HCM City (VNA) – Vietnam’s retail market is expected to grow fast to meet strongincreases in shopping and recreational demand from 2018 – 2021, said Pham ThaiBinh, Head of Retail Leasing Savills Ho Chi Minh City.
According toSavills Vietnam, numerous renowned international retailers plan to invest inthe sector in Vietnam, including Thailand’s TCC group and Central Group,Singapore’s Mapple Tree and Kepple Land, Korean Lotte and Emart and JapaneseAeon and Takashimaya.
The participationof the foreign investors will help enhance retail service quality via mergersand acquisitions (M&A), and cooperation between domestic and foreignretailers.
The market also hasroom for shopping malls, supermarkets and one-price shops using technology inoperation and management.
Online shoppingand non-cash payments will be among factors to change Vietnam’s retail market,Binh commented.
In 2017, Vietnam’sretail sector earned nearly 129 billion USD, up 11 percent from 2016, a highgrowth compared with other nations in Southeast Asia.
With an over-90million population, nearly 70 percent ofwhich are at working age, 34 percent living in urban areas and annual incomeper capita reaching 2,385 USD, Vietnam is considered to have huge room forretail growth.
Hanoi and HCM Cityare the two most developed cities, with a total combined retail area of 2.5million square metres.
However, thefigure represents an average of 0.2 square metres per person, much lower thanin other regional cities, such as Thailand’s Bangkok at 0.89 square metres,Singapore (0.75 square metres), China’s Beijing (0.65 square metres),Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur (0.64 square metres) and Indonesia’s Jakarta (0.44square metres).-VNA