Uniqlo, a Japanese clothing retailer, recently opened a new store at Saigon Center in HCM City in April 2022. This is its 11th outlet in Vietnam since 2019, spreading over 3,000 m2. Uniqlo is not Japan’s only retailer to open flagship stores in the country. MUJI, the Japanese home and lifestyle goods company, opened its first outlet in the country at the Parkson Saigon Tourist Plaza in Ho Chi Minh City in 2020. With an area of more than 2,000 m2, it was MUJI’s largest store in Southeast Asia.
A number of Vietnamese competitors have also started opening flagship stores. One was opened by Nguyen Cong Tri Corporation in December in 2021 at the Continental Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 1. In the Phu Dong Roundabout in District 1, the Con Cung clothes retail company erected its flagship store in 2022 on a space of more than 2,000 m2.
These massive stores that are currently opening around the nation are not exclusively located in major cities like Hanoi and HCM City. For instance, the northern port city of Hai Phong recently welcomed a Uniqlo store at the Le Chan Aeon Mall.
Analysts predict that this trend of opening flagship stores will intensify. Lazada, a massive e-commerce company, is anticipated to establish its main technology-focused store in Ho Chi Minh City soon.
According to a study from Vietnam´s Ministry of Industry and Trade, revenues from retail trade and services exceeded USD 76.2 billion in the first four months of 2022, an increase of 6.5% from the same period last year. Many retail enterprises were compelled to exit the market once the Covid-19 pandemic struck the nation. Large businesses grasped the opportunity to set up a chain of flagship stores in large spaces at desirable locations and at affordable rates.
(Source: VietnamPlus, The Star)
