According to Mr. Takimoto Koji, Chief Representative of the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) in Vietnam, Japanese enterprises have performed market research and then taken moves to attract more local consumers to their products.
The figure of JETRO showed that there are nearly 200 Japanese convenience stores across Vietnam. Numerous Japanese brands have entered Vietnam. Japanese enterprises have also bought several local names, such as FamilyMart, MiniCop, 7-Eleven and City Mart. The figure is expected to increase because numerous Japanese brands plan to expand in the country.
According to FamilyMart’s manager Yamanouchi Hirohisa, FamilyMart plans to double their current number of shops next year and Ministop plans to make a similar move. Japan's third largest convenience store chain first began operations in Vietnam in 2013. Also from Japan, Takashimaya arrived in July 2016 as anchor tenant of downtown Ho Chi Minh City’s Saigon Centre retail mall.
Most Japanese investors consider the success of Aeon, Japan’s largest retailer by sales, in Vietnam as a praise worthy case in overseas investment. Aeon has four malls and expects to reach 20 malls before 2020 and make it its second most important market in Southeast Asia after Malaysia, with sales topping 100 billion yen (885.27 million USD). In addition, Aeon also cooperates with domestic chain Fivimart to sales Japanese foods in 54 supermarkets throughout Vietnam.
"Vietnam’s retail sector has so much potential to grow,” said Vaughan Ryan, CEO of Nielsen Vietnam. Mr. Takimoto Koji also shared this view and commented that Vietnam’s market is developing, so it is open to new products.
In oder to promote Japanese products and help Japanese retailers penetrate Vietnamese market, JETRO are launching the “Japan Fair” to sell 78 products at Japanese convenience shops in Vienam. 73 of the products are food, and most of them are being sold in Vietnam for the first time. They will be sold at 124 FamilyMart shops, 71 Ministop stores and four Aeon centres across the nation by the end of November.
The programme will mark the official import of Japanese food to Vietnam, Mr. Takimoto Koji said, adding that after a one-month pilot, the products which were well-received will continue be sold in Vietnam.
Recently, the Japan Cosmetics Industry Association and the Ho Chi Minh City Chemical Cosmetics Association held an event to promote six Japanese cosmetics brands in Vietnam.
According to Nguyen Thi Thanh Thao, Vice President of the Ho Chi Minh City Chemical Cosmetics Association, the event allowed Japanese enterprises to connect with local distributors to enter Vietnam’s market.
Convenience stores and minimarts have become more popular in Vietnam and are now the fastest growing segment of the retail industry here, according to a new report from Nielsen. The market research firm also informs that 65 percent of Vietnamese shoppers now choose hyper or supermarkets, and 22 percent are frequent customers at convenience stores and minimarts. As of June 2016, there were 1,500 convenience stores across the country, according to Nielsen.
Analysts said not only Japanese retailers but many from such countries as the Republic of Korea and Thailand are ready to enter the Vietnamese market. Korean retail conglomerate Lotte Group targets to open 60 supermarkets in Vietnam by 2020, while Thailand’s TCC Holding Co. acquired Metro AG’s Cash & Carry wholesale business in Vietnam for 655 million euros (720 million USD). Adding to three Simply Mart stores in Ho Chi Minh City, AuchanSuper, a major retail brand from France, is planning to open another 17 supermarkets by end-2017 in the city and 20 stores by 2020 in northern Vietnam.
With 90 million people, Vietnam has attracted retailers with its relatively young population – 70 per cent are aged between 15 and 64 years - who promise to be a key driver of robust market growth. Vietnam’s urban population is expected to grow 2.6 per cent annually from 2015 to 2020, the highest rate among regional peers while the retail market is forecast to grow at nearly 12 percent a year to around 179 billion USD in 2020. The Ministry of Industry and Trade has estimated that by 2020 Vietnam will have 1,300 hypermarkets and supermarkets and 337 trade centers.
“Vietnam has been in the top 30 most attractive retail markets for eight consecutive years since 2008, according to the Global Retail Development Index (GRDI) from consulting firm A.T. Kearney. This year, it has been ranked 11th globally and third in Southeast Asia, after Malaysia and Indonesia”.
