Central Retail to invest $826 million for Vietnam market expansion

With the investment, the retail arm of Central Group, one of the largest private conglomerates in Thailand, has targeted THB 100,000 million ($2.75 billion) sales in Vietnam in 5 years, the company said in a statement.

It aimed to become the #1 Omnichannel platform in food and property in Vietnam, double omnichannel sales penetration to 15%, and expand its presence across 55 of 63 provinces in Vietnam.

In the past 10 years, Central Retail has become the #1 retailer of hypermarkets and the leader in lifestyle malls in Vietnam, with a presence of malls and shops covering 40 provinces nationwide with a strong customer base of over 12 million people.

The company has also built a winning omnichannel platform in food, modeled after the success achieved in the Thai market. Through this strategy, it has built a strong foundation in food categories, enabling Central Retail to capture a market share of 62% in Vietnam's Hypermarket.

Vietnam is currently one of Central Retail’s key strategic markets. The retailer has achieved leaping growth with sales reaching THB 38,592 million ($1 billion) within 10 years, accounting for 22% of Central Retail’s total sales today, revealed Olivier Langlet, Chief Executive Officer of Central Retail Vietnam.

To meet its growth goals, Central Retail drives three important initiatives in line with the CRC Retailligence strategy, which include: Expanding and strengthening core businesses nationwide and becoming the retailer of the future by building on the company’s strong omnichannel platforms, accelerating new growth engines and capture new opportunities.

The company aims to capture M&A opportunities to accelerate business expansion, setting sights on Vietnam as a key strategic location for sourcing raw materials and products for Central Retail in Thailand.