Optimistic home appliances retailers plan to expand
Many home appliances retailers are planning to resume their stalled projects to open more stores given the positive market outlook this year.
Tran Tan Hoang Hau, marketing director of Thien Hoa Electronics and Furniture Shopping Center, said the store chain would open a new outlet in mid-May as part of a sales network expansion plan for this year. However, he did not reveal an exact number of new stores.
This project was delayed last year. This long-term investment should be calculated carefully, Hau said.
Tran Dinh Luu Phong, marketing director of De Nhat Phan Khang, another major home appliances retailer, said it would have four more stores on September 2, taking to 17 the total number.
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For Phan Khang, HCMC and neighboring provinces like Tay Ninh, Long An and Dong Nai remain Phan Khang’s key target markets.
However, Phong said, the cost concern has forced the firm to scale down store sizes. The forthcoming stores will cover around 1,200 square meters each, smaller than the current stores and just half the size in the initial plan, Phong noted.
According to appliances retailers, the resumption of those expansion plans results from better-than-expected sales at Tet (Lunar New Year holiday), a continued recovery of the real estate market and an improvement of key macroeconomic indicators.
Another appliances retail chain, Dien May Xanh, is pinning hopes on more market growth this year.
Tran Kinh Doanh, general director of Dien May Xanh, said Dien May Xanh still sees HCMC and Hanoi as key markets while 12 other cities and provinces where Dien May Xanh is not yet present are still on its radar.
The company looks to have at least 15 stores in Hanoi and expand the HCMC store network to the city’s outlying areas, Doanh said. It has 15 stores in HCMC at the moment.
