Aeon Mall Long Bien shopping mall. — Photo Doan Tung

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Japanese retail and financial services corporation Aeon opened its third shopping mall in Viet Nam, and first in the capital, in Ha Noi's Long Bien District on October 28.

The first day featured an electricity failure that affected lighting and escalators throughout the mall. An Aeon spokeswoman said the blackout lasted 10 minutes, but a witness said power was intermittent for at least at hour in the afternoon.

The opening day drew big crowds, attracted in part by discounts of up to 50 per cent. Aeon said the grand opening discounts will last until Sunday. 

Covering 9.6 hectares, the Aeon Mall Long Bien was built with an investment of over US$200 million and is expected to welcome 20 million customers each year.

It comprises four floors with 180 outlets which sell various products including fashion products, household appliances, and interior decoration items.

Fifty percent of the goods available at Aeon mall Long Bien are Vietnamese-made, whereas 20 percent come from Japan and the remaining coming from other markets.

The venue will also feature a variety of entertainment facilities for all ages, including a cinema, an entertainment area for teenagers, a large-scale indoor playground for kids, and various dining spaces.

The shopping mall, which also has a parking area with a capacity for 1,000 motor cars and 10,000 motorcycles, targets to serve the shopping demand of 280,000 households, or more than 1 million people in Ha Noi.

Yukio Konishi, Chairman and General Director of Aeon Mall Viet Nam, said Viet Nam had high potential for the development of retail in explaining why Aeon has arrived in Viet Nam at this point in time.

Not only offering the convenience of a shopping mall, Aeon Mall Long Bien also featured various facilities, creating differentiation with its competitors in the market, he said at a recent press briefing held to introduce the project.

Chairman of the Ha Noi People's Committee Nguyen The Thao said with its modern facilities and equipment, along with the experience and prestige of Aeon Corporation, the shopping mall was expected to contribute to improve the living conditions of citizens of Ha Noi.

Ha Noi committed to create favourable conditions for investors to operate effectively in the capital city, he said.

Ha Noi has established relations with over 100 capitals, cities and territories in the world and Japan was currently a very important and effective investment partner of the city, Thao said.

Aeon is the largest retail corporation in Japan. It marked its presence in Viet Nam by opening the Aeon Mall Tan Phu Celadon in Ho Chi Minh City's Tan Phu district and the Aeon Mall Canary Binh Duong in Binh Duong province's Thuan An town last year.

The shopping mall drew big crowds on the opening day . — Photos Doan Tung

Another shopping mall is expected to open in HCM City's Binh Tan District next year.

Aeon has a system of 250 subsidiaries with total annual sales of 6 trillion yen (around $60.5 billion), earning total profit of some 200 billion yen (some $2 billion).

Aeon is currently present at 14 countries and territories, including Viet Nam.

Viet Nam is the third country after Malaysia and China that Aeon has entered with big shopping malls. — VNS