Thai giant Central Retail plans $828 mln investments in Vietnam

Thailand’s Central Retail plans to pump 30 billion baht ($828 million) into Vietnam from now until 2026 to expand its presence in the country.

“With Vietnam as one of Central Retail’s key strategic markets, our growth has leaped with sales reaching 38.592 billion baht (over $1.06 billion) within 10 years, accounting for 22% of our total sales today,” Central Retail Vietnam CEO Olivier Langlet said in Bangkok Monday.

“Central Retail started investing in Vietnam in 2012 as the company saw strong potential and business opportunities in the market,” he said.

Langlet said the new investments for the 2022-2026 period aims to make the company the number one Omnichannel platform in food and property in Vietnam, boost its sales to 100 billion baht ($2.76 billion), double the firm’s omnichannel sales penetration to 15%, and expand its presence to 55 of 63 cities and provinces across the country, up from the current 40.

The Thai giant wants to strengthen its core businesses across Vietnam, including expanding food stores, enhancing GO! malls and launching more products of its own.

It aims to become "a retailer of the future" by building on the Vietnamese unit’s omnichannel platforms to deliver seamless shopping experiences to consumers and reach an omnichannel sales penetration of 15%.

The Vietnamese arm also aims to grab merger and acquisition (M&A) opportunities to accelerate its business expansion, setting sights on Vietnam as a key strategic location for sourcing raw materials and products for Central Retail in Thailand.

“Our company has fostered the growth of import-export businesses in the two countries to expand our distribution network. These efforts are in line with Central Retail’s vision to conduct business sustainably in all aspects,” Langlet said.