Retail News CRM

Tag: VinMart

  • Quick vaccination key to ensuring smooth supply chain

    Quick vaccination key to ensuring smooth supply chain

    The delay in vaccinating workers in the retail and logistics sectors is causing disruptions in the supply chain, a key player in the Covid-19 fight.

    Earlier this month, nearly 40 VinMart and VinMart+ outlets had been closed for several days due to Covid-19 linkage, which urged its operator Masan to once again request the government to quickly vaccinate retail staff.

    The Ministry of Industry and Trade had in June also called for these employees to be vaccinated early as they come into direct contact with millions of customers every day and are at high risk of contagion.

    In retail chain BRG Mart, 30 percent of staff have received their first dose. The ratio for conglomerate Masan is 16 percent, Bach Hoa Xanh (operated by Mobile World) 21 percent, MM Mega Market over 30 percent, and Co.opmart Hanoi 30 percent.

    Nguyen Thi Kim Dung, CEO of Co.opmart Hanoi, of which one supermarket was closed for three days due to Covid-19 linkage, said social distancing alone is not enough to reduce the risks for retail workers.

    “The earlier these employees are vaccinated the sooner customers are protected.”

    Dung said Co.opmart had made the request to different government bodies but all had stated vaccines were not available.

    Retail workers, however, are only part of the supply chain.

    Le Duy Binh, CEO of market research company Economica Vietnam, said drivers, shippers, and customs officers also need to be prioritized as they serve in the frontline of the economy and deliver essential goods.

    Although government officials have demanded shippers be prioritized for vaccination, experts say the process needs to be sped up amid a surging number of Covid-19 cases.

    Economist Phung Duc Tung said vaccines are being distributed mostly to localities when instead it should be distributed to sectors to ensure the flow of essential goods.

  • Alibaba invests in VinMart operator The CrownX

    Alibaba invests in VinMart operator The CrownX

    A consortium led by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba will invest $400 million in the subsidiary of conglomerate Masan Group that operates retail chain VinMart.

    The consortium, including Baring Private Equity Asia, one of the largest private equity firms in Asia, has signed an agreement to acquire a 5.5 percent stake in The CrownX, a deal that values the company at $6.9 billion.

    Masan will own an 80.2 percent stake in the company after the deal.

    With Alibaba on board, The CrownX will partner with its Southeast Asian e-commerce company Lazada to accelerate the offline to online market in Vietnam.

    VinCommerce, the subsidiary of The CrownX that operates the VinMart supermarket and VinMart+ convenience store chains, will be the preferred grocery retailer on Lazada in Vietnam, and its outlets will be used as pick-up points for online orders.

    “The transaction marks a shared vision … that The CrownX has the potential to establish Vietnam’s first tech-enabled consumer ecosystem and expand its reach to serve consumers nationwide,” Masan said in a statement.

    It is also in discussions with other investors for a further strategic investment of $300 – 400 million in The CrownX, and they are expected to close this year.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • VinMart to become WinMart

    VinMart to become WinMart

    A year after conglomerate Masan Group acquired it from Vingroup, the VinMart retail chain is set to become WinMart.

    The rebranding would take place after the restructuring of the retail chain is complete, Truong Cong Thang, CEO of The CrownX, a subsidiary that operates VinMart, said at the Masan annual general meeting Thursday.

    The CrownX reported a 14 percent rise in revenues last year to VND31 trillion ($1.35 billion), with VinMart+ convenience stores achieving revenue growth of 42 percent despite shutting down over 744 underperforming stores.

    Danny Le, CEO of Masan Group, said the company plans to increase the number of VinMart and VinMart+ outlets by 30,000 in the next five years, with 20,000 of them being franchised.

    In December 2019, the company acquired a 83.74 percent stake in VinCommerce, the subsidiary of Vietnam’s biggest private conglomerate, Vingroup, which operated VinMart chain.

    The chain, which reported a $100-million loss in 2019, broke even last year, and Masan now targets annual sales of $7-10 billion and double-digit profit growth by 2025.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Masan injects $215.7 mln into VinMart controlling unit

    Masan injects $215.7 mln into VinMart controlling unit

    Conglomerate Masan Group will invest VND5 trillion ($215.7 million) in the subsidiary that controls its VinMart retail chain to help expand it.

