VietNamNet Bridge – The big guys in the fields of fast food, drinks, luxurious consumer goods have all set foot in the Vietnamese market, where the annual average income per capita is only $1,200, but the upper class is getting rich quickly.

On July 16, the world’s leading fast food group McDonald’s announced it has chosen Nguyen Bao Hoang, the founder of Good Day Hospitality and CEO of IDG Ventures as the franchise partner in Vietnam. The first McDonald’s shop would be opened in HCM City in early 2014.

Prior to that, in April, The Pizza Company, a fast food brand belonging to Thai Minor Food Group officially made its presence in HCM City.

In late 2012, a subsidiary of IPP Group became the franchise partner of Burger King, an US fast food supplier. The first shops of Burger King were opened in Hanoi and HCM City in early 2013.

In the drinks market segment, just several days after the New Lunar Year of Snake, Starbucks made debut in HCM City with a 2-storey shop on Le Loi Street in district 1 and has been expanding so far. The Q2 report of CBRE, a real estate consultancy firm, Starbucks is preparing to open the second shop at an A-grade office building at the centre of HCM City.

Starbucks reportedly signed a franchise contract with Coffee Concepts under which the Vietnamese partner has become the only licensed managing partner of the brand in Vietnam. Starbucks has begun collecting high quality Arabica coffee in Vietnam, having committed to continue looking for long term Arabica supply sources in the country.

The retail industry has become more attractive than ever in the eyes of foreign distributors. Lotte Group, after opening a retail chain in HCM City, Dong Nai in the south and Da Nang in the central region, is now marching towards the north. The first supermarket of the group is expected to become operational in Hanoi in early 2014.

In May 2013, NTUC FairPrice from Singapore received the license to set up a joint venture with Saigon Co-op, which would run Co.opXtra and Co.opXtraPlus.

The joint venture has the initial investment capital of $6 million in which the Vietnamese side contributes 64 percent of capital.

Another player from Singapore, Mapletree Investments belonging to Temasek Holdings, is planning to set up a $300-500 million investment fund in Vietnam in 2013.

The Japanese retail group AEON is building the 3.51 hectare shopping mall in Tan Phu district of HCM City. The Japanese investor hopes to complete the construction of the biggest shopping mall area in the west of HCM City by 2014.

In the second quarter of the year, Warbug Pincus announced the purchase of 20 percent of stakes of Vincom Retail, a subsidiary of Vingroup, worth $200 million.

In Hanoi, Trang Tien Plaza, located in the “golden land area” at the center of Hanoi, which opened again in April, and has attracted the presence of the world’s 40 leading luxurious consumer goods brands, according to IPP President Johnathan Hanh Nguyen.

Francis Hung, an expert with 15-year experiences in sale and business governance, noted that the economy in the recession period is always the fertile land that all retailers wish to cultivate. Vietnam now is such an economy. Therefore, he believes that more international big guys would rush to approach the market.

VNE