WinCommerce General Commercial Services JSC, a member of Masan Group has opened the first two franchised WinMart+ stores in Hanoi and Bac Giang. The opening marks an important milestone in Masan Group’s goal to develop 20,000 franchised stores and 10,000 its own outlets to serve 30-50 million consumers by 2025.
WinMart+ is franchised as a multi-utility mini-mall equipped with automatic ordering and inventory control system and professional training for its personnel. WinCommerce will also tailor its portfolio of products to meet local demand, allowing franchisees to enjoy higher returns with ease.
WinCommerce targets both individuals and businesses who have an interest in modern retail and can meet the franchising requirements in terms of premise and capital. Specifically, they must have townhouses or shophouses and must be ready to invest VND1-2 billion ($43,197-$87,834) for the store. The premise needs to be over 100 square metres with a front façade of at least 6 metres in width. Preferred locations would be on main streets and residential buildings.
WinCommerce is Vietnam’s largest modern retailer with 3,000 WinMart/WinMart+ supermarkets and mini-marts across 60 localities. The retailer maintains over 90 per cent of Vietnamese products in its system. The retail chain records 32 million customer visits each month.
The traditional retail channel accounts for over 70 per cent of Vietnam’s retail market. Meanwhile, modern retail only makes up 20 per cent of the market share, which is forecast to increase rapidly in the future. At present, traditional retail is still fragmented with small scale while its standard services are limited. It means consumers are paying more for their daily essential products.
Masan Group has a vision to develop a point-of-life platform that can serve all the essential demand of customers. The group aims to serve 30-50 million customers by 2025 by operating 10,000 of its own stores and 20,000 franchised outlets. With this model, consumers will save 5-10 per cent on their essential demand while manufacturers and farmers will increase their earnings by 5-10 per cent. The franchise partners will also raise profits by 5-10 per cent.
“Our advantage is that thousands of Masan salespeople already have good relations with more than 300,000 brick-and-mortar stores. With a strategy of goods and a large scale, Masan is able to negotiate to buy goods fr om suppliers at a better price. The company also has self-manufactured products, and have a streamlined retail model. WinMart+ franchising is a 'win-win' model wh ere retailers can sell better and shoppers have a better experience," Nguyen Thi Phuong, deputy general director of WinCommerce said.
The first franchised WinMart+ stores are opened with Phuc Long Kiosk and Reddi mobile network. WinCommerce will continue to expand WinMart+ franchise store model with multi-utilities in the coming time.
Source: Vietnam Investment Review