Saigon Co.op will organise an exhibition tracing its 30-year journey from being a basic seller to becoming Viet Nam’s leading retailer at the Nguyen Hue walking street in District 1 from July 19 to 21. — Photo courtesy of Saigon Co.op

Saigon Union of Trading Co-operatives (Saigon Co.op) will organise an exhibition in HCM City tracing its 30-year journey from being a basic seller to becoming Viet Nam’s leading retailer and finding a place on the retail map of the Asia - Pacific region.

It will be held on the pedestrian strip at the centre of the Nguyen Hue walking street in District 1 from July 19 to 21.

There will be replicas of its first store dating back to 1989 and its current outlets, including some of its super-modern supermarkets.

There will be performances by stars on all three nights to entertain the thousands of people expected to attend the event.

Together with the exhibition, Saigon Co.op will also organise an online auction of seven unique relics that mark milestones in its 30-year journey to raise funds for charity, including “100 good deeds”, “A million national flags with fishermen”, and " Viet Nam Shining Smile".

Established in 1989, Saigon Co.op has increased its revenue by 30,000 times to VND30 trillion (US$1.29 billion) last year.

Its first supermarket, Co.opmart Cong Quynh, opened in 1996 and is considered a turning point in the country’s modern retail system.

Saigon Co.op has since developed a series of modern retail businesses that cover all retail segments, like Co.op Food, HTVCo.op TV shopping channel, Co.opXtra hypermarket, Sense City shopping mall, Co.op Smiles modern grocery stores, and Cheers 24-hour convenience store.

It now has nearly 800 supermarkets and malls and receives over one million customers a day.

It recently bought out French company Auchan Retail’s operations in Viet Nam, which include 15 retail stores and an e-commerce platform. — VNS