NYDC closes its last restaurant in Vietnam

On July 20, NYDC Vietnam sent a goodbye to customers via Facebook and promised to "come back someday."

In May, the signs became apparent when NYDC closed three branches in Nguyen Trai, Cantavil and Crescent in HCM City. The restaurant at Metropolitan in downtown Saigon continued to operate. However, after six months, they decided to close.

According to Insider Retail, two factors led to the failure of NYDC Vietnam is: Firstly, a series of local coffee chains like The Coffee House, Phuc Long, Urban Station, Trung Nguyen, Kafe and Highlands Coffee are expanding with affordable prices and comfortable spaces as their advantage; secondly, international chains like Starbucks have appeared.

Before NYDC came to Vietnam in 2012, the main competitors of NYDC were Gloria's Jeans, and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.

Many foreign food brands have been facing difficulty in pushing their development in Vietnam.

About three years ago, Gloria's Jeans and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf had to close larger stores due to the increSe in rents.

Burger King debuted in 2012 with an ambitious plan to build 60 stores in 5 years. However, recently, the company closed several restaurants and in February, its network had only 16 restaurants.

Sean T Ngo, chief executive officer of VF Franchise Consulting, said that although Vietnam is one of the hottest franchise markets in Southeast Asia, the departured of NYDC Vietnam showed the challenges that many foreign companies face when entering an emerging market like Vietnam.

Foreign brands need to understand positions of competitors before jumping into the market.

In 2009, the SUTL Group of Singapore brought NYDC to Vietnam and became one of the most popular foreign coffee chains in Ho Chi Minh City.

The first two stores opened in the city center, at Metropolitan and Now Zone shopping centers, and then at Vincom, Nguyen Trai, Cantavil and Crescent. The initial plan was to open 20 stores in five years with an investment of $300,000 per store.

Contrary to NYDC, SUTL has succeeded with its investment in KFC, with more than 140 stores operating across Vietnam.