Customers shop for food at a newly-opened Finelife Supermarket Urban Hill  in HCM City.  — Photo congthuong. vn

HÀ NỘI — The local retail market is forecast to grow at a double-digit rate in 2021, so domestic retailers have rushed to open new stores across the country to expand their market share since the beginning of the year.

On Wednesday, Finelife - the high-end supermarket system of Saigon Co.op - opened its fourth store in HCM City’s District 7. The store, named Finelife Supermarket Urban Hill, stocks more than 17,000 local and imported organic products like fresh and processed foods, cosmetics, deli foods, fruits, vegetables, beverages and more.

Finelife Supermarket Urban Hill is the first high-end supermarket in Việt Nam to use automatic e-label technology and is also the first local supermarket to have self-checkout counters.

Earlier in January, Saigon Co.op said it launched new Co.op Food stores in Phú Yên, Sóc Trăng, Cần Thơ and Cà Mau provinces.

By 2025, Saigon Co.op plans to expand its network to at least 2,000 stores with priority given to improving the investment efficiency of Co.opmart stores and Co.op Food stores as well as on developing large-scale outlets to sharpen its competitiveness, congthuong.vn quoted Nguyễn Anh Đức, General director of Saigon Co.op, as saying.

In the short term, Saigon Co.op is working to expand its market share to between 43 per cent and 45 per cent from the current 41 per cent, Đức told the online newspaper.

Another retail giant, Mobile World Investment Joint Stock Company (MWG) which owns the Điện Máy Xanh and Bách Hoá Xanh retail chains, also opened a number of new Điện Máy Xanh stores in January.

By the end of 2021, MWG aimed to raise the number of Điện Máy Xanh stores to 1,000 nationwide and reach revenue of VNĐ5 trillion, 10 times higher than 2020’s figure. The firm hopes to have 1,200 Điện Máy Xanh stores one year later, with revenue 30 times higher than that of 2020 to VNĐ15 trillion and accounting for 60 per cent of the electronics retail market share.

Along with Điện Máy Xanh outlets, MWG is also striving to have more than 500 newly-opened and upgraded Bách Hoá Xanh stores by the end of 2021. Previously in 2020, it opened 711 new outlets, bringing the number of these stores up to 1,719. The stores last year recorded a combined revenue of VNĐ21.26 trillion in 2020, double that of 2019 and contributing 19.6 per cent of the total revenue of MWG.

Fiercer competition from foreign rivals

According to Vietcombank Securities (VCBS), the domestic retail market will rebound strongly in the second quarter of this year with a growth rate of 14.5 per cent.

However, local retailers face fiercer competition from foreign rivals as many foreign retail brands have entered the Vietnamese market in recent years.

Nguyễn Anh Đức from Saigon Co.op said his firm would use digital transformation to better adapt to changes in the market and local consumer behaviour. Also, it will enhance connections with localities nationwide and in overseas countries, he said, adding that these connections are hoped to ensure Vietnamese products continued to be the mainstay of the nation’s economy.

Meanwhile, Nguyễn Đăng Quang, chairman of Masan Group, told congthuong.vn that Masan planned to turn VinCommerce from a pure shopping point of sale into a platform serving essential needs with essential goods and services, accounting for more than 50 per cent of spending on consumer goods, including fast-moving consumer goods, fresh food, financial services and added value services. This was Masan's goal when it decided to expand into the retail sector.

For MWG, it will still focus on the handsets, electronics and essential consumer foods through a chain of small retail stores– a core strength that has helped the firm grow strongly in recent years.

Trade experts said although the COVID-19 pandemic had negative effects, it also motivated Vietnamese retailers to improve their abilities and be ready to cope with harsher competition as the country has deeply integrated into the global market. — VNS