Prior to that, Vietnamese enterprises complained they had to stop displaying products at Big C because of the required high discount rates. Vietnamese enterprises were vulnerable in the stiff competition with foreign rivals. 

Hard times

The Gioi Di Dong’s representative said in mass media that the withdrawal of its 22 shops from Big C is a move under the agreement between the two sides.

He stressed that the ‘shops in shop’ bring 0.3 percent of total revenue only, and the withdrawal won’t affect The Gioi Di Dong’s business results.

The Gioi Di Dong still maintains the ‘shop-in-shop’ business model with stalls at Aeon Tan Phu.

Cdiscount.vn also said the website closure plan was implemented under an agreement signed between the two sides.

However, while the businesses said it was normal to ‘say goodbye’ to Big C Vietnam, analysts don’t think so. It is not by chance that hard times came to Vietnam’s products after Big C changed hands. 

The Gioi Di Dong, the largest mobile phone distribution chain, shut down its 22 shops at Big C Vietnam after the retailer fell into Thai hands. Cdiscount, an e-commerce website, will stop operation from December 31.

“It is highly possible that Big C’s Thai owner dislodged The Gioi Di Dong from its chain to pave way for Thai products to get in,” a Vietnamese businessman said.

Truong Van Quy, director of EQVN Marketing School, pointed out that The Gioi Di Dong is the direct rival of Nguyen Kim, a home appliance distributor.

Meanwhile, 49 percent of Nguyen Kim’s stake is held by Central Group. This means that both Big C and Nguyen Kim belong to one owner – Central Group.

Dien May Xanh, a brand of The Gioi Di Dong for its home appliance distribution, has been developing well recently. Therefore, it is understandable that the Thai owner has to reserve good retail premises for Nguyen Kim and Thai products instead of The Gioi Di Dong, a rival.

Bigger difficulties ahead

Not only electronics, home appliances and mobile phones, but Vietnamese consumer goods must compete with products from Thailand.

“Bigger difficulties are still ahead,” a branding expert warned. “Thailand decided that Vietnam is a key market for them to conquer. More and more Vietnamese products will be kicked out of supermarkets." 

According to the expert, Vietnamese businesses don’t have strong competitive edges except understanding about local customers. Therefore, they are fragile in the competition with Thai products.

Meanwhile, Thai businesses have denied that they want to dislodge Vietnam products from supermarkets and replace them with Thai goods.

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