Japanese retailers fast expand Vietnam footprint

Japanese retailers like Muji, Fast Retailing, and Aeon are rapidly expanding their business in Vietnam, with an increasing number of new outlets.

Muji Retail Vietnam, under Japanese retailer Muji, opened its Muji Crescent Mall store on Thursday, its second in Ho Chi Minh City and fourth in Vietnam. The 1,200-square meter outlet in District 7 sells household appliances, food, and garments for customers of various ages.

Tetsuya Nagaiwa, head of Vietnam business for Muji, said the company would cooperate more with local producers to sell more products specifically designed for the Vietnamese market, at better prices. He added that the shift would reduce the firm's expenses and provide more work for local manufacturers.

Entering Vietnam in 2020, the brand now has two stores in Hanoi and two in HCMC. The other HCMC store, located at Parkson Le Thanh Ton shopping center in District 1, is the biggest Muji store in Southeast Asia.

Another Japanese retailer, Fast Retailing, saw its clothing chain Uniqlo open its 13th outlet in Vietnam late last month. With the new one in Hanoi, Uniqlo now operates 13 stores in the Vietnamese market, which it entered in late 2019.

Uniqlo aims to open two stores in Binh Duong next year, said Sato Ryota, CEO of Uniqlo Vietnam. At a meeting with Binh Duong authorities on November 4, the executive proposed that the southern province helps the firm find suitable locations for the stores.

Aeon is scheduled to commence construction on Aeon Mall Hue, with an investment of VND3,916 billion ($157.5 million), in December this year. The 86,216-square-meter mall will be located in the An Van Duong new urban area, Thua Thien-Hue province's Hue town.

On August 18, Inui Shinichiro, general manager of Aeon Mall Hai Phong-Le Chan, told Hai Phong's leaders in a meeting that the giant wants to build its second mall in the northern city.

The Japanese retailer launched late 2020 its first mall in Hai Phong and sixth in the country. The other five are located in Hanoi (2), Ho Chi Minh City (2) and Binh Duong, which neighbors HCMC.

The retailer is also surveying locations in Binh Duong for its second shopping mall in the southern province.

On May 13, Aeon Mall Vietnam CEO Nakagawa Tetsuyuki had said that Aeon Group planned to open an additional 16 shopping malls in Vietnam by 2025, including three or four in Hanoi.

The country’s total retail sales of consumer goods and services in October was estimated at VND486,400 billion ($19.59 billion), up 1.5% from September and 17.1% over the same period last year.

In the first 10 months of the year, total retail sales of consumer goods and services were VND4,643,600 billion ($187 billion), up 20.2% year-on-year. The figure for the same period last year was down 5.1%.