In an email to sellers shared by MCV, Rakuten said that after a "strategic review of its operations in Europe," the company has "decided to consider plans to close Rakuten.co.uk to shoppers from the end of August 2016." It's already started discussions with employees over the closure of its website and its Cambridge office and has told merchants that it will keep its inventory tools open until the end of the year to allow for refunds and chargebacks on previous orders.

Rakuten's new strategy will also see it close its Spanish operation, including its office in Barcelona, but its French and German businesses will continue to trade as they have "the scale and potential for sustainable growth." It's a sad end for Rakuten.co.uk, and the Play.com brand that came before it. This editor remembers wasting hundreds of pounds on CDs and DVDs (and his first flatscreen LED TV) before Amazon and other big-name retailers sealed its fate.