Vietnam’s retail sector to remain attractive to foreign investors

It was forecast by experts participating in the Vietnam Retail Sector 2017-20 Research Project Phase 1 conducted by the Vietnam Report Company (VNR), released on October 31.
However, according to the experts, the local retail market has seen fierce competition and domestic firms have been forced to adopt new strategies to maintain market share and improve their reputation to compete with international competitors who have superior advantage in terms of capital, technology, experience and personnel.

Customers shop at Big C supermarket, which is among three most frequently mentioned retailers.

The demand of consumers in the future is expected to change significantly (towards high quality products with smarter spending), which is also a difficult issue for retailers. Retailers need to pay attention to product diversification to meet the needs of different customer groups.
According to VNR’s research, the majority of consumers said diversification of goods is what attracted them to certain retailers.
Retailers are changing the way they sell goods -- from traditional to modern and online channels -- to serve growing consumer needs. Targeting the customer and developing a compatible business strategy requires retailers to invest a lot of resources. However, with proper investment, retailers can take advantage of opportunities, build and protect their reputation, thereby attracting customers and indirectly improving business results in the future.
As part of retail industry research, the top 10 most reputable retailers ranking is built on three main criteria -- financial capacity, media credibility and online survey.
Accordingly, Big C, Vinmart and Co.op Mart are three most frequently mentioned retailers. Saigon Co.op is known as the retailer with the largest supermarket chain in Vietnam but is concentrated significantly on developing in the South, while Big C is expanding its brand in all three regions and developing equally. Vinmart, a new entrant, is developing impressively, opening hundreds of convenience stores and dozens of supermarkets in just over two years after entering the market.
In the section of durable goods, such as electronics, refrigeration and jewellery, there are a number of big names such as Dien May Xanh (25 percent), Nguyen Kim (17 percent) and PNJ (13 percent) in consumers’ minds. In 2017, the race of retailers in electronics, gold and precious stones in particular and the durable goods market in general has become fiercer. Several companies have implemented plans to expand the market, opening more sales points in many provinces and cities in Vietnam.