HÀ NỘI — Fujimart Vietnam Retail, a joint venture between Japanese trading house Sumitomo and local retail and real estate conglomerate BRG Group, will open its first Vietnamese supermarket in Hà Nội this month. 

The FujiMart hopes to use its modern Japanese-style retail expertise to attract increasingly well-off consumers in the country.

Keisuke Hitotsumatsu, CEO of FujiMart Vietnam said through the FujiMart retail model, both BRG and Sumitomo hope to provide Vietnamese people delicious, nutritious and safe food.

“Though the retail market is very competitive, Việt Nam’s macro-economic recently showed that the demand of the Vietnamese retail market is growing at a double-digit rate. We recognise the trend will continue as Việt Nam’s economic prospects are very positive, making Vietnamese living standards get better day by day,” he said.

He added that the food retail market is about to undergo a major transformation, as growing interest in food safety shopping could transition traditional wet markets to modern supermarkets.

“Both BRG and Sumitomo have great resources to invest comprehensively in this project. Besides, Sumitomo has experience to operate supermarket chain over 50 years and BRG has knowledge a variety of business in Việt Nam. Therefore, we agreed to develop a modern supermarket chain in Việt Nam,” he said.

Hitotsumatsu explained the difference between the new FujiMart with others in Việt Nam was they would create a brand-new model for Vietnamese customers, by transplanting Japanese supermarket know-how.

Two more supermarkets are expected to open in the country in 2019.

Sumitomo has invested millions of dollars in the venture. While BRG controls the company, Sumitomo selects the president and has sent personnel from Japanese supermarket unit Summit to work in Viet Nam.

In 2016, BRG and Sumitomo signed a co-operation deal in smart cities, high-tech agriculture, retail and other sectors. — VNS