Supermarket chain E-mart is to exit its Vietnam business with reports suggesting it will be sold to local car manufacturer Truong Hai Auto Corporation.
According to The Korea Times, E-mart announced earlier this week that it will sell E-mart Vietnam to Thaco Group. However, a spokesperson of Thaco said the group has not signed any agreements with the South Korean firm.
E-mart has spent five years trying to establish a footprint in Southeast Asia, but in Vietnam had managed to open only one store, with a second being suspended due to local licensing setbacks. A South Korean media report said E-mart would take royalty fees from Thaco Group and its supermarket will be run as a franchise.
“Our strategic alliance with Thaco will not only pay us royalties for using the E-mart brand in Vietnam, but also give us the opportunity to export our private-brand products,” an E-mart employee told The Korea Times.
Thaco Group’s commercial-services arm includes managing and operating mix-used business models including shopping malls, hotels and developing business lines such as supermarkets, food courts and cinemas.
