Masan relentlessly executes the vision: All Masan’s products in each and every Vietnam household; at least one Masan’s product in each and every household globally

HCMC, 25 Apr 2024 – Today, Masan Group Corporation (HOSE: MSN, “Masan” or the “Company”) and two of its key publicly listed subsidiaries (Masan Consumer (HNX-UPCoM: MCH) and Masan MEATLife (HNX-UPCoM: MML) jointly held their 2024 Annual General Meeting (“AGM”) in HCMC under a shared theme of “Consumer of Things”.

Event Highlight:

The jointly held AGMs not only covered the standard agenda as per regulatory requirements but also gave stakeholders of each of the listed companies an opportunity to fully appreciate the milestones and progress of Consumer Platform of Masan Group and WinCommerce (“WCM”) and the Company’s blueprints to unlock value for shareholders. 

The keynote presentations of the event were delivered by Mr. Danny Le, CEO of Masan Group, Mr. Truong Cong Thang, CEO of Masan Consumer Holdings (“MCH”) accompanied by Ms. Dinh Hong Van, Senior Marketing Director - Seasoning Category and Ms. Nguyen Truong Kim Phuong, Senior Marketing Director – Convenience Foods Category, and Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong, CEO of WinCommerce (“WCM”). 

Mr. Danny Le’s this year message, "Relentless Execution of Our Vision," underscores Masan’s commitments to operational excellence and the persistent focus on profitable growth since the alpha-bet on the modern retail network in 2019, which initiated Masan’s journey in building the consumer – tech platform, The CrownX (“TCX”).

Mr. Danny added: ”We have a clear gameplan to unlock shareholder value for Masan Consumer in the short term and WinCommerce in the medium term. As a group, we are focused on growth but profitably in the next 18 – 24 months.”

He pointed out the strategic blueprint for MSN’s shareholder value creation and the milestones that the Company achieved in 2023:

In 2023, Masan maintained its focus on the above growth engines and key capabilities and reached several milestones despite a challenging macro environment:

• Network growth – The physical infrastructure to reach 100 million consumers, offline still accounts for 90%+ of consumption: 

• Since 2021, after the restructuring process of the store network of WinCommerce (“WCM”), Masan has been expanding the number of minimarts again

• In terms of minimart’s performances, WCM expects to achieve over 4,000 outlets in total, 1% EBIT margin, and 90% of minimarts reaching store EBITDA breakeven in 2024. 

• Throughout this journey, innovations have been the key in piloting new store formats of WIN and WinMart+ Rural, which expand the addressable market of Masan’s network and enhance LFL growth as well as profitability. 

• Wallet share growth – Wallet Share Growth means expanding the addressable markets of “power brands”: 

• Masan prided itself with the ability to build a strong portfolio of power brands that consumers love: Chin-su, Omachi, Kokomi, WakeUp 247, Heo Cao Boi, and Chante. These brands not only delivered exceptional historical growth but also can expand their domestic addressable market by 2 – 20X by redefining the brand’s product scope. 

• Masan’s brands will represent Vietnam’s culinary culture globally with the vision of: “ALL MASAN’S PRODUCTS IN EACH AND EVERY VIETNAM HOUSEHOLD; AT LEAST ONE MASAN’S PRODUCT IN EACH AND EVERY HOUSEHOLD GLOBALLY”. The addressable markets for global consumption of Seasonings and Conveniene Foods is expected to be $380 billion¹.

• Member growth – Connecting brands, retailers, and consumers: 

• Launched nationwide in 2023, WIN Membership is poised to become Vietnam's largest membership program with the registered member reaching 8.5 million in 1Q2024 and expected to be 30 million by 2025 by integrating brands and general trade (“GT”) distribution. 

• Starting with brand partnership, WIN Membership will become the foundation for Masan’s personalized marketing platform and advance Point-of-Life strategy by developing co-credit scoring initiative with Techcombank.  

• WCM expects to increase the number of monthly active users, potentially uplifting revenue by $1 billion. 

• Logistics and AI/Technology – Digitalizing and working smarter is the key:

• Masan continues to digitalize by implementing its ERP system, automating the entire business value chain, and applying AI and machine learning. Early results include improvements in inventory availability, reduction in inventory day, higher forecast accuracy, and improvement in logistics costs for pilot WCM stores. 

• Masan has all the pieces to modernize general trade by launching WIN+ model: a portfolio of power brands, nationwide distribution networks, direct connection with consumers via WIN Membership, powered by owned logistics system and AI/technology capabilities.

Masan has a clear blueprint for strategic value creation via a staged approach to unlock TCX, starting with MCH in 2025 followed by WCM in 2027 – 2028.

