Thailand’s Central Retail to double Vietnam stores in 4 years

A Go Supermarket in Ben Tre Province. Photo courtesy of Central Retail

Thailand’s Central Retail plans to more than double the number of its stores in Vietnam from the current 340 to 710 by 2026 to capitalize on a growing market.

The main retail arm of Thai conglomerate Central Group will spend 30 billion baht (US$790 million) for the expansion, which it hopes will make it Vietnam’s biggest food and property retail platform, Nikkei has reported.

"We always put ourselves in the center of consumers' lives," Olivier Langlet, CEO of Central Retail Vietnam, said.

The company eyes sales of 100 billion baht following the expansion, up from the current 38.6 billion baht, he added.

Central Retailed first came to Vietnam 10 years ago and now has 10 retail brands, including Go! Mall, Nguyen Kim, SuperSports, and Top Market, which sell a range of products from food to electronics.

Other foreign retailers who have announced plans to expand in Vietnam include Japan’s Aeon and South Korea’s Lotte.

Aeon Mall, which has six outlets, plans to open 16 more, including three or four in Hanoi.