Japan retailer Aeon plans first outlet in manufacturing hub Dong Nai province

Japanese retailer Aeon plans to invest in its first outlet in Dong Nai province, a manufacturing hub in southern Vietnam, late this year.

Aeon Mall Vietnam CEO Nakagawa Tetsuyuki mentioned the project in a Monday meeting with Dong Nai acting Chairman Vo Tan Duc.

Welcoming the project, Duc enumerated several advantages that Dong Nai offers, including a large population and high purchasing power. Dong Nai is home to the under-construction Long Thanh International Airport.

He asked Aeon to prepare project documents so that relevant agencies could facilitate its deployment.

Duc also advised the retailer to check locations in Long Khanh town and Nhon Trach district, noting that these were areas targeting retail service investments under the province’s 10-year (2021-2030) development master plan.

There are six Aeon Mall outlets operational in Vietnam: two each in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City; and one each in the southern province of Binh Duong and northern city of Hai Phong. The seventh one is under construction in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue.

The Japanese retailer entered the Vietnamese market in 2013 with the first mall located in HCMC.

The retailer has so far invested more than $1.18 billion in Vietnam, Aeon Group executive chairman Akio Yoshida had noted during a meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in Japan’s Hiroshima town in May.

Aeon Mall earned an operating income of JPY1,093 million ($7.78 million) in Vietnam for the first quarter of fiscal year 2023 (March-May 2023), up 42.9% year-on-year.

The retailer recorded operating revenues of JPY3,528 million ($25.1 million) in the three-month period, up 31.6% year-on-year, according to its latest report. This was the company's best performance in the ASEAN region and second best overseas, behind China.

Per its medium-term (2023-2025) plan, the company will open more outlets in Vietnam, including the one in Thua Thien-Hue. Construction of Aeon Mall Hue began this February and a grand opening is planned in the second half of 2024.