Apr. 27 – In a joint venture with Phu Tai Group, the Tokyo-based convenience store FamilyMart will set up its first store in Vietnam later this year.
FamilyMart’s primary shareholder, the trading house Itochu Corporation, will assist with product development and distribution in the Southeast Asian country with the goal of establishing 300 stores by 2014, according to executive officer Takehiko Kigure.
The company is Japan’s third-largest convenience-store operator and will the be the first major Japanese convenience store chain to enter Vietnam.
“Vietnam’s population is young, and we see potential in its consumer demand,” said FamilyMart spokesman Takashi Shinno during an interview with Reuters. The first outlets will open in Ho Chi Minh City before branching out to major cities like Hanoi and Danang.
Along with its first shop in Vietnam set to open this September, FamilyMart plans to bring its total stores abroad to 7,914 by the beginning of next year.
