Vingroup quits retailing to drive tech, industrial development

 

People shopping at a VinPro store. The electronics retailer will be shut down on December 31, 2019. — Photo courtesy of Vingroup

HÀ NỘI — Vingroup, Việt Nam’s largest private firm by market value, has given up control of its retail unit as it wants to concentrate on the technology and industrial sectors.

Vingroup will allow the e-commerce platform Adayroi to affiliate with tech app unit VinID while electronics retailer VinPro will be dissolved.

The multi-sector group has taken the next step in its restructuring plan to direct all resources into technology and industrial development, the company said in a press release on Wednesday.

On December 3, Vingroup announced its agriculture arm VinEco and VinCommerce will merge with Masan Consumer Holding, a member of Masan Group.

Vingroup will convert its ownership in the two member companies into shares in the post-merger firm, which is smaller than Masan Consumer Holding’s.

On Tuesday, VinCommerce, operator of convenience store Vinmart+ and supermarket Vinmart, announced the shutdown of the e-commerce platform Adayroi.com.

The shutdown began at 6pm on Tuesday (December 17) and it remains unclear when the site will be re-opened.

It means all products and services provided by the website will cease to be traded and all purchase orders placed before the closure will be fulfilled and subject to the same old sales policy, VinCommerce said in a letter to suppliers late Tuesday.

All suppliers are required to submit legible invoices and documents to VinCommerce to settle debts. Settlements with suppliers will be done by January 15, 2020, the company said.

The shutdown was to assess and restructure the site’s operation to better meet the market and customer demand, the retailer said.

E-commerce site Adayroi began operating in August 2014 as Vingroup expected to make a new set of standards on the quality and origin of merchandise, thus boosting the Vietnamese retail and e-commerce sectors.

The merger between Adayroi and VinID will help digitalise consumers’ behaviours and create a customer-centric platform that forecasts and meets their demand for the highest quality, Vingroup said.

Meanwhile, the electronics retailer VinPro was introduced in March 2015 to help complete Vingroup’s retail division. However, as the company targets a new strategy and model, retail is no longer a core business and a priority, the company said.

The merger and dissolution will be complete by December 31, 2019.

Vingroup shares (HoSE: VIC) ended flat at VNĐ115,800 (US$4.98) per share. The company is still on the Vietnamese stock market with a market value of VNĐ390 trillion ($16.78 billion). — VNS