The retail market in Vietnam is seeing merger and acquisition (M&A) deals between local retailers and foreign partners to increase competitiveness and ensure international integration, but they still need a specific retail development plan from the state, experts told Viet Nam News, commenting on this emerging trend.
The M&A trend is gaining popularity because foreign retailers provide the benefit of experience in management, operations, expansion and development of a distribution system, thus reducing the pressure of competition, these experts said.
Japanese retailer Aeon has bought 49 percent of Citimart’s shares and 30 percent of Fivimart’s shares to expand its share in the local retail market. Meanwhile, Thai businesses hold two large retail chains, BigC and Metro, in Vietnam.
Vietnam is an attractive potential market for large global retailers, said Tran Quoc Khanh, deputy minister of industry and trade, noting that opportunities always entail challenges, especially for domestic enterprises that must reform themselves to survive in the market, reported vietnamplus.vn.
They must accept M&As since price competition is not the optimal solution, he said. They should focus on improving the quality of their product, their governance and their reputation, he added.
(Source: The China Post)