Foreign-invested convenience stores seek to find firm niche in Vietnam
With huge investment, commodities suiting all tastes, ages and income levels, and round-the-clock services, convenience stores could make a splash in the Vietnamese food and beverage market.
Convenience store is the “youngest” retail channel as it is meant for young customers in Vietnam – one of the nations with the largest young population in the world (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – With huge investment, commoditiessuiting all tastes, ages and income levels, and round-the-clock services,convenience stores could make a splash in the Vietnamese food and beveragemarket.
Convenience store is the “youngest” retailchannel as it is meant for young customers in Vietnam – one of the nations withthe largest young population in the world.
In 2017, Japan’s 7-Eleven convenience storechain swayed Vietnam’s retail market in the southern metropolis of Ho Chi MinhCity.
This year, the Republic of Korea (RoK)’s GSRetail (GS Group) is planning to launch the first convenience store GS25 in HCMCity on January 19. It moves to expand the market to the capital city of Hanoiafter two years and open more than 2,500 stores across Vietnam in the next 10years.
GS25 is confident to become one of the leadingconvenience stores in Vietnam after three years of operation.
According to Yun Ju Young, managing director ofGS25 Vietnam, with its 28-year experience, the company has invested in a freshfood processing plant in the Mekong Delta province of Long An to supply goodsfor GS25 convenience stores, and invited Korean cuisine experts to Vietnam todevelop Korean products in the Southeast Asian market.
The RoK’s Ilahui fashion accessories conveniencestores have set the target of launching at least 200 stores across localitiesof Vietnam in the next five years.
Early major brands such as Family Mart (Japan), Ministop(a subsidiary company of Japan’s AEON Group), Circle K (the US), and Shop &Go (Singapore) have continuously expanded their systems. Currently, Circle Khas 250 stores and Shop & Go has over 108 stores in Vietnam.
According to the HCM City-based market researchfirm Decision Lab, convenience stores grossed 4.5 trillion VND (225 billionUSD) in revenue in the third quarter of 2017, up 66 percent against the sameperiod last year.
By 2020, one convenience store will be able to serve17,815 people. -VNA
After the opening of Japan’s first 7-Eleven store in Vietnam in June, the Republic of Korea (RoK)’s GS25 convenience store chain has official announced its intention to enter the market.
Japan’s convenience store chain 7-Eleven plans to recruit 10-20 Vietnamese interns to work at its stores in Japan starting in mid-2018, reported Japanese newspaper Nikkei.
As the country’s consumption demand increases to match national economic progress, more and more foreign retailers are entering the Vietnamese market to a warm welcome from buyers, while Vietnam’s domestic brands look for their own growth strategies against the newcomers.
Foreign retail businesses who came and introduced modern trade methods, technology together with professional management skills, have posed a big challenge to Vietnamese retailers.
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Antoine Colin, Senior Vice President for Global Supply Chain Digital Transformation & Resilience at HP Inc., affirmed HP’s strategic commitment to building a supply chain and ecosystem in Vietnam and the region.
Deputy Director General of the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT)’s Trade Promotion Agency Bui Quang Hung emphasised that logistics has evolved from a technical function into a core capability for Vietnamese exporters to maintain their competitive advantage in the US market.
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The event, co-organised by the Vietnam Trade Office in the UK and TT Meridian, a local importer of Vietnamese fresh produce, aims to build a national lychee brand and encourage broader recognition of Vietnamese fruits in a competitive, high-end market.
The industry's performance has been powered by bold investments in modern production lines, enabling Vietnamese firms to produce complicated products which were exclusive to advanced economies.
Convenience store is the “youngest” retail channel as it is meant for young customers in Vietnam – one of the nations with the largest young population in the world (Photo: VNA) 