At the event, Mr. Truong Cong Thang, CEO of Masan Consumer Holdings (“MCH") provided Masan Consumer’s strategic framework centered around the vision to deliver “ALL MASAN’S PRODUCTS IN EACH AND EVERY VIETNAM HOUSEHOLD; AT LEAST ONE MASAN’S PRODUCT IN EACH AND EVERY HOUSEHOLD GLOBALLY”: 

• MCH has successfully created 05 brands with annual revenue between US$150 - US$250 million: Kokomi, Omachi, Chin-su, Nam Ngu, and Wakeup (247), contributing ~80% of total revenue growth. The successful development of these brands was the result of the decades-long consistent strategy to follow the consumer journey to launch innovations that address the big unmet needs inside their homes. Masan Consumer has been growing at 2.2X overall market’s pace² between 2017 and 2023. 

• MCH targets to further expand its addressable market by entering out-of-home market, providing premium products in home-meal-replacement (“HMR”) and restaurant-meal-replacement (“RMR”) to consumers. Mr. Thang believes that this is just the beginning in Masan Consumer’s journey to win Vietnam’s FMCG market. 

• Masan Consumer’s strategic intents include creating 6 billion-dollar brands, implementing “Go Global” strategy, and becoming the leading Southeast Asian company in revenue and profit growth, empowered by its new FMCG model. 

• Billion-dollar brand: The formula to create billion-dollar brands are product premiumization, product scope expansion for each brand, and expand addressable market from 100 millon consumers in Vietnam to 8 billion people globally. 

• “Go Global”: Masan Consumer targets to generate 10 – 20% revenue from global market, bringing Vietnamese brands to the world. 

• The new FMCG model: Masan Consumer will implement the Consumer Innovation Center to accelerate product launching process. Furthermore, Masan Consumer will employ excellent retailing, allowing products to be distributed across GT, MT, and e-Commerce while retaining consumer data and insights via WIN Membership.

• Ms. Nguyen Truong Kim Phuong shared the roadmap for Omachi to become billions-dollar brand by premiumizing the brand and expanding into restaurant-meal-replacement (“RMR”) market 

• Omachi has premiumized the instant noodles experience from being a “hardship moment” food to a delicious, nutritious, and self indulgent meal (RMR and HMR) supporting premium pricing for its products. Between 2017 and 2023, Omachi doubled the number of servings to 544 million per year, demonstrating exceptional appeal to consumers for premium experience. Omachi brand expects to double both the number of servings and value per serving. 

• The brand targets to expand the addressable market³ from $1 bilion in instant noodles $17 billion in RMR with the launch of Omachi Self-heated Hotpot and Omachi Self-cooked Rice. 

• Ms. Van provided the blueprint for Chin-su to become a billion-dollar brand by premiumizing the brand, expanding the scope of the product portfolio, and executing “Go Global” strategy

• Premiumization: Serving over 30 million cups⁴ of fish sauce per day, Masan Consumer serves over 65%⁵ fish sauce consumption of Vietnam. Since 2007, Chin-su continues to premiumize fish sauce by enhancing the taste and packaging and creating more value-added products. 

• Scope expansion: Chin-su started out as a single line of soy sauce in 2002 to a high-end and comprehensive seasoning portfolio in 2024 to a set of innovative Cooking Solutions and Home Meal Replacement (“HMR”). 

• “Go Global”: Chin-su Go Global brings Vietnam cuisines to the world, targeting 8 billion global consumers. In 2023, Chin-su secured top 1 position on Coupang, top 10 position on Amazon, and expanded into the distribution into developed markets. Seasonings export to the United States and South Korea grew by ~150% YoY and ~125% YoY, respectively, in 2023. 

• Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong, CEO of WinCommerce presented the achievements from WCM’s restructuring phase and announced the target to achieve positive NPAT in 1Q2025:

• Transformation was achieved – restructuring wraps up in 2023: 

• WCM successfully completed its restructuring phase in 2023, leading to significant improvements in its financial performance, with revenue increasing to VND7.9 trillion by 1Q2024 which marks a 9% growth compared to the same period last year. Moreover, WCM achieved positive grocery EBIT⁶ for three consecutive quarters during 1Q2024 and recorded 2,205 stores with positive EBIT. 

• The successful turnaround was the result of significantly improved commercial margins by 10% of WCM while pricing remained competitive. Furthermore, in 2023, WCM completed and rolled out winning formats for urban and rural consumers with successful store format renovation that serves diverse consumer segments from mass to mass affluents.  

• Supra, Masan’s in-house logistics arm, has taken over logistics for WinCommerce in FY2023, with 8 ambient and 8 fresh distribution centers. This shift has resulted in a substantial increase in the volume handled through these distribution centers, reaching 60%, up from under 30% while achieving a reduction in unit costs by 11%. 

• In 1Q2024, WCM saw a notable milestone for the WIN Membership program by attracting over 8.5 million members and facilitating the opening of 1 million new Techcombank accounts. WCM's customer acquisition cost remains zero, with member basket value doubling that of non-members. On average, members shop 4 times per month, underscoring the program's success in driving customer engagement and loyalty.

