, may be in jest. But because Rakuten is Amazon's only real competition at home and worldwide there is some iron to add to that levity. Mikitani's aim, as he as stated repeatedly, is to build the world's biggest internet company, no less. Now, as owner of the world's third most popular ereader, Kobo, he is starting with a colossal offensive on Amazon's turf. "We plan to expand abroad massively," he says, in his Japanese-tinted American drawl, about his plans for his e-commerce site and Kobo which he recently bought for $315 million.

????"We are already in 10 countries but we plan to be in more than 27 countries in five years," he goes on. "Kobo will be launched in more than 27 countries that is for sure next year."

????Rakuten has used its compatriot status to make pacts with Japanese publishers reluctant to deal with outsiders it seems. Leaving Amazon very much behind. Now, along with his Kobo incursion, Mikitani wants to bring his successful "B2B2C" business model -- which unlike Amazon eschews a warehousing function -- to merchants outside of Japan. "How does Amazon work? It's just a giant vending machine. Product centered," he says. "They create a huge catalogue. You sell on there, but if it sells well, Amazon will then be your competitor. That's the strategy of most e-commerce sites. Rakuten is shop-centered. Amazon is a supermarket."

????Mikitani is counting on his retailer-friendly model wining over merchants and punters alike. He has already had success in the UK and in France and says the French have now adopted Rakuten's business model."Amazon's model is its own worse enemy," he says.

????Figures from Rakuten's operations in Japan appear to bolster his claims. Mikitani founded Rakuten in 1997 and quickly built the enterprise into Japan's largest online retailer, employing more than 8,000 people. With a value of about $13 billion, its annual revenues are up 177% since 2007, to $4.75 billion in 2011. The company offers more items than most supermarkets, department stores and convenience stores combined in Japan. The site will sell you anything from eggs to samurai armor. Amazon's sales in Japan, according to one estimate, are about $1.9 billion.

????Despite the bravado, it hasn't been all success for Japan's youngest billionaire. A foray into the Chinese market went wayward after partnering with search engine Baidu. That business has now been abandoned. There could be more trouble ahead for Mikitani as Rakuten, which translates to "optimist," further tests its ambitions, says Tokyo-based tech consultant Serkan Toto. "The recently closed [joint venture] with Baidu in China might not be the first big failure for Rakuten outside Japan," he says. There has never been a web or mobile company from Japan that has ever gained foothold in the US, he adds.

????In his favour, there has never been a company, save for Uniqlo -- who do very well internationally -- that has made integration with the global market by speaking English a priority as Rakuten has. "To do this we are pushing forward our, what I call, Englishization project. Converting our language of communication from Japanese to English. Many (in Japan) thought this was crazy idea but they are coming around and they too are thinking they will pursue such a change as well," explains Mikitani.

????Meanwhile, out-of-the blue tie-ups with firms such as Pinterest which lets users clip images to a handsomely designed virtual pinboard, shows that Mikitani is capable of being savvy in his search for opportunities. "The main goal here is showcase products listed on Rakuten to users off the site, on Pinterest, and turn those users into buyers and ultimately Rakuten members," explains Toto.

????Pinterest could help in Mikitani's drive to bring more foreigners (pictures don't have a language barrier) and even more Japanese shoppers to his sites. But why did American Pinterest hook up with Rakuten? Mikitani says it was chemistry and as an entrepreneur's entrepreneur he liked the fact Pinterest had so few employees. "Pinterest share our vision for the internet. They got the impression that we are different, and that helped to get us aligned," he says.

????To challenge American internet retail dominance, Rakuten is aggressively recruiting foreign nationals and partnering with non-Japanese firms across the globe. Success seems like a tall order but it's clear Mikitani won't stop trying. "We will be six to five times larger than we are now in five years. Other companies like us, like Uniqlo; other aggressive Japanese firms are emerging and those will set a precedent and set the trend."