7-Eleven plans in Vietnam

Convenience-store giant 7-Eleven plans to enter Vietnam by taking over VinGroup’s VinMart+ chain, marketplace sources say.

In a statement from the US last year, 7-Eleven said it would build stores as well as convert “existing locations”. Now industry insiders are saying the group will swallow VinMart+, but there has been silence from both brands.

The 7-Eleven Vietnam franchise is a partnership between IFB Vietnam, which owns Pizza Hut Vietnam, and Seven System Vietnam. The chain has announced plans to establish 100 stores in its first three years, with 1000 outlets within a decade. Its initial store will be in Ho Chi Minh City, scheduled for early next year.

VinMart+ is Vietnam’s largest c-store chain with more than 700 outlets. It has plans to expand to 10,000 stores in next 10 years.

Vietnam is 7-Eleven’s second Pacific Rim market after Indonesia, where it launched in 2009. It also has stores in Australia, China, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and the Philippines.