The Ministry of Industry and Trade has forecast that the nation will
achieve a total retail value of goods and services this year of about
100 billion USD, despite global economic difficulties.
To achieve
anticipated yearly average growth of 10 percent in retail sales through
2020, the ministry urged producers and retailers to focus more intently
on the domestic market rather than exports.
Vietnamese retailers
continue to face the challenge, however, of increasing foreign
competition for the domestic market. Two more major international
retailers – Japan's Aeon and Hong Kong's Giant – entered the local
market this year, while global giants like Tesco from the UK and
Wal-mart from the US are expected to follow.
Nguyen Thanh Nhan,
deputy director of Sai Gon Co-op, one of the leading Vietnamese retail
chains, suggested that the appearance of rivals is inevitable and is a
challenge to existing players to be more competitive.
Some
Vietnamese retailers have already significantly stepped up investment in
the domestic market, said the director of the ministry's domestic
market department, Truong Quang Hoai Nam. For instance, the Vietnam
Fashion Trading Co, which sells made-in-Vietnam garments, has opened 55
retail outlets in 22 cities and provinces nationwide.
Vietnamese
retailers hold significant advantages over their better-financed foreign
rivals, Nam said, noting that they are operating in their home market
with a deeper knowledge of Vietnamese consumers. However, they foll
significantly behind their foreign rivals in technology, he said.
Deputy
Minister of Industry and Trade Ho Thi Kim Thoa also suggested that
Vietnamese retailers step up training of human resources in their
distribution systems. Retailers and producers should also cooperate more
to boost local consumption, she said.
The nation's retail value
last year reached 96 billion USD, up 20 percent over the previous year,
according to the domestic market department. The country currently has
615 supermarkets, 102 shopping centres, 2,000 convenience shops and
8,590 outdoor markets. Only 15-20 percent of goods are purchased through
modern distribution systems, while the remainder are distributed
through traditional outdoor markets./.