    The investment would quadruple the charter capital of The Sherpa to VND6.5 trillion, it said in a statement.

    Through the company, Masan indirectly owns 71 percent of VinCommerce, which operates VinMart+ convenience stores and VinMart supermarkets.

    Masan acquired VinCommerce from Vietnam’s largest private company, Vingroup, in January this year.

    Masan earlier announced it plans to have over 300 VinMart supermarkets and nearly 10,000 VinMart+ convenience stores by 2025, up from 122 and 2,524 at the end of September.

    Masan closed 433 VinMart and VinMart+ stores in the first nine months of this year to cut losses and forecast VinCommerce to break even this quarter.

  • Masan closes 433 VinMart stores to cut losses

    Masan closes 433 VinMart stores to cut losses

    Masan has closed 421 VinMart+ convenience stores and 12 VinMart supermarkets this year as it restructures the retail business it acquired this year from Vingroup. Most of the closed stores were in Ho Chi Minh City. The closure has resulted in a cut in losses for its VinCommerce subsidiary, with the earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) margin increasing from negative 6.7 percent in the first nine months of last year to negative 2.8 percent in the same period this year, Masan said in a release.

    Most of the 433 outlets had revenues 50 percent lower than optimal levels required to achieve breakeven and posted a combined loss of VND239 billion ($10.3 million) this year before their closure.

    VinCommerce hopes to reach breakeven EBITDA in the last quarter and achieve 10 percent revenue growth over the third quarter. Its gross profit is set to be improved by optimizing product assortment and renegotiating terms with suppliers, the release said.

    “Improved profitability from closing underperforming locations is expected to be fully realized in 2021.”

    The company also opened 57 new VinMart+ outlets and one new VinMart supermarket in the first nine months, launched three new concept VinMart+ store formats in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi with more fresh products and an improved layout to understand consumer behavior and design model stores for the next round of expansion.

    As of the end of September VinCommerce had 2,646 outlets, 122 of them supermarkets.

    Masan acquired VinCommerce from Vietnam’s biggest private company, Vingroup, in January this year and owns a 83.74 percent stake in it.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Masan Group to shutter hundreds of Vinmart stores

    Masan Group to shutter hundreds of Vinmart stores

    Vietnam consumer-goods company Masan Group says it plans to shut down hundreds of VinMart and VinMart+ stores it purchased from VinGroup last year.

    The company said they will open 10-30 new Vinmart supermarkets and close 100-300 Vinmart+ stores this year to focus on improving profitability of existing locations instead of following the program of massive expansion followed by the previous owner.

    Masan will shift its focus to supermarkets of less than 1500 sqm that bring the best revenue, cut inefficient supermarkets in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Nha Trang and Can Tho and expand into tier 2 cities and within Vincom shopping centres.

    The VinMart+ chain operated 2888 stores last year and had targeted opening 300 to 500 new stores while closing 150-300 less efficient stores.

    Post merger, Masan aims to increase VinCommerce’s revenue to more than VND42 trillion, a year-on-year increase of 64 per cent. Masan has spent an estimated VND5.4 trillion (US$233 million) to buy a controlling stake in VinCommerce, which runs VinMart and VinMart+ stores in 50 provinces and cities and 14 VinEco hi-tech farms.

    Meanwhile, VinGroup closed its VinPro chain of appliance stores on December 31 and has since announced the closure of a network of smartphone stores trading under the Vien Thong A brand. And this week, VinGroup said it was dropping plans to launch an airline as well as it seeks to focus its business on industrial categories – including cars (VinFast), and phones and flatscreen TVs (VinSmart) – along with its Vincom shopping centres and VinPearl resorts.

    Lees ook:

  • VinMart Vietnam opens first virtual store

    VinMart Vietnam opens first virtual store

    Vietnamese supermarket chain VinMart claims to have opened Vietnam’s first virtual store.

    Run by VinGroup’s subsidiary VinCommerce, the new concept is being tested in 20 locations, including apartments, office buildings, schools and at bus stops, both in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

    Each store provides images and QR codes of more than 100 product groups for customers to scan and order via VinID app. The products will be delivered within two to four hours.

    VinMart launched the Scan&Go function in its app in March, applying it in 73 supermarkets across the country.

    Customers can also shop via VinMart’s printed shopping manual or online.

