Emart, the South Korean hypermarket retailer, will expand into Laos this year through a master franchise deal with U-Dee, an investment entity owned by LVMC Holdings.
The move follows the company’s announcement earlier this month that it would expand into Cambodia in June.
The agreement includes opening one Emart discount retail outlet and three hard-discount outlets under the brand name No Brand – Emart’s house label – in Laos later this year.
Emart operates three Emart stores in Vietnam, four in Mongolia, and 17 No Brand stores in the Philippines.
The firm intends to open 20 E-Mart locations and 70 No Brand stores in Southeast Asia during the next 10 years.
LVMC Holdings, originally known as Kolao Group, was founded in 1997 by South Korean businessman Oh Se-young. The group debuted its footprint in the retail market with a local hypermarket chain dubbed Kok Mega Mart in Laos last year.