Retail in Asia

In Markets

Vingroup aims to dominate retail in Vietnam

????????????????????????????????????

Vingroup, an expanding Vietnamese conglomerate that has prospered as a property developer, has reported strong growth in its retail segment in the first quarter of 2016, with revenue of 2 trillion dong ($89.7 million) almost four times higher year on year.

With a population of 93 million, Vietnam’s retail market is worth some $110 billion annually, with only about a quarter of this served at present through modern retail channels. It is expected to grow to over $150 billion by 2020.

Although Vingroup has been investing in retail properties such as Vincom shopping centers for over a decade, it only stated its intention of becoming Vietnam’s largest retailer in 2014.

Vingroup has since gone on a spree, acquiring retail chains like Ocean Mart, MaxiMark, Vinatexmart, and Alphanam to develop its own supermarket and convenience store branding. The acquisitions gathered pace when Warburg Pincus and Credit Suisse injected $100 million last year into Vincom Retail, lifting their overall investment in Vingroup’s retail arm to $300 million.

Vingroup already runs the largest convenience store chain in Vietnam, VinMart+, with some 650 outlets. Launched in 2014, some 1,000 outlets are due to be open by the end of the year. VinMart also has 100 supermarkets and 50 shopping centers around the country.

The group’s other retail businesses include VinFashion stores and VinPro electronics shops. Adayroi, its e-commerce platform, is among Vietnam’s top ten.