There are, as you are probably aware, two main reasons to re-name an organization: • yagotta, or • yawanna. Yagotta is the easiest to explain, and the most urgent. Your chosen name infringes on the trademarks or intellectual property of another. Yes, your family name is McDonald, and you put it proudly on your new diner, until a menacing law …
Boneheaded?
Buy.com has changed its name to Rakuten. com. Seriously. Discarding a memorable/clear/short name in favor of one that’s (apparently) familiar in Japan might be the result of provincialism, always a danger in international commerce. Renaming is always treacherous, but this break new ground for self-inflicted damage. Rakuten seeks to deliver, according to their website, Omotenashi. Well, that clarifies everything.