AEON excels in Vietnam's cutthroat retail industry

Founded in 1758, Aeon is one of the largest retailing groups in the world with 179 joint ventures in and outside Japan.

In its first arrival to Vietnam, Aeon had made great impression in the retail industry by deploying the Ministop convenience store chain through the franchise model with the cooperation of Trung Nguyen Group.

By the end of 2014, Aeon announced to purchase 30 per cent stake of Fivimart and 49 per cent stake of Citimart, two large supermarket chains in Vietnam. 

In the same year, Aeon also opened two shopping centers, Aeon Mall Celadon in Tan Phu District, Ho Chi Minh City and Aeon Mall Canary in Binh Duong province.

Aeon Vietnam continued to launch a shopping center in Hanoi city, which was Aeon Long Bien and another one in 2016, which was Aeon Binh Tan in Ho Chi Minh City, raising the total number of Aeon Mall’s shopping centers in Vietnam to four.

Together with the expansion of the shopping centers system, the business result of Aeon Vietnam has also been improved throughout the years.

In 2016, the revenue of Aeon Vietnam had surged to $166.4 million, which was tripled the figured in 2014. Not only ceasing its loss situation, Aeon Malls also recorded a pre-tax profit of over $2.3 million.

In 2017, Aeon Vietnam’s business operation continued to be enhanced with a revenue of around $220 million and a pre-tax profit of over $10 million, 4.3 higher than the previous year.

Instead of establishing normal shopping centers, Aeon designs their malls following the concept of "Towns" for local communities, which act as public spaces integrating many benefits such as entertainment and shopping services for the citizens. This is also the key to Aeon’s success in a fierce market as currently.

Distinctive location is another factor contributing to the success of Aeon Vietnam. In contrast to other large shopping centers located in the center of major cities, Aeon Mall is mostly developed in suburban areas, where customers can enjoy the feeling of fresh air and stay away from the crowded cities for a little while.

Moreover, Aeon Mall also enjoys the support from fellow-countrymen from Japan for shuttle or delivery service, which helps Aeon Mall significantly in competing with other shopping centers.

In the future, Aeon will continue to open two more Aeon Malls in Hai Phong city and Ha Dong city. According to the plan, Aeon will also open 20 supermarkets in Vietnam by 2025.