A Muji store in Japan (Photo: Reuters)

MUJI is a global brand of retail stores, selling a wide range of products with reasonable prices such as household items, furniture, and cosmetics.

With the third-largest population among ASEAN countries and strong economic growth, Vietnam has become a key market in the Southeast Asian region.

This is part of the reasoning behind the Japanese retail company’s selection of Vietnam as its next destination to expand business operations.

Many Japanese brands are already present in the Vietnamese retail market, such as AEON, Takashimaya, 7-Eleven, and now Sumitomo with FujiMart.

AEON was the first to enter the country. AEON Group has four shopping malls in Hanoi, Binh Duong, and Ho Chi Minh City. It plans to build a new mall in Hanoi and another in Hai Phong in the near future, working towards a total of 20 malls across the country by 2020.

Japanese retailer Takashimaya decided to conquer the Vietnamese market by setting up its first shopping mall in Ho Chi Minh City with the capital of over 25 million USD.

In July 2017, the first 7-Eleven store was launched in Ho Chi Minh City via Seven System Vietnam (SSV) as the master franchisee of the 7-Eleven convenience store system in Vietnam, making Vietnam the 19th country to host the world’s largest convenience store chain.

VNF ( VNA )