Central Group Vietnam, the owner of the retail chain Big C Vietnam, announced it has stopped ordering clothes from local partners.
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Representatives of some textile companies currently providing clothes for Big C said the announcement has put them into difficult situations, while others voiced concern that Big C would gradually phase out Vietnamese products for imported ones.
Following the acquisition of Big C in 2016, an executive of Central Group Vietnam had made the commitment that 90 – 95% of its products would be locally made, while pushing for greater presences of Vietnamese products in the market.
Last August, CEO of Central Group Vietnam Philippe Broianigo revealed a plan to invest an additional US$500 million in Vietnam’s retail market in the next five years, taking the total investment capital of Central Group in Vietnam since 2012 to US$2 billion.
The group’s penetration in Vietnam is represented by 250 stores, each covering 700,000 square feet, in more than 37 provinces/cities and the group plans to reach 720 stores by 2020, Broianigo said in a press conference in Bangkok on August 22, 2018.
Central Group Vietnam is a member of Central Group, which has been present in Vietnam since July 2011. The group's business activities in Vietnam range from electronics, sports, fashion, shopping centers and hotels to e-commerce and supermarkets.
The group made the headline in Vietnam following its acquisition of a chain of 33 supermarkets and hypermarkets owned by Big C for US$1.05 billion in April 2016.