• Keep Going! Ready to grow with sustainable profitability in 2024

• WCM remains committed to serve underdeveloped modern retail channels and untapped rural market, maintaining leadership position in store network and targeting more than 4,000 stores by the end of 2024.

• WCM improves supply chain efficiency through end-to-end transformation and machine-learning-driven demand forecasting, aiming to optimize inventory availability, demand forecasting, and inventory day. 

• Smart pricing strategy is required to remain competitive in terms of price image while maintaining adequate margins. 

• Aligned with Masan Group’s strategy, WCM will continue to invest in WIN Membership while digitizing operations and rolling WIN+ to modernize GT. 

• WCM has the pieces in place to win Vietnam and targets to achieve positive NPAT in 2025. 

Commentary on 2024 Budget

For the 2024 financial budget proposed to shareholders, Masan expects the consolidated net revenue to be between VND84,000 billion and VND90,000 billion. This represents a growth of 7% to 15% YoY, respectively, accounting for various scenarios in macro conditions. The core consumer businesses are still expected to be the key driver for revenue growth while WIN Membership will continuously focus on adding value for Masan’s businesses and partners. The projected Core NPAT Pre-MI is expected to be between VND2,250 billion and VND4,020 billion, reflecting a strong growth rate compared to VND1,950 billion in FY2023.

• The Crown X (“TCX”): expects to deliver net revenue within the range of VND63,000 billion to VND68,000 billion in FY2024, up 9% to 18% compared to FY2023. 

• WinCommerce (“WCM”) is expected to achieve net revenue ranging between VND32,500 billion and VND34,000 billion in FY2024, marking a year-over-year increase of 8% to 13%. This growth trajectory is primarily propelled by accelerated Like-for-Like (LFL) growth, the ramp-up of new stores, and the addition of fresh store locations. In the base-case scenario with projected revenue at VND32,500 billion, reflecting a slower market recovery pace, LFL growth is conservatively estimated to range from 0% to 5%, alongside the addition of 400 new minimarts. Conversely, in the high-case scenario, assuming a resurgence in consumer sentiment by early 2024, LFL growth is forecasted to range between 9% and 13%, accompanied by the opening of 700 new minimarts. The anticipated growth in WIN membership is expected to not only boost member spending but also generate revenue through advertising and consumer insight solutions tailored for brands. 

• Masan Consumer Holdings (“MCH”), the subsidiary encompassing Masan Consumer and Masan Brewery, expected net revenue to range between VND32,500 billion and VND36,000 billion in FY2024. This growth is primarily propelled by Convenience Foods, Beverages, and Home Personal Care segments. In addition to its core business lines, MCH is actively developing an innovation pipeline to shape the future of its FMCG portfolio. Management foresees potential upside to the current 2024 forecast, contingent upon the successful scale-up of its 2023 innovations and the adoption of its 2024 innovation pipeline by consumers.  

• Phuc Long Heritage (“PLH”) is expected to achieve net revenue between VND1,790 billion and VND2,170 billion in the upcoming year, representing a substantial growth of 17% to 41% YoY. PLH plans to expand its footprint by opening 30-60 new stores outside of WinCommerce, focusing particularly on Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Moreover, Phuc Long will continue to integrate loyalty programs into Masan's WIN Membership, giving its member more benefits when frequenting Phuc Long, thereby driving additional revenue. Phuc Long aims to enhance sales productivity through localized store marketing, national promotions, membership incentives, and other seasonal offerings. These initiatives are strategically designed to attract a new, younger customer base and contribute to the overall growth and success of Phuc Long Heritage.

• Masan MEATLife (“MML”) projects to deliver net revenue between VND7,100 billion and VND7,800 billion in the upcoming year, reflecting a growth of 2% to 12% YoY. This growth is primarily driven by a strong focus on expanding the processed meat business, although there will be a partial offset due to scaling down the farm chicken segment. Particularly, the expected growth in revenues from branded pork and processed meat, projected to increase by 15% to 28% and 12% to 33% YoY, respectively. MML's strategic initiatives include positioning Ponnie as the premium pasteurized sausages brand and implementing measures to boost daily sales in WinCommerce to 2.5 million per day. This includes creating dedicated meat destinations within WinCommerce, implementing targeted and digital marketing strategies for WIN members, and establishing an auto-replenishment system. These efforts are aimed at enhancing MML's market presence and driving revenue growth in the processed meat segment.

• Masan High-tech Materials (“MHT”) is expected to deliver net revenue of VND15,000 billion to VND15,800 billion, an increase of 6% to 12% YoY. MHT's key initiatives include resuming normal blasting services in 1Q2024. The focus remains on executing cost optimization activities, particularly in operations and procurement, and exploring strategic alternatives for deleveraging.