Diep Dung, chairman of Saigon Co.op, and Philippe Courbois, general director of Auchan Retail Vietnam, at the signing ceremony in HCM City on June 27 night. — Photo courtesy of Saigon Co.op

Saigon Co.op has bought out French company Auchan Retail’s operations in Viet Nam, which include 15 retail stores and an e-commerce platform.

Under an agreement they signed on Thursday, it will continue to use the Auchan brand name until the end of February, 2020.

Some stores in HCM City, Ha Noi and Tay Ninh will be relaunched as Saigon Co.op’s Co.opmart, Co.opXtra or Finelife outlets.

The two parties are considering prospects for future co-operation including in import-export.

Nguyen Anh Duc, Saigon Co.op’s permanent deputy general director, said: “The takeover of Auchan underlines the strong growth of Saigon Co.op in the modern retail sector and demonstrates its responsibility to Vietnamese consumers.”

In May, the French supermarket chain decided to withdraw from Viet Nam after nearly five years of operations. It generated revenues of 45 million euros (US$50.4 million) last year but was still making losses.

It had 13 stores in HCM City, four in Ha Noi and one in Tay Ninh, but recently closed 15 of them and kept only three outlets in HCM City open.

Auchan was the last European retailer in Viet Nam after France’s Casino Group sold its Big C chain to a Thai firm and quit the country in 2016. — VNS