Sojitz’s Retail Business in Vietnam:
Building a Comprehensive Value Chain in a Rapidly Growing Market

Amidst continued economic growth in Vietnam, the country is experiencing a shift towards nuclear family structures, and major changes can be seen in consumer lifestyles. To meet these transforming consumer demands, Sojitz made an investment in a retail wholesaler primarily handling fast-moving consumer goods back in 2008 and went on to complete other investments in Vietnam, including in a convenience store operator, a daily prepared foods manufacturer, a four-temperature cold chain logistics company, and a commercial food wholesale business. This feature provides an in-depth look at Sojitz’s retail value chain in Vietnam that encompasses wholesale, retail, prepared foods production, logistics, and storage.

Foreign investment in Vietnam surged after the introduction of the Doi Moi economic reforms in 1986, and economic growth has continued ever since. With an expanding population of 100.3 million as of 2023, the country is experiencing a shift towards nuclear family structures as economic growth spurs movement from rural to urban areas. Lifestyles and consumer habits have changed significantly compared to the era of multi-generational households. The rising standard of living also impacts the retail sector, leading to new demands for stricter food health and safety standards, as well as emerging interest in new cuisines and dining experiences. In addition, the rise of nuclear families with enhanced purchasing power has also led to a need for convenient food products that minimize prep time in the kitchen.

In light of these shifts, Sojitz chose to invest in Huong Thuy Manufacture Service Trading Corporation in 2008, a retail-facing wholesale company primarily handling fast-moving consumer goods. Huong Thuy mainly supplies products to small-scale family-owned “mom and pop” stores as well as modernized supermarkets and convenience stores. The company has a client base that includes around 110,000 small-scale retail shops—more than 10% of the estimated 1 million locations across Vietnam—and over 20,000 supermarkets and convenience stores. This massive distribution network represents a major strength for Huong Thuy. Sojitz’s involvement in the wholesale business in Vietnam facilitated communication between upstream manufacturers and downstream retailers, allowing for the exchange of retail-related knowledge and expertise throughout the supply chain. As its next step, Sojitz invested in convenience store operator Ministop Vietnam Company Limited in 2015.

Ministop Vietnam retail location, a Sojitz equity interest under its retail wholesale business

Ministop Vietnam has now opened roughly 180 convenience stores primarily in the Ho Chi Minh City area, where it sells temperature-controlled Japanese-style prepared foods, bento box lunches, and hot deli snacks available at the register. Ministop Vietnam is adding new value by providing food options previously not found in Vietnam’s food culture.

When Sojitz first set out to provide new value in response to changing consumer lifestyles in Vietnam, the company encountered some obstacles. At the time, there were no manufacturing plants or storage facilities in the country that were equipped to handle the types of food products Sojitz planned to introduce. The company therefore established a new manufacturing plant in line with Japanese sanitation standards and a temperature-controlled warehouse. Sojitz went on to strengthen its retail value chain across multiple fields, including wholesale, retail, prepared foods production, and logistics.

The first step in this process came in 2016 with Sojitz’s launch of Japan Best Foods Co., Ltd., a company specializing in the production of daily prepared foods such as onigiri and bento box lunches. The “ready-to-eat” (RTE) foods created at the Japan Best Foods plant are produced according to Japanese food safety standards and can be enjoyed without heating or additional preparation.

Production at Japan Best Foods

In the same year, Sojitz also established New Land Vietnam Japan Joint Stock Company (NLVJ) to handle food product storage and distribution. NLVJ possesses an over 11,000 square-meter warehouse and carries out four-temperature (room temperature, fixed temperature, refrigerated, and frozen) storage and transport of food products that the company supplies to customers including Huong Thuy and Ministop Vietnam. In 2022, Sojitz went on to establish New Land Vietnam Japan Long An LLC (NLVJLA), which operates a 33,991 square-meter logistics center that provides storage and distribution services across all four temperature ranges.

NLVJLA’s large-scale freezer warehouse

Sojitz’s next step was the acquisition of DaiTanViet Joint Stock Company in 2023, a commercial food wholesaler with a strong presence in the hotel, restaurant, café, and catering (HORECA) sector. Sojitz aimed to leverage the capabilities it had developed in the retail wholesale business to pursue new expansion into the commercial food wholesale field. This initiative enabled Sojitz to explore new sales channels such as luxury hotels, restaurants, and cafés, and achieve further business expansion.

DaiTanViet heavy freight truck

Sojitz’s success in creating a retail business foundation in Vietnam comes as a result of the company’s long history of contribution to economic development in the nation across a wide range of industries. In 1986, 11 years after the conclusion of the Vietnam War, Sojitz became the first company from a country associated with the Western Bloc to establish a liaison office in Vietnam. Since then, Sojitz has supported the growth of Vietnam's economy and society by building a strong business foundation in fields including forestry, fertilizers, and power generation. The trust Sojitz steadily earned through these efforts laid the groundwork for the retail value chain the company has established today.

Companies considering expansion into the retail field in Vietnam look to Sojitz to provide comprehensive solutions to the variety of issues that arise throughout this process. By leveraging sales data collected from Huong Thuy’s extensive network of retail outlets, Sojitz can track consumer trends and provide both manufacturers and suppliers with real-time insights that are otherwise difficult to obtain. Sojitz can also provide these companies with one-stop access to a wide range of sales channels, including small-scale retailers, supermarkets, and convenience stores, as well as clients in the HORECA sector. The combination of this valuable market data and access to retail channels serves as a major strength for Sojitz in the retail value chain business.

While supermarkets and convenience stores are expected to increase in Vietnam, the number of traditional small-scale retail shops is also predicted to see a slight increase rather than decline. At the same time, many of these family-owned businesses have the potential for more efficient operations, and modernization is a key issue going forward. To address this problem, Sojitz invested in Finviet Technology Corporation, a Software as a Service (SaaS) and fintech developer. Sojitz aims to significantly transform the supply chain by equipping small-scale retail shops with Finviet’s online inventory management and ordering platform as well as its cashless payment system.

Sojitz works to forecast future changes in consumer behavior and trends in the retail field and integrate these insights into the business foundation the company has cultivated in Vietnam in order to achieve new levels of growth for its retail value chain business.