VietNamNet Bridge – Expanding retail networks in key markets, developing the labor force and upgrading services, and cooperating with big brands are considered the three things that decide the success of enterprises in the high-tech product retail market.

A big cheese in the high-technology product retail market – Nguyen Kim – has opened five new shopping malls at the same time. All the malls are located on advantageous positions in the cities of Da Nang, Vung Tau and Dong Nai, each of which covers an area of 2600-4000 square metres. In HCM City alone, Nguyen Kim has opened two new shopping centers.

The retailer has revealed an ambitious plan to open 12 new shopping centers in Hanoi, HCM City, Dak Lak, Khanh Hoa, An Giang, Kien Giang, Can Tho and Tien Giang, raising the total number of shopping malls to 30 by the end of 2012.

By the end of 2010, The Gioi Di Dong, the retailer of digital products, had had 100 supermarkets nationwide. Meanwhile, the figure has risen to 190. These do not include the 10 supermarkets opened by Dienmay.com, a subsidiary of The Gioi Di Dong, in 2011 alone.

Meanwhile, just in the two last months of 2011, Vien Thong A, a distributor of high-tech products, opened 10 new retail points, raising the total number of retail points of its network to 80.

Big retailers have been gearing up to expand their networks now, believing that “early birds can catch worms”. Besides, they have also paid a special attention to develop the labor force.

Phan Linh Phuong, a senior executive of Saigon-Nguyen Kim supermarket chain, said that the retail chain is trying to build the labor force that can well undertake the work of taking care for customers. The labor force would decide the success of the retail chain, because if customers satisfy with the services, they would bring new customers.

In order to obtain bigger market shares, big retailers now tend to join hands with enterprises in relating fields. Nguyen Kim, for example, has joined hands with big manufacturers, while Vien Thong A and The Gioi Di Dong have been cooperating with foreign big guys in the fields of technology.

Especially, high-technology product retailers have also been joining hands with the retailers of other market segments for mutual benefit. The Gioi Di Dong, for example, has inked a cooperation program with Metro, under which, The Gioi Di Dong sells its products at Metro’s chain, which both help popularize The Gioi Di Dong’s brand, and boost sales.

FTA, a market survey firm has released a report on the market tendency for 2012, pointing out that under the pressure of the high inflation, people’s spending on home appliances is expected to decrease. Similarly, a Nielsen’s survey has also said that 81 percent of consumers in HCM City and Hanoi have been cutting down expenses.

However, the surveys have also pointed out that despite the economic difficulties, the demand for electronics and digital products in Vietnam remains relatively high. Especially, people tend to go shopping at big trade centers instead of small shops, because they believe that big centers can provide genuine products with high quality.

In related news, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has decided to increase the market share of the modern distribution channel to 40 percent by 2020. There are now 8500 traditional markets, 615 supermarkets and 102 supermarkets and convenience stores, of which traditional markets still account for 80 percent of the distribution market share.

C. V