Biography
Ryo Matsumura is group managing executive officer and head of fashion at Rakuten, Japan’s e-commerce giant. He is spearheading the firm’s growing fashion business, aggressively pursuing luxury brands to round out the platform’s selection of mass market fashion. By 2023, he was leading a team that managed e-commerce storefronts for the likes of Maison Margiela , Marc Jacobs , Missoni and Chloé, alongside niche labels like JW Anderson , Anrealage and White Mountaineering, and private label collections from multi-brand Japanese retailers Beams and United Arrows. Prior to his involvement, Rakuten was known more for its non-fashion offering of categories like electronics and homewares. Under Matsumura, Rakuten signed on to become the headline sponsor of Tokyo Fashion Week in 2019. In addition to incubating the next generation of Japanese fashion talent, he has made it a point to bring back established Japanese designers to show in Tokyo again. In 2021, Rakuten also became a patron of the British Fashion Council .
Matsumura joined the Rakuten Group in 2013, after working as an engineer and a management consultant in both London and Tokyo. He was appointed the director of Rakuten's e-commerce company in 2016 after serving as vice president of Rakuten USA. He was appointed to the position of group senior executive officer in 2022, and to group managing executive officer, commerce & marketing company senior vice president in 2023. At that time, he was also in charge of e-commerce marketplace Rakuten Ichiba, Rakuten Fashion and Rakuten Rakuma, the flea market service. Matsumura did his undergraduate studies at Keio University before going on to complete a master's degree in finance from the University of London.