The AVAFashion family fashion store chain of the retail giant Mobile World has stopped operating only a few months after opening.

Company leaders once said that the new fashion segment was an experiment and would be closed immediately if it did not work out.

The sales website also stopped working from June 29.

In mid-January 2022, Mobile World officially launched five chain stores belonging to the AVA group, including AVAFashion (family fashion), AVASport (sportswear), AVAKids (mother and baby), AVAJi (jewelry) and AVACycle (selling bicycles - in the form of "shop in shop" at the Dien May Xanh system).

At the time of launching, AVAFashion had four main stores in busy streets in HCM City such as Vo Van Ngan Street in Thu Duc City, Huynh Tan Phat Street in District 7, Nguyen Trai Street in District 5 and Phan Van Tri Street in Emart2 Trade Center in Go Vap District.

AVAFashion sold clothing products for men, women and children with a variety of designs from T-shirts, polo shirts, jeans, khakis, dresses and office wear to accessories such as socks, masks and belts.

AVAFashion's products were produced at large garment factories known for their quality products for famous brands such as H&M and Uniqlo as well as exported to Europe.

The "quick opening, quick closing" of Mobile World surprised many people, but this seems to have been expected.

Earlier at the 2022 annual general meeting of shareholders, Nguyen Duc Tai, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Mobile World Investment Corporation, said Mobile World and Dien May Xanh are at a scale of 50 to 60 per cent of market share.

In the next three to five years, the growth rate of the corporation will depend on the Bach Hoa Xanh chain.

Member of the Board of Directors of Mobile World Corporation Doan Van Hieu Em said that new segments, such as AVA, are "just experiments".

There are two ways to test new segments, Em said.

“The first way is to hire great consultants and pay them a few million dollars to research and advise you on what to do. The second way is more pragmatic: Just try it, what works will be separated for replication, what doesn't work will close. The Mobile World Corporation chooses to go for the second option,” he said.

On a different note, the recent closing of more than 300 stores of the Bach Hoa Xanh chain in just over two months has attracted attention.

However, Tai affirmed that the business was in a restructuring phase, so the store system would be rearranged and would return with a new look in the near future, with the expectation of better business results. — VNS