HÀ NỘI — Bibo Mart, the largest retail chain of mom and baby products in Việt Nam, on Tuesday officially announced that Singapore-based Japanese fund manager ACA Investments had invested in the company.

The value of the deal was not disclosed, but ACA Investments, which manages assets worth US$900 million, now holds 20 per cent stake in Bibo Mart.

Trịnh Lan Phương, general director of Bibo Mart, said the Japanese investment would add financial and human resources and boost Bibo Mart’s internal strength so that the company could confidently pursue its strategy towards affirming the leading position in the mom and baby products market and expand beyond.

Bibo Mart, which opened its first store in 2006, plans to increase its number of shops from the current 120 to 180 by the year end and to 500 by 2019, according to Phương. By 2019, the retail chain is forecast have a value of US$500 million and earn minimum annual revenue of $300 million against the estimated $100 million this year.

Phương said there was significant room for growth in the mom and baby products market in Việt Nam, the value of which was anticipated to double to $5 billion in the next few years.

“Competition will be hard and there will be new players joining the market, but Bibo Mart’s customer-focused culture and emphasis on bringing the best products and services to Vietnamese mothers will make us different,” Phương said.

Phương said she wanted to expand business in other sectors as well as in foreign markets, but “first, we want to be the best in what we are doing.”

As preparation for the rapid expansion, Bibo Mart has built a strong team of leaders with abundant talent from the world’s giant retailers such as Walmart, 7-Eleven and Dairy Farm.

According to Hiroyuki Ono from ACA Investments, a subsidiary of Sumitomo Corporation, Bibo Mart has a visionary CEO, strong commitment to customer-first services by highly motivated employees and immense growth potential. “We believe in the growth of Bibo Mart which captures well the demographic of the Vietnamese economy.”

Hiroyuki said ACA Investments wanted to connect Japanese firms that want to invest in the modern retail industry in Việt Nam with Bibo Mart.

He cited surveys showing that Việt Nam has attracted more Japanese firms compared with other Southeast Asian countries. ACA Investments, which has investments in several Vietnamese companies such as Sonkim Land, Cungmua and Việt Thành Technology Corporation, is looking for investment opportunities in the retail and services sectors in Việt Nam.

Herry Stuart Neilson, strategy advisor of Bibo Mart, said the baby products retail market of Việt Nam had huge potential with 1.6 million newborn babies every year, along with a rising middle class. The situation was the same in other Asian countries, he said, adding that the vision and strategy of Bibo Mart would help the company maximise its potential not only in the domestic but also in international markets. — VNS