VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnamese and foreign convenience stores are rushing to open more shops, use more technologies and provide more services in the retail market.

Retailers are rushing to open more convenience stores

In late March, Satra opened its 170th shop into operation in district 2, HCM City. Within the first three months of 2018, Satra opened 13 Satrafood shops and plans to open another 60 shops this year.

Saigon Co-op is the chain which has the most diverse convenience store types. It has 210 Co-op Foods and 76 Co-op Smiles, and is developing Cheers shops. 

In 2018, the retailer plans to set up 170 more Co-op Foods, 150 Co-op Smiles, 50 Cheers, as well as other shopping modes.

After three years of joining the market, Vingroup has opened more than 1,000 Vinmart+s.

Bach Hoa Xanh, a new brand of The Gioi Di Dong, has also expanded. By mid-April, 361 Bach Hoa Xanhs had opened in HCMC. The retailer plans to develop 1,000 shops by the end of 2018 and obtain 10 percent of the retail market in the next few years.

FamilyMart, which has 130 shops, plans to open 50 more this year. 7-Eleven, which came to Vietnam in mid-2017, plans to open 300 shops in the next three years and 1,000 shops after 10 years.

Nguyen Hong Trang, CEO of GS25 Vietnam, a joint venture between South Korean GS Retail and Vietnamese Son Kim Land, said the chains all must expand networks to succeed. 

The chains have also launched new services and applied new technologies to compete for market share.

Besides commonly seen products, 7-Eleven, Satrafoods and Co.op Food now sell street dishes at their chains as well. 

, Ministop, Family Mart and Circle K have expanded their space, serving ready-made food such as fried dishes, fresh cream and sandwiches. 

Le Thi Thanh Lam, deputy general director of Saigon Food, is optimistic about the sale of snacks, saying they have been increasing rapidly. Saigon Food chain now provides about 100 snacks.

7-Eleven also reports satisfactory sales of street dishes from its 12 shops. 

The Trade Research Institute predicted that Vietnam would see retail growth rate of 11.9 percent per annum in 2016-2020 and have market value of $180 billion by 2020. 

By that time, Vietnam would have 1,200-1,500 markets, 180 shopping malls and 157 shopping centers.

With annual growth rate of 12 percent per annum and expected value of $180 billion by 2020, Vietnam is an attractive destination for retailers.

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Mai Thanh