Central Retail to pour almost $900 million into Vietnam

The investment hopes to achieve four goals, including making Central Retail the leading omnichannel platform in food and property in Vietnam, driving sales to $2.9 billion, doubling omnichannel sales penetration to 15 per cent, and expanding the company's presence across 55 provinces in Vietnam.

Central Retail is spearheading three key programmes in line with its CRC Retailligence strategy to achieve its growth targets, including strengthening its core businesses nationwide with the expansion of stores in the food category and the enhancement of its GO! malls, the launch of private label products that cater for value-conscious consumers, and the development of mixed-use projects to strengthen its property business.

The company will also accelerate new growth engines and capture opportunities for mergers and acquisitions, setting its sights on Vietnam as a key strategic location for sourcing raw materials and products for Central Retail in Thailand.

Having started investing in Vietnam in 2012, the company saw strong potential and business opportunities in the market.

CEO of Central Retail Vietnam Olivier Langlet said, "With Vietnam as one of Central Retail’s key strategic markets, the company has achieved excellent growth with sales reaching $1.1 billion in under 10 years, accounting for 22 per cent of Central Retail’s total sales today.”

With a solid commitment to business expansion over the past 10 years, Central Retail has become the leading hypermarket retailer and the leader in lifestyle malls in Vietnam with shops covering 40 provinces nationwide and a strong customer base of over 12 million people.

Central Retail Vietnam has also built a winning omnichannel platform in food modelled after the success achieved in the Thai market, with omnichannel sales accounting for over 8 per cent of Central Retail Vietnam’s total sales today.

The company has also introduced the successful Tops market brand from Thailand to serve the diversified needs of customers in Vietnam.

This strategy has allowed the company to build a strong foundation in food categories, enabling Central Retail to capture a market share of 62 per cent in Vietnam’s hypermarkets.

Expansion plans for the non-food and property category have also been a key focus to make Central Retail the leading foreign retailer in Vietnam.