Tech

SoftBank's Masa Son says his e-commerce investments are beating Amazon

Key Points
  • Son's SoftBank has invested in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, Yahoo! Japan Shopping, sports e-commerce company Fanatics and India-based Flipkart.
  • The SoftBank investments are growing in selection and market share, Son said.
  • He noted Amazon is still losing money on e-commerce.
SoftBank Group founder Masayoshi Son
Kazuhiro Nogi | AFP | Getty Images

SoftBank's Masayoshi Son dinged Amazon during an earnings call Monday, saying his investments in rival e-commerce companies are outperforming the American giant.

Son's SoftBank has invested in Chinese e-commerce giant , ! Japan Shopping, sports e-commerce company Fanatics and India-based Flipkart.

"E-commerce as a business model, [is] now becoming the essential business model for our society," Son said during the briefing. "Amazon is still making a loss in e-commerce."

Amazon's international e-commerce segment posted a net loss of $936 million when it reported .

Son said that his focus has been on the companies' growing customer base and market share — and that his investments are successfully rivaling Amazon in Asian markets.

Yahoo! Japan Shopping maintains the biggest e-commerce selection in Japan with more than 290 million items, Flipkart holds 60 percent of the e-commerce market in India and Alibaba has grown net revenue by 61 percent in the last year, Son said.

"The transaction for them is actually much bigger than Amazon, and every e-commerce all total – or is equivalent or even bigger in Alibaba. So, it's overwhelming, No. 1."

SoftBank reported fiscal second-quarter profit of 395.6 billion yen ($3.5 billion) Monday, up from 328.1 billion yen a year earlier. SoftBank shares closed down 2.6 percent in Tokyo on Monday.

— Reuters contributed to this report.