Foreign retailers marching towards Vietnam Though Vietnam has been excluded from the list of the 30 fastest growing retail markets, it remains very attractive in the eyes of foreign retailers. The big French retailer – Auchan, has shown its determination to return to the Vietnamese market, which it missed many years ago.  Philippe Longuet, Managing Director of Auchan Group has had a working session with Vice Minister of Planning and Investment -- Dang Huy Dong, to learn about the Vietnamese policies applied to the foreign investors who do business in the domestic market. The distributor plans to invest $500 million in the next 10 years to develop its distribution network in Vietnam. The group would provide goods in 15 countries all over the world and would also collect goods in the countries to distribute in other countries. If Auchan really makes its presence in Vietnam as planned, this would be the second French retailer in Vietnam, together with Casino Group with its brand Big C. Casino has been very successful in Vietnam with the network of 22 supermarkets and hypermarkets located in many cities and provinces nationwide. Dau tu has reported that Co-op Xtra, the first hypermarket to be managed by the joint venture between Singaporean NTUC FairPrice and Vietnamese Saigon Co-op would be opened on May 17 in Thu Duc district in HCM City. The details about the hypermarket have not been revealed, but the representative of Saigon Co-op said this would be the biggest ever hypermarket of the Saigon Co-op system. It would distribute goods through the large network of Saigon Co-op. After a long period of preparation, E-Mart Co, a big South Korean retail group has begun seeking goods sources to collect to sell at its supermarket chain. The retailer once stated that the first branch would be opened in 2013, while 17 supermarkets would be put into operation by 2017. Japanese Aeon, though having no shopping mall or supermarket becoming operational so far, still has shown the determination to expand its business in Vietnam when announcing the third project in Vietnam – a big shopping mall in Hanoi. The first and the second projects are under construction in HCM City and Binh Duong province. Analysts believe that Aeon, with many experiences in developing shopping malls in many different markets, would be a redoubtable rival to anyone Though falling out of the list of the 30 most attractive retail markets, Vietnam still has enough room for more foreign retailers to exploit. Despite the economic downturn, the retail market still has been witnessing the high and steady growth. A report of the General Statistics Office showed that the total retail turnover of goods and consumer services in 2012 reached VND2,320 trillion, up by 16 percent in comparison with 2011. The figures were VND636.2 trillion and 11.7 percent in the first quarter of 2013 in comparison with the same period of 2012. Dinh Thi My Loan, Secretary General of the Vietnam Retailers’ Association, said the modern retail channel has just accounted for 20 percent of the total retail turnover, which means there are still more great opportunities for retailers. Vietnam strives to increase the proportion to 45 percent by 2020. Loan said that there has been no sign of saturation in the retail market, especially in terms of the retail points. The consumption demand always exists even in the economic difficulties. And the thing retailers need to do is to follow the right track to stimulate the demand. TBKTSG