Central Retail has 340 malls and stores as well as 10 retail brands in Viet Nam, including Go! Mall, Nguyen Kim, SuperSports and Top Market, spanning the sales of electronics, to sports wear, to groceries. — VNA/VNS Photo
Thai retail conglomerate Central Group is planning to expand aggressively at home and in neighbouring Viet Nam, hoping to tap an expected jump in demand when the COVID-19 pandemic ends, according to Nikkei Asia.
Central Retail, the group's core retail arm, has set aside 30 billion Thai baht (US$848 million) to invest in Viet Nam, where it intends to increase sales to 100 billion baht over the next five years, up from the current 38.6 billion baht, according to its business strategy published in its annual report.
The plan matches analysts' forecasts, which expect Viet Nam's resilient economy to keep growing after the pandemic. These forecasts see the country's retail sector growing 9 per cent per year to around $150 million.
"Central Retail has a strong presence in Viet Nam, a market it entered more than 20 years ago," a Kasikorn Research Center analyst said, as cited by Nikkei Asia. "This time it will shift its investment focus from brick-and-mortar stores to technology to expand its selling platform and gain a greater customer base."
Central Retail has 340 malls and stores as well as 10 retail brands in Viet Nam, including Go! Mall, Nguyen Kim, SuperSports and Top Market, spanning the sales of electronics, sportswear, to groceries.
The company also has BIPBIP, an e-commerce food and grocery shopping platform that stocks more than 12,000 items and has a 12 million-strong customer base.
Central Retail hopes that its 30 billion baht investment will help it become Viet Nam's biggest food and property retail platform.
Apart from expanding existing operations, it will also seek to buy businesses that can help to expand its reach.
The company is pushing a business strategy it calls "omnichannel" that lets online consumers choose whether to pick up their orders or have them delivered. Central Retail expects omnichannel sales to make up more than 15 per cent of the company's total over the next few years, up from the current 8 per cent. — VNS