JavaScript is off. Please enable to view full site.

Saigon Co.op takes over Auchan’s business in Vietnam

Saigon Co.op takes over Auchan’s business in Vietnam

Friday, June 28, 2019, 13:00 GMT+7
Saigon Co.op takes over Auchan’s business in Vietnam
Saigon Co.op’s chairman Diep Dung (left) exchanges a signed cooperation agreement with Auchan Vietnam’s representative Philippe Henri Florent Courbois on June 27, 2019. Photo: N. Binh / Tuoi Tre

Vietnamese retailer Saigon Co.op and Auchan Vietnam made a late-night announcement on Thursday, declaring an agreement on the hand-over and take-over of the latter’s business in the Southeast Asian country.

Roughly 40 days after its May 15 announcement of plans to exit Vietnam, France’s Auchan has found a partner who will take over its 18 brick-and-mortar stores and online activities – Saigon Co.op, the country’s biggest supermarket chain operator.

The agreement, which was reached after quick negotiation and discussion, marks the first time a Vietnamese supermarket chain has taken over a foreign retailer.

According to the agreement, Saigon Co.op will transform the 15 Auchan stores that have already closed in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and the southern province of Tay Ninh into its own brands - Co.opmart, Finelife, and Co.opXtra.

The three remaining Auchan locations in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 7 and Tan Binh District will remain operational under the French brand until the 2020 Lunar New Year, which will begin next January.

Saigon Co.op’s deputy general director Nguyen Anh Duc emphasized that the agreement is not a merger or acquisition, but merely a cooperation agreement.

This means the Vietnamese company may consider closing some outlets among the 18 stores it takes from Auchan Vietnam.

Saigon Co.op will also look after Auchan’s e-commerce and online sectors.

The agreement took effect immediately after Thursday’s signing ceremony, according to Sai Gon Giai Phong (Liberated Saigon) newspaper.

The two sides are committed to keeping the value of the deal undisclosed.

France-based Auchan Retail made its plans to sell the loss-making business in Vietnam public on May 15.

An Auchan Vietnam representative confirmed the exit plan to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper two days later, adding that low profits were the motivating factor behind the decision.

 Auchan’s 18 outlets in Vietnam reportedly generated revenues of 45 million euros (US$50.4 million), using 1,000 employees to service the 10 billion purchases made at its outlets.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

Tuoi Tre News

More

Read more

;

Photos

VIDEOS

‘Taste of Australia’ gala dinner held in Ho Chi Minh City after 2-year hiatus

Taste of Australia Gala Reception has returned to the Park Hyatt Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City's District 1 after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Vietnamese woman gives unconditional love to hundreds of adopted children

Despite her own immense hardship, she has taken in and cared for hundreds of orphans over the past three decades.

Vietnam’s Mekong Delta celebrates spring with ‘hat boi’ performances

The art form is so popular that it attracts people from all ages in the Mekong Delta

Vietnamese youngster travels back in time with clay miniatures

Each work is a scene caught by Dung and kept in his memories through his journeys across Vietnam

Latest news