Japanese retailers have devised a detailed plan, with active support from their Government, to tap the huge potential of the Vietnamese market.

Japanese enterprises have performed market research and then taken moves to attract more local consumers to their products, according to Takimoto Koji, Chief Representative of the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) in Vietnam. 

Numerous Japanese brands have entered Vietnam. Japanese enterprises have also bought several local names, such as FamilyMart, MiniCop, 7-Eleven and City Mart. 

According to JETRO, there are nearly 200 Japanese convenience stores across Vietnam. The figure is expected to increase because numerous Japanese brands plan to expand in the country. 

Ministop plans to double their current number of shops next year and FamilyMart plans to make a similar move, according to its marketing manager Yamanouchi Hirohisa. 

JETRO launched the “Japan Fair” to sell 78 products at Japanese convenience shops in Vienam. 73 of the products are food, and most of them are being sold in Vietnam for the first time. 

They will be sold at 124 FamilyMart shops, 71 Ministop stores and four AEON centres across the nation by the end of November. 

Vietnam’s market is developing, so it is open to new products, according to Koji. 

The programme will mark the official import of Japanese food to Vietnam, he said, adding that after a one-month pilot, the products which were well-received will continue be sold in Vietnam. 

Recently, the Japan Cosmetics Industry Association and the Ho Chi Minh City Chemical Cosmetics Association held an event to promote six Japanese cosmetics brands in Vietnam. 

According to Nguyen Thi Thanh Thao, Vice President of the HCM City Chemical Cosmetics Association, the event allowed Japanese enterprises to connect with local distributors to enter Vietnam’s market. 

Analysts said not only Japanese retailers but many from such countries as the Republic of Korea and Thailand are ready to enter the Vietnamese market. 

The retail market is forecast to grow at nearly 12 percent a year to around 179 billion USD in 2020. The country has a population of over 90 million, 60 percent of whom are under 40. 

Foreign retailers now have a 59 percent share of the Vietnamese retail market.-VNA