Aeon Vietnam plans a massive expansion

Japanese retail giant Aeon Vietnam says it will invest US$2 billion expanding its presence across the country.

Aeon Vietnam opened its fifth shopping center in the country last November, its second in the capital city Hanoi. Now, the general director of Aeonmall Vietnam, Iwamura Yasutsugu, says the company is eyeing 25 centers across the country

Aeon launched in Vietnam in 2013, opening its first mall, Celadon City, in a remote suburb of Ho Chi MInh City, which was expanded last June. More malls have been built in locations including the industrial city of Binh Duong, near Ho Chi Minh City, and Hanoi’s Long Bien district.

The latest center, in the Duong Noi commune at Ha Dong, covers 150,000sqm and has about 200 tenant stores as well as the Aeon hypermarket and food anchor.

Aeon’s strategy to date of expanding in Vietnam is to build centers in suburban districts rather than downtown locations, shaping its offer to local communities and mixing local goods with imported products.

Aeon Vietnam also has a program to boost exports of Vietnamese goods to stores it operates outside the country. It aims to export US$500 million of goods this calendar year and reach $1 billion within five years.

Last August, Aeon’s Japanese board held a meeting in Ho Chi Minh City and toured the Celadon City site, further evidence of the company’s commitment to the market.

At the time, chairman Hiroshi Yokoo described Vietnam as “the most significant market of the company in Southeast Asia”.

Aeon Vietnam plans US$2 billion expansion