VietNamNet Bridge – Thailand’s Central Group and its Vietnamese partner Nguyen Kim Group are working on a plan to open seven new Big C supermarkets this year after they completed procedures to take over all Big C assets in the country.

Farm products are on sale at a Big C supermarket in HCMC. Thailand’s Central Group and its Vietnamese partner Nguyen Kim Group plan to open seven new Big C supermarkets this year – Photo: Hung Le

The expansion plan was unveiled by a senior executive of the Big C supermarket chain on the sidelines of a meeting on Tuesday to launch a major promotion program for Vietnamese goods.

Earlier, Central Group announced that it and Nguyen Kim had jointly acquired Big C Vietnam for 920 million euro (US$1.05 billion) from France’s Casino Group. Around 9,000 employees of Big C Vietnam will continue working for the new owners after the acquisition.

The executive said the seven new stores are under construction, mainly in HCMC and Hanoi. If the plan is translated into reality, 2016 will mark the largest number of new Big C supermarkets opened since the chain came into being in Vietnam in 1998.

Big C is now present in 20 of the nation’s 63 provinces and cities with 33 supermarkets stocking nearly 45,000 items and 11 convenience stores in HCMC and e-commerce site at Cdiscount.vn.  Big C is now the largest foreign-invested supermarket chain in the domestic market.

Asked whether Central Group would replace Vietnamese products with Thai-made ones at Big C supermarkets or not, the executive said the new owners would continue having around 95% of goods at Big C stores supplied by Vietnamese producers as the chain targets local consumers.

The executive insisted Big C acts as a bridge between enterprises and customers and that suppliers must ensure the good quality and prices of goods.

Big C planned a meeting with the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) on May 18 to settle an issue reported by local media that the supermarket chain had requested local seafood firms to increase discounts by 4.5-5.5% if they want to sell their products at Big C supermarkets.

The request has led VASEP members to cancel their contracts to supply products for Big C, according to local media.

The executive said Big C’s policy is to continue boosting sales of Vietnamese goods. It plans to organize a Vietnam goods week in Thailand in July to promote goods made in Vietnam in regional markets.  

On the home market, Big C is running a promotion program for Vietnamese goods at its supermarkets nationwide until June 8. Customers can buy many products with discounts of 5-49%.

Currently, more than 2,500 domestic firms supply goods for Big C.

Quoc Hung    

SGT