AEON shopping center in Binh Tan district, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo courtesy of AEON.
Japanese retailer Aeon has launched a new brand in Vietnam, focusing on inexpensive everyday clothing, in response to brands like H&M or Uniqlo.
The new range, called My Closet, includes around 400 items that cost 50-75% of those of its competitors, targeting women aged 16-24, a consumer group that is growing rapidly in population and spending.
His T-shirt, for example, costs around 150,000 VND ($6). That of other Western or Japanese brands is usually priced at 200,000 to 300,000 VND.
“Our goal is to make this Aeon’s first foray into fast fashion,” said Aeon Vietnam General Manager Yasuyuki Furusawa. Nikkei Asia.
Vietnam is emerging as Aeon’s “most important market” as it attempts to expand beyond Japan, with the local ability to handle garment production with a workforce cheap and plentiful, which can minimize the risk of supply shortages and reduce costs.
He also plans to sell these items on Vietnamese e-commerce sites as well as neighboring countries, Nikkei reported.
Aeon entered Vietnam in 2014 and opened around 200 stores in the country, including supermarkets and six shopping malls.
Its rivals, Uniqlo and H&M, entered the market in 2019 and 2017, respectively. They have fewer locations than Aeon, but are growing rapidly thanks to the rising middle class who have more money and are eager to shop.
Vietnam has a population of nearly 100 million – behind only Indonesia and the Philippines in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations – with a young average age of 33. Its economy grew more than 7% a year before the pandemic, and has rebounded back as coronavirus curbs are removed.
