(Photo: Ngoc Lan)
While various food and beverage (F&B) chains continued to outperform and expand in the local market, supermarkets saw a great deal of consolidation, with the exit of French supermarket chain Auchan, who sold its portfolio to the locally-owned Saigon Co.op, according to CBRE’s quarterly retail report released on July 9.
The report noted that the market has experienced positive consumer sentiment, with the Consumer Confidence Index peaking at 129 after reaching a similar level in the third quarter of 2018. More importantly, the rising effects of e-commerce and millennials’ changing shopping habits are expected to reshape the future of retail in general and the local market in particular.
New shopping malls must have a modern design and focus on the customer experience while bringing technology into delivery services and online platforms. The active convergence of online and offline retail strategies is forecast to strengthen in the near future to boost retail sales and at the same time attract potential consumers.
In Hanoi’s retail market, the first half of 2019 ended with four new retail projects in emerging locations in the non-CBD area. Total retail supply increased by approximately 65,700 sq m to just over 930,000 sq m. Two new projects - Vincom Plaza Skylake and Vincom Center Tran Duy Hung - are located in the major retail cluster of Hanoi - Midtown and the West, accounting for just over 60 per cent of total supply in the market.
Remaining new projects - Sun Plaza Ancora and Sun Plaza Thuy Khue - added around 29,900 sq m NLA to the North and the South. Looking into the second half of 2019, two new retail projects are expected to come online with a total scale of 80,800 sq m, including Aeon Mall Ha Dong and FLC Twin Towers, reaffirming the leading position of Midtown and the West as a major retail cluster.
Meanwhile, in the second quarter, Ho Chi Minh City’s retail market welcomed one new project (TNL Plaza in District 4) and one expansion (Aeon Celadon City in Tan Phu district), adding a total of 47,179 sq m of new supply to the market. Total accumulated supply is 1 million sq m from 58 projects, the highest in Vietnam, followed by Hanoi with 930,000 sq m.
As of the second quarter of 2019, TNL Plaza had already welcomed Starbucks, Wayne’s Coffee, Jmart, and DNP Game zone, together with several local F&B brands. In the next two months, the podium is expected to include Familymart, California Fitness, and Lotte Cinema in its tenant mix. Following the success of Aeon Celadon City over the last five years (with an occupancy rate always higher than 95 per cent), the developer increased its NLA by 36,000 sq m. The shopping center has added quite a few new brands to its tenant mix, some of which are first-timers in Vietnam’s retail market.