    Lees ook:

  • Vingroup acquires mobile phone retailer Vien Thong A

    Vingroup acquires mobile phone retailer Vien Thong A

    Vietnam’s biggest private conglomerate Vingroup has officially confirmed its acquisition of major tech products retailer Vien Thong A.

    In its financial statement for the third quarter of 2018, Vingroup lists Vien Thong A Import Export Trading Production Corporation as a fully-owned subsidiary.

    On September 14, Mai Thu Thuy, board member of the Vincom Retail Joint Stock Company and Chairwoman of the Vincom Mega Mall Royal City, was appointed legal representative of the acquired company.

    Established in November 1997 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vien Thong A is the oldest retail technology chain in Vietnam. It has nearly 200 stores, including independent shops and a “shop-in-shop” model in BigC supermarket, CoopMart, and 100 service centers.

    In early 2017, Vien Thong A CEO Hoang Ngoc Vy revealed plans to restructure the company and seek investors to expand its business.

    Last month, VinCommerce, a member of Vingroup, bought Fivimart from domestic company Nhat Nam JSC and Japanese retailer AEON, which held 70 percent and 30 percent stakes, respectively.

    In the first nine months of this year, retail sales of Vingroup reached VND12.89 trillion (nearly $555 million), a 41 percent year-on-year surge.

    Vingroup, Vietnam’s biggest property conglomerate, dominates the housing and property markets with Vinhomes.

    It has also entered the healthcare market with Vinmec, runs a chain of supermarkets called Vinmart, and entertains tourists at Vinpearl resorts.

  • Vincom Centre Landmark 81 launched

    Vincom Centre Landmark 81 launched

    Vingroup has opened its 55th shopping centre, The Vincom Center Landmark 81 mall, in Ho Chi Minh City’s Binh Thanh district.

    The 50,000sqm shopping centre occupies six of the skyscraper’s 81 storeys, housing 100 domestic and international brands in cosmetics, fashion, F&B, and entertainment.

    Fashion brands include Versace Jeans, Calvin Klein, Adidas, Tommy Hilfiger, Lacoste, French Connection, Kimmay, Superdry, H:Connect; Cole Haan, Ecco, Dune London, Parfois, Aldo, Pandora, Longines, OWL and Nike.

    The 7000sqm food and beverage area features 30 restaurants, including China’s Peach Garden, Japan’s Dozo Sushi, Vietnamese restaurants Delights, Di Mai, and coffee shops including Starbucks’ largest Vietnam outlet and Highlands Coffee.

    In the entertainment area, there is a 2000sqm Vincom Ice Rink, Vietnam’s largest, and a CGV cinema complex including an Imax screen, as well as a tiNiWorld entertainment complex and an indoor games centre.

    Vingroup’s food arm VinMart operates a supermarket there.

    Go to gallery below to view the launching event :
    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Vietnam to celebrate its new retail sales highest record US$129 billion

    Vietnam to celebrate its new retail sales highest record US$129 billion

    Spurred by a rising middle class and influx of international retailers, Vietnam retail sales hit a record US$129.6 billion last year.

    This was growth of 10.9 per cent over 2016, according to the Vietnam General Statistics Office (GSO).

    Vietnam’s largest real estate company, Vingroup, starting expanding its Vinmart Plus convenience store chain in 2016 and has already topped 1000 stores – it opened 100 last month alone. It is predicted the store network could reach 3000 this year.

    Meanwhile, Vietnam last year saw the arrival of a slew of foreign retail brands, headed by Japan’s Seven & I Holdings opening its first Vietnamese 7-Eleven convenience store in Ho Chi Minh City in June.

    Swedish fast-fashion brand H&M followed in September with a store in the same city, while Zara, the chain of Spanish rival Inditex, opened its second Vietnam location in Hanoi in November (its first store, covering two levels, launched at Vincom Centre Dong Khoi in Ho Chi Minh City in September 2016).

    Thailand’s Central Group has made several acquisitions in Vietnam, including the Big C supermarket chain and electronics retailer Nguyen Kim Trading. It also launched its first stationery and office supplies store in Vietnam last year.

    South Korea’s GS Retail partnered with Vietnam’s Son Kim Group 12 months ago to open the first of their convenience stores in Ho Chi Minh City this month. They plan to open 2000 locations within 10 years.

