Masan Group's journey is the consumer’s journey: deputy CEO

Vietnamese consumer-focused corporation Masan Group is developing a retail-consumer platform that caters to everyday essential needs of consumers in the country, says deputy CEO Michael Hung Nguyen.

Since being listed on the stock market in 2009, Masan Group has carried out a series of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deals.

Throughout its history, the company has continuously enriched its portfolio through various M&A deals such as: acquiring over 98% of Visnacafé Bien Hoa (VCF); taking control of NET Detergent JSC, Quang Ninh Mineral Water Corporation and Saigon Nutri Food; acquiring Sam Kim Company Limited and rebranding it as Masan Nutri-Science and later Masan MEATLife (MML); and most recently, taking controlling stakes in the Phuc Long tea and coffee chain and MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operation) service provider Mobicast.

The most notable M&A deal was its merger with VinCommerce (now WinCommerce) in 2019 to enter the retail sector.

Being too diversified?

Nguyen said investors watching the company go from selling fish sauce and soy sauce to coffee and meat might think Masan was doing too many things. However, if they looked closely at its portfolio, they would be able to recognize that the group was focused on meeting essential needs.

From being a consumer goods company whose FMCG division has been described as “the hen that lays the golden eggs,” Masan has transformed into a platform “connecting millions of everyday essential needs" that account for up to 80% of Vietnamese consumer spending, he said.

Nguyen noted that the group’s leadership has previously stated that when acquiring strategic or controlling stakes in other companies, the latter were not merely seen as revenue and profit generators, but as “platforms” that served a common strategy.

Such platforms would help the company access advanced technologies which produce quality products at reasonable prices for consumers; distribution networks to help further expand an already strong distribution system; or ways to build and maintain strong Vietnamese brands.

Over the past 17 years, the group has raised approximately $5 billion in investment capital.

Notably, this sum has not been allocated to real estate, speculation or assets trading but on building a portfolio of consumer companies that are increasingly expanding and refining their consumer goods supply chains to drive strategic growth.

Investors like American firms KKR and TPG as well as South Korea’s SK Group have invested in Masan multiple times and a common point among them was a focus on long-term cooperation, Nguyen observed.

Positive signals from retail-consumer platforms

The group’s two core business segments are consumer goods (Masan Consumer) and retail (WinCommerce that operates WinMart supermarkets and WinMart+ stores), accounting for 80% of its revenue and profit.

Over four years, WinCommerce’s EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) surged 11% from minus 7% at the time of acquisition to 4%.

The company has recorded positive net profit in June, July and August 2024. It has nearly 3,700 sales points nationwide, featuring a diverse range of store models to serve consumers in both urban to rural areas.

Nguyen said the group would continue strengthening its core retail consumer business, including holding an IPO for its consumer goods subsidiary Masan Consumer in 2025. It would also strengthen its Go Global strategy to promote Vietnamese flavors to billions of consumers worldwide.

For its retail segment WinCommerce, Masan will continue to optimize profit, improve operations and develop the WiN membership program with personalized promotion campaigns.

Additionally, Masan was working with strategic investors to reduce its interest in non-core business areas towards intensifying focus on its retail consumer business, Nguyen said.

The group would also take strategic action to reduce financial leverage and improve its overall balance sheet, Nguyen said.

According to Masan’s H1/2024 financial statement, the group earned after-tax profits of nearly VND1.43 trillion ($57.58 million) before minority interest allocation and VND607 billion ($24.44 million) after, fulfilling more than 60% of the annual plan approved by shareholders at the beginning of the year.

Nguyen emphasized that with the ongoing market recovery and positive results in its core retail-consumer business, Masan expected to meet its profit target and continue creating exceptional value for its shareholders.

MSN shares closed Monday at VND80,300 ($3.23) apiece.