According to the contract, Auchan will transfer all its business in Vietnam, including 15 closed stores and three operating stores in District 7 and District 1 and its entire ecommerce retail system to the Saigon Co.op.
Mr. Nguyen Anh Duc, deputy CEO of Saigon Co.op, said that this is not a buy-out but a cooperation agreement. Accordingly, the Auchan Group will let Saigon Co.op take over all its retail and e-commerce business in Vietnam. Right after the contract is signed, his companies will receive Auchan’s 18 stores.
As for Auchan’s 15 supermarkets in HCMC, Hanoi and Tay Ninh that were closed, Saigon Co.op will renovate and put into operation under Saigon Co.op brands, including Co.opmart, Finelife and Co.opXtra. As for the three supermarkets that are still in operation, Saigon Co.op pledged that it will maintain their operation under the Auchan brand name until after the lunar New Year.
Therefore, with this handover, Auchan will officially retreat from the Vietnamese market. Auchan is also the last European retailer to leave the market which is considered as one of the most potential retail markets in Asia. Earlier, large supermarket chains, such as Metro and Big C, also withdrew from Vietnam’s retail market.
On the other hand, Saigon Co.op became the first Vietnamese retailer to take over a world-class retail brand. Earlier, the French newspaper Les Echos quoted Auchan Retail’s CEO Edgar Bonte that the group had decided to sell its 18 supermarkets in Vietnam as their business in Vietnam only got revenue of 45 million euros (US$50.4 million) last year and was still suffering losses.
