Aucfan Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Shuichi Takena, hereinafter "Aucfan") announces that it has invested in CREOK Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Koto-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director CEO: Yoshio Sakurai, hereinafter "CREOK"), a company that provides live commerce/social commerce support centered on TikTok Shop, and has commenced a capital and business alliance with the company. Through this alliance, the two companies will combine the achievements and know-how they have cultivated in the TikTok Shop/live commerce domain to work on building a new sales model for used items, pre-owned brand items, and the like. The investment amount and shareholding ratio will not be disclosed upon mutual agreement between the two companies. 1. Background of the Alliance Previous Efforts by Both Companies The Aucfan Group is promoting a live commerce business utilizing TikTok Shop as a new sales channel in the D2X commerce domain. On TikTok Shop, they operate services such as "NETSEA MallLive" and "Sanchoku Channel," with sales growing by over 150% quarter-over-quarter, accumulating achievements in the live commerce field. Furthermore, they are also working on short video distribution utilizing generative AI, and are proceeding with verification for sales promotion, continuous revenue generation, and monetization by combining live streaming and short videos. Meanwhile, CREOK operates numerous TikTok Shop accounts, including the TikTok Shop account "CREOK_official," and possesses practical know-how regarding TikTok Shop operations, live streaming, content production, and creator utilization. Additionally, by utilizing "CREOK LAB," a dedicated live streaming base for TikTok Shop, they provide integrated services for live stream design, broadcast operations, short video production, creator training, and support for corporate operations. Expansion of the Live Commerce Market and Affinity with Used Items In recent years, purchasing behavior in e-commer