Thailand’s TCC Holding has unveiled a major plan to buy more Vietnamese farm produce and seafood for sale at supermarkets of Big C Thailand in the coming time.

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The group’s chairman Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi told reporters during his recent visit to Hanoi that TCC will make full use of its store chains of Metro in Vietnam and Big C in Thailand to boost sales of Vietnamese products in Thailand and vice versa.

The enterprise will rename the Metro brand in Vietnam as MM Mega Market and establish a wholesale store chain under the new brand in Thailand. Charoen said TCC will develop the MM Mega Market chain together with the Big C supermarket chain in Thailand.

To turn the plan into reality, TCC will partner with firms in Vietnam to make quality products and ensure sufficient supply for domestic consumption and export. Recently, the group purchased 100 tons of Vietnamese dragon fruit for distribution at Big C supermarkets in Thailand.

TCC is completing procedures to get licenses for shipping Vietnam’s oranges, sweet potatoes, limes, star apples and rice powder to Thailand and other countries. It looks to develop Vietnamese restaurant chains in Thailand alongside the Oishi restaurant chain which is growing fast in that market.

After Charoen’s Vietnam visit, local media including Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper reported that TCC has a merger plan for the Metro Vietnam supermarket chain and Big C Thailand.

Local media cited Charoen as saying that the merger would help TCC gain an edge over other firms not only in Vietnam and Thailand but also in the Southeast Asian region.

Charoen said Vietnam is a potential market as the country has hard-working people and plentiful fresh water resources which are favorable for agricultural development.

In January this year, Metro Group announced it had sold its wholesale firm Metro Cash & Carry Vietnam to Thailand’s TCC Holding rather than Berli Jucker (BJC) as planned last year. TCC  acquired Metro’s wholesale operations in Vietnam, including all 19 wholesale stores and the related real estate portfolio, for 655 million euros.

SGT