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In particular, Old Navy debuted on September 1. On the 655-square-metre space at Vincom Nguyen Chi Thanh, the store displays the typical fashion products of the Old Navy brand, as well as many different collections for males, females, kids, and babies.
This is the first Old Navy store in Hanoi and the second one in Vietnam, following the first store in Ho Chi Minh City since June.
Melissa Fehlman, the general director responsible for the business of Old Navy in Vietnam, said, “Opening the second store in Vietnam is the next step in Old Navy’s global expansion plan. We realise that Vietnam has great potential and we plan to open more stores, not only in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, but also in other cities and provinces. In the short-term, we schedule to open one additional store in Ho Chi Minh City in the middle of this September.”
Also, she added that affordable fashion is the core development strategy of Old Navy, but Vietnamese customers are very trendy, thus, Old Navy will keep refreshing its stores every three months.
Particularly, each round of refreshing will bring 70-80 per cent new products. The older products will be those that can be used all year round, such as denim clothes. However, regarding these familiar products, Old Navy will constantly update new styles with the aim of providing something new and unique.
“We will continuously develop marketing and discount programmes with the hope of maximising the number of products sold after each refreshing. We have entered several markets in Asia, so we partly understand the Vietnamese style. Besides, before entering Vietnam, Old Navy’s leaders and designers have carefully studied the local fashion industry,” Fehman said.
In Vietnam, Gap Inc.’s franchisees were ACFC and CMFC, two subsidiaries of Imex Pan Pacific (IPP) Group. These two subsidiaries specialise in distributing famous international fashion brands in Vietnam, including the Gap and Banana Republic brands of Gap Inc. Vietnam is the eighth overseas market that Gap Inc. has established franchising presence in.
In March 2014, Gap Inc. introduced its first franchise store in the Philippines, then Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and recently, Indonesia and Malaysia. In recent years, the Old Navy brand has appeared in many Southeast Asian countries through the success of other pioneers, such as Gap and Banana Republic that debuted in 2007.
Gap Inc. is famous for many different brands, including Gap, Banana Republic, Athleta, and Intermix, but Old Navy might be the most well-known due to its simple style that fits almost every one, and the reasonable price.
This may also be the reason why Old Navy has rapidly become a leading fashion brand in the US, generating annual revenues of around $1 billion within four years since their establishment in 1994.
Old Navy’s entry did not come as much of a surprise for Vietnam’s fashion-holics, as the local market is vibrant, and has been aflame with numerous international pioneers, such as Mango, which has been present since 2004, UK brand Topshop, which entered in 2013, the famous affordable brand Zara with its debut in 2016, and, Hennes & Mauritz AB (H&M) from Sweden launching its first store in Ho Chi Minh City on September 9.
The more international fashion giants enter the Vietnamese market, the fiercer the competition among retailers becomes. However, there is one thing for certain: Vietnamese customers will benefit from the increased choices spread out on a wider price range.
By Hai Ha
