Vietnam’s retail market has recently witnessed the emergence of numerousforeign businesses as they make acquisitions and expand operations.While some fear the loss of Vietnamese brand names, others believe thereis still substantial room for local firms to develop.
Thaibillionaire Sirivadhanabhakdi’s retail conglomerate Berli Jucker lastyear announced its plan to buy all 19 supermarkets of Vietnam’s Cash& Carry wing of the Germany Metro AG for nearly 880 million USD, thebiggest retail acquisition in Vietnam’s history. Metro Cash & CarryVietnam generated more than 690 million USD in revenue in 2013.
Inlate 2014, the Central Group of Thailand’s richest family, Chirathivat,declared that its Power Buy Company had purchased 49 percent stake inthe NKT New Solution and Technology Development Investment JSC, whichowns the Nguyen Kim electronic shopping centre chain – one of the topVietnamese retailers with 21 supermarkets nationwide. Earlier in theyear, the Central Group opened two Robins outlets selling high-endproducts in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
Over the past decade,Vietnamese consumers have also become familiar with big names from othercountries such as Big C from France, Lotte from the Republic of Korea,Parkson from Malaysia, and Aeon from Japan.
A survey released inNovember 2014 by market research firm Kantar Worldpanel showed that 68percent of Vietnam’s population live in rural areas and contribute to 60percent of the national domestic product. Looking forward, their incomeand living standards are on the rise.
Chairwoman of theAssociation of Vietnam Retailers Dinh Thi My Loan said nearly all FDIbusinesses have poured their money into modern retail facilities such assuper- and hyper-markets and shopping malls. These mega-facilitiesaccount for just 25 percent of the retail sector, leading to strongcompetition between domestic and foreign firms in this channel.
Sheadded that rural areas are a largely untapped market, though a numberof domestic retailers have recently been working to increase theirpresence in rural areas.
Meanwhile, HCM City is also seen as a lucrative market with a population of more than 7.8 million and strong purchasing power.
Localbusinesses such as the Saigon Union of Trading Cooperatives (SaigonCo-op), the Saigon Trading Group (Satra), and the An Phong InvestmentJoint Stock Company (the owner of Maximark supermarket chain) arecurrently dominating the city’s market. They also plan on spreadingtheir reach to rural areas across Vietnam.
For example, theSaigon Co-op has initiated a plan to extend its operations with 28supermarkets in HCM City and 42 others in localities nationwide alongwith a network of convenience and department stores.
It has alsocooperated with Singapore’s NTUC FairPrice Cooperative to open Co-opXtraPlus, the first hypermarket in HCM City. An additional fivehypermarkets are expected to be operational in 2015.
The GeneralStatistics Office estimated total retail sales and customer service in2014 at 2,945 trillion VND (over 140.2 billion USD), an annual increaseof 10.6 percent.-VNA
Thaibillionaire Sirivadhanabhakdi’s retail conglomerate Berli Jucker lastyear announced its plan to buy all 19 supermarkets of Vietnam’s Cash& Carry wing of the Germany Metro AG for nearly 880 million USD, thebiggest retail acquisition in Vietnam’s history. Metro Cash & CarryVietnam generated more than 690 million USD in revenue in 2013.
Inlate 2014, the Central Group of Thailand’s richest family, Chirathivat,declared that its Power Buy Company had purchased 49 percent stake inthe NKT New Solution and Technology Development Investment JSC, whichowns the Nguyen Kim electronic shopping centre chain – one of the topVietnamese retailers with 21 supermarkets nationwide. Earlier in theyear, the Central Group opened two Robins outlets selling high-endproducts in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
Over the past decade,Vietnamese consumers have also become familiar with big names from othercountries such as Big C from France, Lotte from the Republic of Korea,Parkson from Malaysia, and Aeon from Japan.
A survey released inNovember 2014 by market research firm Kantar Worldpanel showed that 68percent of Vietnam’s population live in rural areas and contribute to 60percent of the national domestic product. Looking forward, their incomeand living standards are on the rise.
Chairwoman of theAssociation of Vietnam Retailers Dinh Thi My Loan said nearly all FDIbusinesses have poured their money into modern retail facilities such assuper- and hyper-markets and shopping malls. These mega-facilitiesaccount for just 25 percent of the retail sector, leading to strongcompetition between domestic and foreign firms in this channel.
Sheadded that rural areas are a largely untapped market, though a numberof domestic retailers have recently been working to increase theirpresence in rural areas.
Meanwhile, HCM City is also seen as a lucrative market with a population of more than 7.8 million and strong purchasing power.
Localbusinesses such as the Saigon Union of Trading Cooperatives (SaigonCo-op), the Saigon Trading Group (Satra), and the An Phong InvestmentJoint Stock Company (the owner of Maximark supermarket chain) arecurrently dominating the city’s market. They also plan on spreadingtheir reach to rural areas across Vietnam.
For example, theSaigon Co-op has initiated a plan to extend its operations with 28supermarkets in HCM City and 42 others in localities nationwide alongwith a network of convenience and department stores.
It has alsocooperated with Singapore’s NTUC FairPrice Cooperative to open Co-opXtraPlus, the first hypermarket in HCM City. An additional fivehypermarkets are expected to be operational in 2015.
The GeneralStatistics Office estimated total retail sales and customer service in2014 at 2,945 trillion VND (over 140.2 billion USD), an annual increaseof 10.6 percent.-VNA
