An AEON supermarket in Việt Nam. A conference was held yesterday (April 23) to help Vietnamese businesses become suppliers and a part of the Japanese retailer’s global supply chain. – VNA Photo Hải Âu

HCM City – Entering global distribution networks is something Vietnamese businesses should strive for to take advantage of their highly competitive products, experts told a conference held yesterday (April 23) to discuss how they can be a part of AEON Group’s supply chain.

The conference was held by the Japanese company and the Ministry of Industry and Trade's Department of European – American Markets and attended by around 150 businesses that do or aim to do business with AEON.

Yuichiro Shiotani, general director of AEON Topvalu Việt Nam, said while Việt Nam’s exports to Japan are growing, 70 per cent of them are made by foreign-invested businesses.

He hoped to help more Vietnamese businesses become AEON’s suppliers in Việt Nam and export to Japan.

He invited Vietnamese companies to do business with AEON, pointing out that Japan has high import needs and any item that appears on AEON’s shelves in Japan would be considered highly competitive in the global market.

It imported 1,000 tonnes of high-quality basa fish last year from a Vietnamese supplier whose exports greatly increased after making new investments to comply with AEON’s quality standards, he said.

The company is interested in importing more foodstuff, textile and garment and healthcare and household goods.

Nguyễn Thảo Hiền, deputy head of the department, said: “Vietnamese goods do have a competitive edge in the global market, but they face difficulties with branding and consistency in quality.”

There should be enough domestic businesses that can consistently supply goods to global distribution systems, she said.

The ministry aims to help businesses become a part of global distribution systems by improving their competitiveness and product quality and working with banks to improve their finance.

Companies also need to carefully research the quality standards that their foreign markets and distributors require, she added. 

Ngô Viết Trung of Phú Bảo Company, one of AEON Group’s suppliers, said companies need to be willing to replace their existing production equipment and have tighter management at all stages of production, seek out customer feedback and be socially responsible in order to supply to AEON.

Successfully becoming AEON’s in Japan is a great recognition of brand and quality and would help businesses enter global distribution networks, he said. 

AEON Group and the ministry signed a memorandum of understanding last year to support Vietnamese businesses.

By 2020 Việt Nam aims to export US$500 million worth of goods through the company, and $1 billion by 2025.  VNS