    Double-digit growth

    Since joining the World Trade Organisation in 2007 and opening up to foreign goods and businesses, Vietnam has seen continued double-digit growth, led by a 31.5 per cent spike in 2008. With the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Economic Community taking full effect this month, Vietnam has eliminated nearly all tariffs on goods from within the region.

    Meanwhile, supermarkets and convenience stores are selling meat and vegetables at prices that are 20 to 30 per cent higher than at traditional markets, and the number of specialty shops selling organic vegetables is growing.

    Spending on cars, home electronics and other consumer durables is also brisk, with 70 per cent of Vietnam’s GDP coming from personal consumption.

    The GSO says auto sales grew by 14 per cent in value, gemstone and precious metals by 13.2 per cent, food and foodstuffs by 11.1 per cent, cultural and educational products by 10.2 per cent, apparel by 9.6 per cent, and home products by 8.5 per cent.

    Vietnam still has room for growth as modern retail channels like supermarkets and shopping centres account for only a quarter of total retail sales, and most of these businesses are in big cities, reports VIetnamNet. By 2020, the proportion of modern retail channels is forecast to rise to 45 per cent.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • 7-Eleven plans in Vietnam

    7-Eleven plans in Vietnam

    Convenience-store giant 7-Eleven plans to enter Vietnam by taking over VinGroup’s VinMart+ chain, marketplace sources say.

    In a statement from the US last year, 7-Eleven said it would build stores as well as convert “existing locations”. Now industry insiders are saying the group will swallow VinMart+, but there has been silence from both brands.

    The 7-Eleven Vietnam franchise is a partnership between IFB Vietnam, which owns Pizza Hut Vietnam, and Seven System Vietnam. The chain has announced plans to establish 100 stores in its first three years, with 1000 outlets within a decade. Its initial store will be in Ho Chi Minh City, scheduled for early next year.

    VinMart+ is Vietnam’s largest c-store chain with more than 700 outlets. It has plans to expand to 10,000 stores in next 10 years.

    Vietnam is 7-Eleven’s second Pacific Rim market after Indonesia, where it launched in 2009. It also has stores in Australia, China, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and the Philippines.

    Lees ook:

  • China eyes Vietnam’s hundred-billion dollar retail market

    China eyes Vietnam’s hundred-billion dollar retail market

    Miniso has been mentioned repeatedly in local newspapers. The retailer has announced its official presence in Vietnam through a franchise contract signed with Le Bao Minh Group.

    Le Bao Minh’s representative said it plans to open 13 shops in large cities in 2016. Miniso’s official website shows that the company was established by a Japanese named Miyake Junya and a conglomerate from China.

    In April, Alibaba, China’s biggest e-commerce group, spent $1 billion to obtain the right to control Lazada, a well-known e-commerce website.

    Alibaba has shown strong determination to expand its business in SE Asia.

    According to the US Securities And Exchange Commission, Alibaba has outstripped Walmart to become the world’s largest retailer. Its online transaction value accounts for 10 percent of retail transactions in China.Analysts commented that with the investment from Alibaba, Lazada Vietnam would have more opportunities to develop because it would be able to spend more money on advert campaigns and increase goods supply from China.

    While foreign retailers flock to Vietnam, Vietnamese retailers are not yet ready for competition. Some retail chains have been either shut down or sold to foreign partners. There are only several Vietnamese brands still existing, such as Vinmart, Co-op Food and Satra Foods.

    Meanwhile, Vietnamese e-commerce firms, though having been operational for 10 years, still cannot hold the upper hand over Lazada.

    According to Vu Vinh Phu, chair of the Hanoi Supermarket Association, the Vietnamese consumer market is attractive to foreign retailers, as retail turnover was $100 billion last year.

    Vietnam has a large population (over 91 million people), of which 60 percent are young consumers, per capita income at $1,890 in 2015, fast pace of urbanization, and growing middle class.

    Phu noted that retailers now pay special attention to the rural market which is large and unexploited. Online sales have become a growing tendency, which gives goods suppliers opportunities to approach consumers more easily.

    Chinese goods have been mostly penetrating the Vietnamese market across border gates. However, they now have to compete fiercely with Thai and Japanese goods.

