VietNamNet Bridge - In early 2015, Parkson My Dinh shut down and at the end of the year, Big C announced it planned to leave Vietnam, proving to be a challenging year for retailers, including the most powerful firms.

Big C announced it planned to leave Vietnam

On the first days of 2015, the Vietnamese retail market witnessed an uncommon thing: Parkson, a high-end retail brand which has been in Vietnam for many years, announced the closing of its biggest shopping mall in Hanoi.

According to Parkson Ha Noi, since its opening day in 2011, Parkson Landmark never got the expected turnover. The continued loss forced the retailer to shut down the stalls located at the tallest building in Vietnam.

In mid-December, Casino Group said that it plans to sell Big C Vietnam in a plan to ease the financial burden in 2016.

In the eyes of analysts, the fact that Casino Group decided to sell Big C Vietnam shows Vietnam is not a key market for it.

In early 2015, Parkson My Dinh shut down and at the end of the year, Big C announced it planned to leave Vietnam, proving to be a challenging year for retailers, including the most powerful firms.

Having been operational in Vietnam since 1998, Big C has developed into a big retail chain with 32 supermarkets and 10 convenience stores.

After some years of being left idle, Thuan Kieu Plaza, located in the most bustling commercial hub in district 5 in HCM City, has been transferred to An Dong JSC, a subsidiary of Van Thinh Phat Group.

A report of Savills Vietnam, a real estate service provider, showed that the retail premises supply in the third quarter of 2015 in Hanoi was 971,000 square meters, up by 2.3 percent over the quarter before and 17 percent over the year before.

The retail premises market has been quiet for the last four years with the rent on the decrease.

While some retailers decided to leave because they felt unsatisfied about the business in Vietnam, others eagerly want to enter the market.

Japanese Aeon, for example, has been conquering the Vietnamese market by taking over existing domestic retail chains. In October 2015, Aeon opened the 9.6 hectare Aeon Long Bien with the investment capital of $200 million. Aeon Binh Tan in HCM City, covering an area of 4.6 hectares, is expected to kick off in July 2016 with the investment capital of $128.5 million.

South Korean Emart earlier this year announced the plan to open its first supermarket with investment capital of $60 million.

In early 2015, Central Group bought 49 percent of stakes of Nguyen Kim, one of the largest home appliance distribution chains. BJC, another Thai retail group, has taken over Family Mart, planning to expand the network to 300 shops by 2018.

Most recently, the US Wal-Mart announced it will invest in Vietnam.

Ngoc Ha