Fril
Acquired5 known investors
Fril is a Japanese consumer-to-consumer marketplace app where individuals list and sell items such as fashion, electronics, hobby goods, and food. The service, operated within the Rakuten ecosystem, requires a Rakuten ID for full access and offers a mobile app for buying and selling secondhand and new goods.
Also known as Fablic, inc. · FRIL · Rakuma · Rakuten Rakuma · 楽天ラクマ
Investors · 5
Also in the syndicate · 3
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Fril (FRIL, now branded 楽天ラクマ / Rakuten Rakuma) is a Japanese consumer-to-consumer marketplace accessed mainly through a mobile app and the fril.jp website, on which individuals and professional retailers list new and second-hand goods at fixed, predetermined prices rather than by auction. The service was launched in 2012 by Tokyo-based Fablic, inc. as what Rakuten and third-party guides describe as Japan's first C2C marketplace mobile app, and it focused initially on fashion and beauty categories, building a user base concentrated among women in their late teens and twenties. Category coverage on the site now spans women's, men's and kids/baby/maternity fashion, smartphones, home appliances and cameras, entertainment and hobby goods (talent merchandise, video games and consoles, manga, toys), and food and beverages.
Fablic was acquired outright by Rakuten, Inc. (TSE: 4755) in September 2016 and became a wholly owned subsidiary; Rakuten combined the property with its own C2C app Rakuma, which it had launched in November 2014. Rakuten stated at the time that it planned to let users log in to FRIL with their Rakuten member ID and to run point campaigns using Rakuten Super Points, features already present in Rakuma. Full use of the site now requires Rakuten ID registration.
The platform is domestically oriented: registration and app use are effectively limited to users with a Japanese address, and most sellers do not ship abroad. As a result, a set of third-party proxy-buying and forwarding services (including Neokyo, Remambo, FROM JAPAN and Japan Rabbit) provide overseas buyers with search, purchase, consolidation and international shipping on top of Rakuma listings, with payment settled in Japanese yen.
Founding story
Fril was built by Fablic, inc., a Tokyo startup established in April 2012 that came out of the fourth batch of the Open Network Lab accelerator; the app launched later the same year, introducing the flea-market app concept to Japan. Shota Horii was Fablic's founder and CEO.
Business model
Marketplace model: the platform hosts listings from individual sellers and professional retailers who transact directly with buyers at fixed prices, with the operator providing the app, website, search, seller feedback and payment handling. Buyer and seller trust relies on seller reviews and item descriptions, and most sellers apply no-return, no-exchange policies.
Traction
Cumulative app downloads exceeded 5 million at the time of the September 2016 Rakuten acquisition, and later third-party guides cite over 10 million downloads for Rakuma. FRIL's trading volume reached 500 million yen as of July 2014. Combined monthly gross merchandise sales of FRIL and Rakuma exceeded several billion yen as of the end of July 2016, and Rakuten was reported to expect total trading volume of about 3 billion yen (approximately $30 million).
Latest developments
The service operates as 楽天ラクマ (Rakuten Rakuma, formerly Fril) at fril.jp, requiring Rakuten ID registration for full functionality and promoting app downloads alongside category browsing and buyer-safety measures. Proxy services such as Neokyo describe themselves as Rakuma partners for overseas buyers.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Positioned as one of Japan's leading peer-to-peer marketplaces and, after the merger with Rakuma under Rakuten, described as the country's second-largest flea-market platform, competing chiefly with Mercari, which launched in July 2013 and had reached roughly 10 billion yen (about $100 million) in platform deals by the time of the 2016 acquisition. Fril's introduction of the 'flea market app' concept in Japan was followed by a wave of similar startups.
First-mover status as Japan's first C2C flea-market mobile app, an initial specialization in fashion and beauty categories with a young female user base, and, since 2016, integration with Rakuten's membership base, Rakuten ID login and Super Points program.
Technology
Consumer mobile applications for Android and iOS plus a web marketplace. Fablic was recognized as a smartphone app developer, having been selected for the annual Google Play Awards on the Google Play Store and being the first Japanese non-game app developer chosen for Google's Android Developer Story video series.
Go-to-market
Distribution is primarily via the mobile app, supported by the fril.jp web storefront; the site prompts app download and Rakuten ID registration. Post-acquisition, growth levers cited by Rakuten include Rakuten member ID login and Rakuten Super Points campaigns, tying the marketplace into the wider Rakuten ecosystem. Overseas demand is served indirectly through proxy-shopping partners rather than by the company itself.
Japanese consumers buying and selling second-hand and unused goods, originally concentrated in fashion and beauty with a strong following among women in their late teens to twenties; the Rakuma-era user base spans diverse product genres. Overseas buyers reach the platform through proxy services.
Geography
Japan-focused, operated from Tokyo; app registration and shipping are limited to users with a Japanese domestic address, and international access is only via third-party proxy buyers.
History
Fablic, inc. was established in April 2012 and launched FRIL in 2012 (July per Rakuten's release; September per BRIDGE's account of the app launch). Trading volume passed 500 million yen in July 2014, and in October 2014 the company raised $10 million from Cookpad, Colopl and Jafco. Fablic later launched RIDE, a flea-market app for peer-to-peer motorcycle trading, to extend beyond fashion. In September 2016 Rakuten acquired 100% of Fablic, making it a wholly owned subsidiary and combining FRIL with Rakuten's own Rakuma app (launched November 2014); the service was subsequently renamed Rakuten Rakuma while keeping the fril.jp domain.
Risks & controversies
Because listings come from private individuals, third-party guides note that product descriptions can be incomplete, photographs old or partial, and counterfeit or too-good-to-be-true listings possible, making seller feedback checks important; most sellers do not accept returns or exchanges. Access is restricted outside Japan, item options are not supported, and domestic delivery times and costs vary by seller prefecture.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 5
launches, deals, and filingsRakuten, Inc. (TSE: 4755) announced it had acquired a 100% stake in Fablic, inc., making it a wholly owned subsidiary; the acquisition price was undisclosed. Nikkei reported the deal at several billion yen (several tens of millions of US dollars). FRIL was combined with Rakuten's Rakuma app and later rebranded Rakuten Rakuma.
Rakuten's release states Fablic had a track record of selection for the yearly Google Play Awards on the Google Play Store and was the first Japanese non-game app developer chosen for Google's Android Developer Story series.
Fablic launched RIDE, a flea-market app for trading motorcycles between individuals, to expand beyond fashion peer-to-peer trading.
Fablic secured $10 million in funding from Cookpad, Colopl and Jafco, following disclosure in July 2014 that FRIL's trading volume had reached 500 million yen.
$10M source ↗
Fablic launched the FRIL flea-market app, focused on fashion and beauty genres. Rakuten's release dates the launch to July 2012; BRIDGE reports the app launched in September 2012.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Frilfril.jp · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Fril do?
- Japanese C2C flea-market app, launched as FRIL in 2012 and now operated by Rakuten as Rakuten Rakuma.
- Who are Fril's investors?
- Fril's investors include Colopl Next, Open Network Lab.