RETAIL SPENDING

Viet Nam leapt over India, Russia and China as the most attractive emerging market destination for retail investment in 2008 according to con­sulting firn AT Keamey. "Viet Nam has ended India's 3 year reign as the most attractive emerging mar­ket destination for retail in­vestment, according to the 7^th annual Global Retail Development Index (GRDI)." The firm attributed Viet Nam's leap from fourth in the 2007 GRDI to first place in 2008 to strong gross domes­tic product (GDP) growth, changes to the country's regu­latory structure favouring for­eign investors, and increasing consumer demand for modern retail concepts. While Viet Nam's retail market is valued at USD$20 billion, it is minuscule compared with India's market at around USD$510 billion. However, the absence of compe­tition plus 8% GDP annual growth make it an attractive expansion opportunity for global retailers. "Vietnamese consumers are among the youngest in Asia, with 79 million below the age of 65. They increased their consumer spending by more than 75% be­tween 2000 and 2007. The country is growing in­creasingly urbanised and con­centrated with more than 1 million people a year migrat­ing into HCM City and Ha Noi. Now is the perfect time to get involved. It won't be easy and you'll be a pioneer, but now is the moment. Currently the top 5 organised retailers in the country, in­cluding Sai Gon Co-op, G7 and Casino, have less than 3% of the market." The study is based on a set of 25 variables, including economic and political risk, retail market attractiveness, retail saturation levels, and differences between GDP growth and retail growth.

A World Bank report on the spending habits of Vietnamese people showed that the wealthiest 20% of the population accounted for 43.3% of total spending, whereas the poorest 20% accounted for only 7.2%, and the Central Institute for Economic Management added that only 10% of products imported in 2007 and first 4 months of 2008 were bound for the consumer market but most of them were considered luxury goods. According to Taylor Nelson Soffres (TNS) Fast Food Lifestyle Survey 2007 covering HCMC and Hanoi:-

Ø     6 out of 10 urban consumers eat out daily

Ø     39% have visited west­ern-type branded fast food franchise in the past 6 months

Ø     30% have visited local­type branded fast food franchise

Ø     the majority of urban con­sumers, 80-82%, have fre­quented unbranded local fast food outlets and hawker stalls as part of their daily meal routine.