Convenience stores around me

Vietnamese consumers may soon be able to enjoy the results of the historic merger (Photo: Le Toan) Under the deal announced last week, Vingroup’s VinCommerce and VinEco arms will merge into Masan Consumer Holdings, the retail consumer business of Masan Group, to help establish a leading consumer retail group with a network of over 2,600 supermarkets and convenience stores in Vietnam, in which Masan will take control, while Vingroup will be a minor shareholder. The value of the deal has not been disclosed so far, but it may be the largest mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deal of 2019, igniting a competitive retail war. Looking into the deal, Vietnam director at the Institute of Certified Management Accountants (CMA) Long Phan said, “The deal brings benefits to both sides. Masan holds a manufacturing ecosystem with 180,000 points of distribution of consumer goods and subsidiaries like Vinacafé Bien Hoa, Vinh Hao Mineral Water, and Masan Meatlife. VinCommerce owns a … [Read more...] about Merger may bring retail renaissance

Ben Gray, director of Capital Markets at Cushman & Wakefield Vietnam There were strong reactions to the announcement made on December 3 that Masan Group’s consumer holdings subsidiary and Vingroup’s VinCommerce and VinEco business lines are finalising legal terms for a merger, which will form the country’s largest consumer platform. This new platform is exceptional in its scale and reach in the market: 2,600 supermarkets and convenience stores in 50 cities and provinces with 14 eco-farms. This now gives Masan Group, as part of the fast-moving consumer goods ecosystem, greater reach for its products, maximising the benefit from Vingroup’s investment into the retail space. It is an excellent example of a strategic merger of two goliaths of the Vietnamese market. Both have had clear lines of sight and a robust strategy to keep ahead of the structural changes in how consumers are maturing in the market, seeking greater convenience and quality, and seeking out … [Read more...] about Foreign direct investment and mature M&A boost investor confidence

At midnight on a weekday a couple walks out of a convenience store on Hang Bong Street in Hanoi’s Old Quarter. Nearby, three people are eating ice cream and yogurt they had just bought at the store. Hang Bong is one of the capital’s most crowded shopping streets, but at midnight, when it is time for businesses to shut down, it goes quiet. Only three 24/7 convenience stores and a few hotels remain open afterward. Some 200 meters from the convenience store, Quoc Huy, a hotel receptionist is at his desk waiting for two Filipino guests. The hotel car has picked them up at the airport and is headed back. Huy will help them check in at around 3 a.m. Guests arriving at 2 or 3 a.m. is pretty common in October, the peak tourist season. "It’s like we don’t want our guests if we close at midnight," the 24-year-old said. Working along with Huy are three other receptionists of similar age. The bar where Masayoshi Kimoto works continues to take orders from customers at … [Read more...] about Working the graveyard shift in Hanoi

Retail is attractive for investors as the industry has advantages after foreign wholly-owned retail firms have been allowed to set up in Vietnam and taxes imposed on most of goods imported from other ASEAN countries to Vietnam are exempted. Vietnam’s retail industry is continuing to see more merger and acquisition (M&A) deals made by both domestic and foreign investors thanks to a rising income of local consumers and free trade agreements, but the competition in the market is also becoming fierce, experts said. South Korea’s GS 25 is completing final procedures to acquire Zakka Mart VinCommerce, the retail arm of Vietnam’s largest listed firm Vingroup, last week took over convenience store chain Shop&Go, which was one of the earliest ones in the country by opening its first store in 2006, for a symbolic US$1. Shop&Go now has 70 stores in Ho Chi Minh City and 17 in Hanoi, open 24/7 and selling consumer goods, fast foods and beverages among others. … [Read more...] about M&A in Vietnam’s retail industry on the rise in 2019

WANT - WANT Group executives answer questions from the media at the inauguration event in HCM City on Wednesday. — VNS Photo WANT - WANT Group, the largest rice cracker maker in Taiwan and mainland China, has come to Viet Nam. Its range of rice crackers, frozen ice cream and beverages are now available at convenience stores and supermarkets. At the launch in HCM City on December 12, Chen Han Hua, general director of WANT - WANT Vietnam, said the company is building a production facility in Long Giang Industrial Park in Tien Giang Province. Once completed in 2021 it will produce and estimated US$260 million worth of products annually, enabling Viet Nam to become the companys strategic hub for Southeast Asia, he said. Group executive director Kevin Tsai said: “Setting up this new manufacturing plant will be a historic milestone for us. I am optimistic about our future growth in Viet Nam, where we have seen the enthusiasm of the local government and people who helped us build … [Read more...] about Taiwans WANT – WANT Group comes to Viet Nam