Vietnam’s Mobile World plans 300 grocery stores

Vietnam’s Mobile World – the electronics retailer – says it plans to open 300 more grocery stores under the Bach Hoa Xanh banner this year.

The convenience store chain targets time-poor Vietnamese housewives who prefer small stores to crowded supermarkets or hypermarkets.

With 50 stores in Ho Chi Minh City’s Binh Tan district alone, Bach Hoa Xanh stores each achieve more than VND1 billion (US$44,300) in monthly sales, prompting the rapid expansion strategy.

Nguyen Duc Tai, chairman of Mobile World, expects Bach Hoa Xanh stores to replace wet markets and become the leading player of this grocery sector, a market worth an estimated $60 billion annually.

Mobile World Is Vietnam’s third-largest retailer, behind only supermarket Coop Mart and hypermarket chain Big C.