Foreign retail businesses are adopting a multi-channel sales strategy as well as improved operations and delivery services to expand Vietnam operations despite pandemic impacts.

The income of the owners of villas and street-front houses has dropped dramatically over the last year because of low demand. Many owners have been told to pay tax if their revenue is over VND100 million a year.

Many shops hit hard by Covid-19 have had to close, but some foreign retailers have taken advantage of the opportunity to scale up their business in Vietnam.

The export of Vietnamese goods via the distribution networks of foreign retailers has proven to be an effective and sustainable channel, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai told a recent conference in Hanoi.

Foreign retailers set to make a debut in Vietnam may find themselves in a harsh competitive landscape after the global health crisis.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has sent the Government a draft decree amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree 83/2014 on petrol and oil trading, proposing allowing foreign investors to enter the country’s fuel retail market.

The market needs more cooperation among Vietnamese retailers amid the massive influx of foreign retailers, experts say.

Foreign retail groups undoubtedly are a powerful influence in the domestic market. However, Vietnamese retailers are vowing to ‘play big’ to gain the upper hand in the home market.

Mobile vending vans that sell food early in the morning and groceries that provide vegetables and fruits have joined the retail market and become rivals of convenience stores.

Rice, one of the seven goods categories foreign retailers are not allowed to distribute without permission in Vietnam, is still on the shelves of Lotte Mart and MM Mega Market.

Capital withdrawals of foreign retailers in Vietnam have fielded a number of queries on whether the firms had sustained losses or if the local business climate lacked enough incentives.