Japanese retail giant Aeon plans to open its seventh mall in Vietnam this September.
Located in Thua Thien-Hue province, it will be the biggest mall in the country's central region.
Aeon Mall Vietnam CEO Nakagawa Tetsuyuki affirmed the schedule at a Tuesday meeting with Le Truong Luu, chief of the Thua Thien Hue Party Committee, to exchange Tet (Lunar New Year) greetings.
Eighty percent of the work has been completed since construction began in February 2023 and 70% of the mall space has been leased out, the executive added.
Luu reiterated that Thua Thien-Hue always facilitates investments by foreign businesses in the province. He urged Aeon Mall to add more local products like handicraft items to its shelves.
The same day, an Aeon Mall delegation met with Thua Thien-Hue Chairman Nguyen Van Phuong. Nakagawa requested more help from provincial authorities with administrative procedures, infrastructure and installation of solar power equipment.
Phuong asked relevant agencies to collaborate with Aeon to ensure timely inauguration of the mall. He said success of the project would attract more investors from Japan to the province.
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 Binh Duong, Bac Giang, Thanh Hoa, Hai Duong, Nam Dinh, Danang, among other localities.
Aeon earned operating revenues 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 first three quarters of the fiscal year ending February 2024.
Its operating income in the country rose 25.8% to JPY2,879 million ($19.4 million) “despite the impact of slowing economic growth stemming from sluggish external demand and power shortages,” the retailer said.