Japanese retailer Aeon is taking advantage of expanded free trade in Southeast Asia to grow its private brands in countries like Vietnam.
Leading the private-brand growth is Aeon’s Tan Phu Celadon mall in Ho Chi Minh City, which opened in 2014. Brightly colored Aeon private brand polo shirts with tight fits and large collars, in line with Vietnamese style, sell for about 149,000 dong ($6.40), one-sixth the price of other foreign brands.
Giorno Mimosa, an Aeon-owned store and private label exclusive to Vietnam, handles over 100 goods like clothes, shoes, bags and wallets. Although the store, which debuted in 2016, is built to Japanese standards and advertises Japanese quality, the products are made by local companies. Its sales are expected to grow 50% in the year ending in February.
“We have increased sales 60% by focusing on Vietnamese culture and tastes,” said Yasuo Nishitoghe, general director of Aeon Vietnam. The strategy has yielded several hit products. “They have more items that I want than before, and it is cheaper, too,” said a 25-year-old man who works in a Ho Chi Minh City hotel.
The retailer has opened up four Aeon Mall locations in Vietnam since 2014, with plans for as many as 20. The company opened its second location in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh in June, its largest store in Southeast Asia.
