According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Vietnamese retail market is currently valued at USD 142 billion, and by 2025, it is expected to reach USD 350 billion. The market for the merchant's convenience store brands has been considered to be potentially lucrative, and they have been growing in Vietnam at a "breakneck" rate in the form of small and medium business models. Convenience stores frequently concentrate on selling necessities for daily life and offer customers a variety of services, including wifi, furniture, and air conditioning.
Vietnam has about 6,740 convenience stores by 2022, with more than 2,600 of those in Ho Chi Minh City, followed by major cities like Hanoi, Da Nang,... Convenience stores Benefits are gradually becoming more popular with imported brands such as Circle K (USA), Ministop (Japan), GS25 (Korea), and 7-Eleven (Thailand)...
Despite being affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, retail systems in Vietnam are still thriving. This can easily be seen that convenience stores all have impressive growth, meeting the consumption needs of people, especially in big cities. This is considered an attractive battle to win a lucrative piece of the retail market, in the current context.
Foreign brands dominate the convenience store market
Most of the brands in the convenience store market are from overseas. The domestic names are quite a few, not qualified or not involved in this field. Some famous brands from abroad such as Circle K became the first international convenience store brand in Vietnam. Up to now, the US brand has covered more than 400 stores across Vietnam and holds the majority of the market share.
Ministop (Japan) is owned by "big man" Aeon. Entering Vietnam in 2015, up to now, Ministop has become a true "roadside stop" for a large number of Vietnamese users and quickly expanded with 144 stores by 2021.
Another famous brand, 7-Eleven, has officially been present in Vietnam since 2017 through franchising. The brand also claims to have 1,000 stores in 10 years. However, by 2022, 7-Eleven has only 66 stores across Vietnam.
A brand from Korea, GS25, officially opened its first store in District 1 in 2018 and created a fever among young people. GS25 quickly appeared in "prime" locations in Ho Chi Minh City and claimed to have 2,500 stores in 10 years. By 2022, GS25 has nearly 200 stores through franchising to increase coverage.
Vietnamese brands gradually change to adapt to the market
Not accepting to let the lucrative piece of cake fall into the hands of foreign giants, Vietnamese companies and corporations are also moving to enter this field such as Co.op Smile of Saigon Co.op, and Winmart+ of Masan. To attract and increase customer experience, Winmart+ also integrates Phuc Long counters in the store.
However, the efforts of Vietnamese enterprises are not enough, due to many factors. Furthermore, Coop Smile, Winmart+, and Bach Hoa Xanh are considered mini supermarkets rather than convenience stores.
Winmart+
Since merging with Masan, the leading retail group in Vietnam, the WinMart+ store chain has continuously invested in brand expansion. By mid-2021, WinMart+ has more than 3,000 stores nationwide.
With the number of thousands of stores across the country, Winmart+'s revenue takes the lead with VND 31,000 billion in 2020. Revenue slightly decreases year by year, by 2022 the revenue will reach more than VND 29,000 billion, down 5% compared to 2020. Regarding profit after tax, although negative profit was recorded, the loss decreased 21 times from 2020 to 2021. In 2022, profit increased again, 3 times higher than in the same period last year, reaching negative nearly VND 450 billion.
Bach Hoa Xanh
Bach Hoa Xanh is a chain store specializing in retailing fresh food (meat, fish, vegetables, fruits, ...) and quality necessities with clear origins. Launched in 2015, after nearly 8 years of development, Bach Hoa Xanh has nearly 2,000 supermarkets across the provinces in the South, East, and South Central and more than 20 warehouses to serve and supply products. Products are diverse in categories with reasonable prices for easy access for housewives.
Bach Hoa Xanh's revenue increased by nearly VND 700 billion in the period from 2020-2021. In 2022, Bach Hoa Xanh recorded a decrease of nearly 4% in revenue, reaching more than VND 27,000 billion. The brand's profit after tax is negative. Specifically, in 2021, the level of negative profit will decrease by 40%, from negative VND 2000 billion to negative VND 1200 billion. However, in 2022, the profit recorded a higher loss, increasing by 132% compared to 2021, reaching nearly negative VND 2800 billion.
Coop Food
Coop Food is a pure Vietnamese convenience store chain of Vietnamese people. The brand is favored by its rich and low-priced product portfolio. Launched after the success of the Coopmart supermarket model, the Co.op Food store chain was also quickly received by consumers in Ho Chi Minh City. heat and gradually spread strongly to provinces across the country.
The strength of the Coop Food chain is that it has a very rich source of food products, with reasonable quality control. Each "mini food supermarket" Co.op Food usually flexibly selects from 8,000 to 10,000 items to easily meet the needs of each area.
In 2021, Coop Food's revenue increased slightly by about VND 300 billion, then decreased by 15% in 2022, reaching a revenue of only nearly VDN 3500 billion. In terms of profit, although it is still a negative profit, the loss level in 2021 and 2022 has decreased by nearly half compared to 2020, about negative VND 360 billion.
Circle K
Is a famous and long-standing brand in the US with more than 16,000 stores worldwide. In Vietnam market, Circle K quickly developed and built a brand with more than 400 stores in big cities such as Hanoi, Ha Long, Ho Chi Minh, Vung Tau, Can Tho, Binh Duong, Hai Phong, Long Xuyen, Bien Hoa and will continue to develop to meet the needs of customers everywhere.
Circle K's revenue in the period from 2020 to 2021 has always remained stable at nearly VND 2700 billion. However, the loss of profit after tax increased by 36%. Specifically, in 2020, the profit recorded a negative of more than VND 180 billion. This profit figure increases to negative VND 205 billion in 2021.
