Thai giant Central Retail plans further expansion in Vietnam

Central Retail Corporation (CRC), a major player in Thailand's retail sector and subsidiary of Central Group, has plans to expand its operations in key markets like Thailand, Vietnam and Italy.

In Vietnam, CRC plans to launch three more branches of GO! Hypermarket and nine more branches of mini go! after both retail formats received a positive response over the past year, CEO Yol Phokasub said while outlining the firm’s five-year strategy at the CEO Forum 2024 on Monday.

The firm hopes to operate a total of 42 GO! Mall outlets in Vietnam this year, covering 42 provinces out of 63 provinces nationwide. On January 23, Central Retail launched the 10th mini go! outlet in Vietnam, located in the southern province of Dong Thap.

In the fashion area, CRC plans to take Thai fashion brands to Vietnam. It also aims to transform the home appliance chain Nguyen Kim in Vietnam to deliver on a better performance.

With 22-24 billion baht ($610-665 million) in capital expenditure that CRC has prepared for this year, about 75-80% will be allocated to businesses in Thailand, while the remainder will cater to Vietnam, known for its large capacity food industry, and Italy for its luxury retail segment.

For this year, Central Retail targets revenue growth at 9-11% and EBITDA growth at 15-17%.