Japanese retailer Aeon plans to triple the number of malls in Vietnam by 2025 as part of its expansion strategy to meet the needs of a growing middle class population.
A report said the number of Aeon malls will nearly triple to 16 throughout Vietnam.
Aeon has some 200 stores in Vietnam at present, including six shopping malls.
The stores are concentrated in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, Vietnam’s biggest metropolises.
A mall will be opened in the central town Hue in 2024.
The company is also considering increasing its supermarkets in Hanoi to 100 by 2025, about 10 times the current number.
Vietnam is “the most important market in our overseas strategy,” the report quoted a senior Aeon executive as saying.
The country has a population of 100 million people with an average age of 33. Economic growth of more than 7% is expected this year in a repeat of last year’s performance.
Aeon entered Vietnam in 2014 and has invested over $1.18 billion in the country to date.