Family Mart
Family Mart is the 3rd largest convenience store chain in Japan, established in 1973. Family Mart convenience stores deal in fast food, dry food, consumer goods, and personal hygiene tools. Since opening its first store in Vietnam in July 2013, Family Mart has now had 150 stores in Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, and Vung Tau. The Ho Chi Minh City area has the largest number of Family Mart stores with 147 stores (data from the Family Mart website).
Family Mart's revenue fluctuates slightly in 3 years from 2020 to 2022. Revenue in 2021 will decrease slightly by 85 billion dongs compared to 2020. By 2022, revenue will increase again to more than VND 1500 billion, up nearly 40% compared to 2021 and 27% compared to 2020. In terms of profit, although the profit is negative, we still see a positive signal. The loss rate decreases year by year from negative VND 55 billion in 2020 to only negative VND 10 billion in 2022.
Ministop
Ministop is a convenience store chain belonging to Japan's AEON Group established in 1980. The first store in Vietnam was launched at the end of 2011. Ministop provides consumers with daily essential products. There is a fast food processing area and a dining area inside the store so that customers can sit back and relax, enjoying the food of the store.
Ministop revenue is stable in 2020 and 2021 at more than VND 1000 billion, then increased by 20% in 2022 to more than VND 1200 billion. Profit recorded negative and decreased year by year. Specifically, in 2020, Ministop recorded a high loss of nearly negative VND 170 billion. However, the loss has decreased significantly in 2022, down more than 80% to negative VND 32 billion.
GS25
GS25 belongs to the Korean GS Retail Group, established in 1990. With the motto "Lifestyle Platform", the brand brings modern living experiences and the best quality to customers. In early 2018, the launch of GS25 in the Vietnam market marked a successful joint venture between GS Retail Korea and Sonkim Group. Following this outstanding development, GS25VN aims to open a system of 2,000 stores nationwide in the future.
Although it was just launched, GS25's revenue increased year by year. In 2022, the revenue reached nearly VDN 1300 billion, an increase of nearly 70% compared to 2021 and nearly 230% compared to 2020. However, profit and loss also recorded an increase from time to time. In 2020, GS25's profit reached negative nearly 120 billion. This figure will increase by 30% in 2021 and 35% in 2022. Specifically, in 2021, its after-tax profit will be negative more than 150 billion, by 2022, profit will increase to negative VND 160 billion.
7-Eleven
Another brand from Texas, USA is 7-Eleven. 7-Eleven was founded in 1927, and now has more than 62,000 stores in 19 countries, making it the largest convenience store chain in the world. 7-Eleven opened its first convenience store in Vietnam in June 2017. Although joining quite late compared to other international chain stores, 7-Eleven convenience stores are enthusiastically received by Vietnamese consumers, promising to be one of the "dominant in Vietnam market" convenience store chains.
7-Eleven's revenue recorded a slight increase year by year, ranging from 400-600 million in 3 years. Specifically, in 2020, the revenue will reach more than 400 billion. By 2022, revenue will reach more than 600 billion dongs, up 26% compared to 2021 and nearly 50% compared to 2020. The brand's profit after tax has not changed much in 3 years, remaining at a negative VND 100 billion.
B'Mart
Entering the retail market in 2013, B's Mart currently has more than 150 stores. B's Mart dominates thanks to its coverage in many different areas. The product portfolio is diversified from food, beverage, stationery, personal items, etc. Besides, this store chain also provides services such as ATMs, phone card top-ups, etc.
In terms of revenue, B'mart recorded a year-on-year decrease in revenue, from VND 440 billion in 2020 to VND 350 billion in 2022. Although revenue decreased, the brand's profit after tax also improved. The negative loss has decreased significantly from negative more than VND 50 billion in 2020 to about negative VND 32-34 billion in the following 2 years.
Coop Smile
Co.opSmile is a trademark of SAIGON CO.OP. This retailer has won the title of Top Retailer in Vietnam for many years in a row with retail brands Co.opmart, Co.opXtra, Co.op Food, Co.opSmile, Cheers,... Launched in 2016 in Binh Thanh, so far the brand has more than 100 stores, mainly in the Ho Chi Minh City area.
Coop Smile has a slight increase in revenue year over year. Revenue in 2022 increased by 15% compared to 2020 and slightly increased by nearly VND 10 billioN compared to 2021, reaching more than VND 370 billion. Brand profits recorded negative levels. However, profit decreased year by year from negative 80 billion dong in 2023 to negative VND 70 billion in 2021 and only negative VND 50 billion in 2022.
Cheers
Cheers was launched from the "handshake" between Saigon Co.op and NTUC Fair Price. Targeting young customers, the products of this store chain are mostly dry, prepackaged, and mostly trending products. A special feature of this chain of stores is that it is integrated with the system of Saigon Co.op. So customers can accumulate points and use Coop cards for Cheers and vice versa. Similar to modern chains, Cheers is open 24/7, for electronic payment, bill payment at the store, Wifi for customers, etc
Since the Pandemic COVID-19, consumers have gradually changed their behavior to buy goods from traditional markets, so the market for convenience stores currently is a potential growth area. Convenience store chains, despite ongoing fluctuations in revenue and profit after tax, display a positive outlook in terms of industry growth and prospects. At the moment, a lot of brands view this market as "a delicious piece of cake." Therefore, if brands are to succeed in this market, they need to have a long-term strategy.
Source: Vietdata's 2023 Vietnam Convenience Store Market Report