Vietnam 2nd biggest market of Thai giant Central Retail in Jan-Sept

Thailand’s leading retailer Central Retail earned a revenue of THB37.99 billion ($1.09 billion) in Vietnam in the first nine months of this year, up 0.9% year-on-year.

In its Jan-Sept performance review, Central Retail said its revenue in Q3/2024 fell 2% year-on-year due to the impact of flooding in the northern region and stagnant domestic purchasing power.

But for the nine-month period, Central Retail highlighted that household consumption remained stable although consumers continued to be cautious due to uncertainties surrounding the recovery of global demand and the impact of flooding.

Central Retail said the Jan-Sept revenue in Vietnam included THB83 million ($2.4 million) from the fashion sector, down 15% year-on-year; THB33,161 million ($951.28 million) from the food product sector, up 4.2%; and THB4,747 million ($136.18 million) from the hardline sector, down 17%.

As a result, Vietnam was the second-biggest market of Central Retail, only behind Thailand - its domestic market, with THB129,863 million ($3.73 billion).

In Vietnam, Central Retail’s food product sector features GO! malls, mini go! marts, Tops market and Lan Chi supermarkets. The number of stores went up from 76 to 83 in a year, according to the report.

Central Retail’s latest opening in Vietnam was GO! Bac Lieu mall in the eponymous Mekong Delta province, the 41st of its kind in the country.

The retailer plans to open a GO! mall in Ninh Thuan province (in the south-central region) later this year, and others in Hung Yen and Yen Bai provinces )in the north) next year, or 44 in total.

However, the hardline sector, such as home appliances and electronic items, saw the number of Nguyen Kim supermarkets go down from 53 to 49.