By Sohn Ji-Young,

E-Mart  said Monday it has opened its first outlet in Vietnam,with aims to expand its presence across the Southeast Asian region in the years to come. The discount store chain operated by Korea’s retail giant Shinsegae will competing with Lotte Mart, which has been operating 11 stores inVietnam since 2011. The new E-Mart  store- two stories tall and about 30,000 square meters wide-is located in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City at Go Vap district, one of the most developed and densely populated areas in the capital city. The Go Vap branch marks E-Mart ‘s first overseas store since the brand redirected its focus to the Southeast Asian market in 2011 amid sluggish performance of its Chinese operations. The firm has set its sights on using the new store as a foothold to expand into other regions in Vietnam as well as neighboring countries like Laos, Indonesia, and Myanmar. E-Mart  said it has taken care to localize its services as much as possible to meet the needs and lifestyle of Vietnamese consumers while introducing a number of new services and facilities unfamiliar to locals. For one, 95 percentof some 300 Store employess, including the store head, are vietnamese. in line with the high motorcycle ownership (80 percent) in the country, the parking lot has been designed to accommodate 1.500 motorcycles and 150 cars. In terms of its product line up, E-Mart is featuring Korean goods that are popular among Vietnamese tourist to Korea as well as imported items sourced directly by the store operator. Popular Korean eateries such as Kimbap and Tongdak, grilled chicken, as well as fresh baked goods catered to Vietnamese tastes will be freshly made and sold inside the store as well . The venue also includes a number of new dining and entertainment fasilities scarce in the country, a sports club for children as well as and English club. At the same time, E mart plans to implement its flagship customer services system, including imediate refund and exchange policies and compensation for miscalculations at the cashier. “By offering items, services and facilities popular among the Vietnamese E-Mart ‘s Go Vap branch will seek to sweep the Vietnamese retail market, ” said general director of E-Mart  Vietnam Choi kwang-ho. (jys@heralcorp.com)

Source : The Korea Herald Newspaper; 2015, 12, 29