Magazines Archives - 2008 February

VIETNAM’S retail market, dubbed by AT Kearney as the fourth most attractive retail market in the world, behind India, Russia and China, is expected to grow by 20.5% this year.

According to local media, Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade (MIT) has revealed that the country’s retail market can expect to see sales growths of up to VND875 trillion (US$54.3 billion)
this year, following a 23.3% increase in retail sales last year.

Hoang Tho Xuan, director of Domestic Market Policy Department at the MIT, noted that apart from metropolitan areas such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, retailers are beginning to open their stores in the more rural provinces throughout the country.

Last year, retail sales of goods and services were set at VND726 trillion, about 63% of the country’s gross domestic product.

However, despite the vast opportunities available in Vietnam, speakers at a seminar in Hanoi last month, highlighted that the country will need to meet some of the challenges in terms of infrastructure and logistics, which threaten to curb further growth of the retail industry.

For the month of January, Vietnam’s General Statistics Office (GSO) released an estimate of VND75.9 trillion for retail sales throughout the country, a 27.4% increase over the same
period last year.

Currently, there are about about 20 trade centres as well as 140 supermarkets and hypermarkets across the country, with close to one million sqm of retail floor space under construction.