Japanese retailer Aeon earned an operating revenue of JPY10,958 million ($73.9 million) in Vietnam from March-November 2023, up 16.6% year-on-year, according to the firm’s report for the first three quarters of fiscal year ending February 2024.
Aeon made an operating income of JPY2,879 million ($19.4 million) in Vietnam, up 25.8% year-on-year, “despite the impact of slowing economic growth stemming from sluggish external demand and power shortages,” the retailer said.
The two figures in Vietnam were the highest in ASEAN, and the third in the world, only behind Japan, Aeon’s home market; and China.
Aeon highlighted Vietnam is the firm’s most important destination for new malls expansion, and its most recent deals are for shopping mall developments in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho and the northern provinces of Bac Giang and Quang Ninh.
For 2024, Aeon plans to open one more mall in Vietnam in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue. Aeon intends to “establish an even stronger foundation for business in Vietnam”, expanding its businesses to regional economic hotspots to “contribute to the sustainable development and urban planning of the country” amid remarkable economic growth, the Japanese firm emphasized.
There are six Aeon Mall outlets 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 company plans to expand its network to 25 in Vietnam by 2025, with new malls planned in the provinces of Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Thanh Hoa, Thua Thien-Hue, Hai Duong, Nam Dinh, and others.