    Le Phung Hao, chair of the Vietnam Marketing Association, anticipated that more Chinese goods would be brought to Vietnam thanks to the presence of retail groups from China.

    Instead of dealing with low-quality and smuggled goods flown from remote areas, Vietnam will have to compete with Chinese goods available at luxury shops in large cities.

     

    Lees ook:

  • Expansion brings some cash for VinMart

    Expansion brings some cash for VinMart

    Vietnamese supermarket chain VinMart has tripled its revenue in the second quarter of this year.

    Parent VinGroup says the group achieved VND2,465 billion (US$110.6 million) in sales of its supermarkets and convenience stores, a 226 per cent increase compared to the same period last year.

    One of the reasons for VinMart’s growth is the group’s strategy to bring its convenience stores VinMart+ to “every corner of Vietnam”, making it a part of consumers’ daily shopping routines.

    Up until July, after almost two years of operation, VinMart has 50 supermarkets and 830 convenience stores nationwide, which means the company has been opening three supermarkets a month and 46 c-stores.

    A standout of VinMart+ is the fresh food, distributed by green brand VinEco. The products are exclusive greenhouse vegetables, grown using Israeli technology.

    With this self-supply and self-control strategy, VinGroup has been creating a strong competitive strength in the market.

    Besides VinMart, its other divisions contributed to VinGroup’s profit in the quarter of VND 2,926 billion ($131.2 million): VinHomes, Vincom Retail, Vinpearl Land, Vinschool, Vinmec, and VinPro.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Vietnam retail on brink of convenience store boom

    Vietnam retail on brink of convenience store boom

    Vietnam retail is on the brink of a convenience store boom as multinationals muscle up against fast-expanding local players.

    The increasing pace of life in urban Vietnamese cities is fuelling demand for convenience stores which, until three to four years ago, seemed few and far between on the streets of Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.

    Since then, numerous c-stores have been opened by foreign retailers, such as Japan’s Family Mart, Thailand’s B’smart and US-founded Circle K, competing against local ones, such as C-Express, VinMart, and Co.op Food. According to a Nielsen survey, six out of 10 Vietnamese buyers shop at c-stores because of their advantageous location and five out of 10 because of good design and displays. Local students are the main customers during lunchtime, attracted by comfortable dining spaces, cool temperature and free wifi.

    Pham Ngoc Hung, VP of HCMC Business Association, said the HCMC market is attractive to Thai retailers with 98 B’smart stores and 10 C-Express by Big C stores already trading. In the meantime, local chain VinMart by VinGroup, is approaching 700 stores and is reportedly opening an average of two new stores nationwide each day.

    The fastest-growing chain in the HCMC is Circle K, the local rights owned by Vong Tron Do company. It has 150 stores and promises for further expansion. Today, in every residential quarter, there are two or three Circle K  stores, usually less than 600m apart.

    But the c-store boom is only just beginning. Last year, Japanese c-store giant 7 Eleven signed a master franchise agreement with Seven System Vietnam to expand across the country. The first stores are scheduled to open in 2017, and the target is 1000 within 10 years. CP All, which operates more than 8000 7-Eleven stores in Thailand, is a partner in the Vietnam venture and says it plans for 40 per cent of its stock to be locally sourced, with the balance from Thailand and elsewhere.

    Existing operators are waiting to see what type of stores 7-Eleven will roll out in the Vietnam market – given the considerable difference in sizes of its Thai stores – and the morphing of the format by Circle K in Vietnam to include dining area and fast food focus.

    Lees ook:

  • Vingroup more than triples revenue to $98m

    Vingroup more than triples revenue to $98m

    Retail has proved the shining segment for Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup, with revenue jumping 363 per cent year-on-year to VND2.19 trillion (US$98.3 million) for the first quarter.

    Vingroup has been investing in retail properties for more than a decade, and since announcing two years ago that it aims to become Vietnam’s largest retailer has opened 50 supermarkets under the VinMart brand and 750 convenience stores under VinMart+ brand.

    Its other retail businesses include Vincom shopping centres, VinFashion stores, VinPro electronics shops and Adayroi eCommerce platform.

    With interests also in education, health, entertainment and real estate, the group reports an after-tax profit of VND1.04 trillion – three times higher than the same period last year. Its revenues more than doubled to hit VND15.16 trillion.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook: