German-invested wholesale chain operator Metro Cash & Canyon Friday started work on its ninth wholesales center in the southern province of Dong Nai in its continued move to expand business countrywide.

The new center in Bien Hoa City brings to nine the number of its wholesale facilities nationwide, including three in the southern trading hub HCMC.

Covering an area of about 8,000 square meters, the new center will offer professional customers of Dong Nai province a wide assortment of more than 35,000 food and nonfood products. The wholesaler will create 270 new jobs and provides a positive stimulus to the consumer goods industry as up to 95% of the goods will be procured in Vietnam, the company said at the groundbreaking ceremony.

Randy Guttery, managing director of Metro Cash & Carry Vietnam, noted Dong Nai is one of the top foreign direct investment (FDI) provinces in Vietnam, and enjoys good infrastructure including its traffic accessibility due to many backbone national roads crossing through.

"We are therefore firmly convinced that the province offers great potentials for our Cash & Carry wholesale business," he said, adding that "We are also convinced that our business-to-business model will contribute considerably to the further development of the local economy in Dong Nai."

Metro Cash & Carry is implementing group wide quality management system from farm to fork to offer the professional customers efficient logistics and quality assurance systems. The company establishes modern supply chains, highest standards in product quality and safety, and transport.

Since 2002, Metro Cash & Carry has trained more than 18,000 Vietnamese farmers and fishermen in the outlying rural areas the modern methods and practices how to maintain quality standards to have their products certified according to the quality assurance system GlobalGAP. Metro Cash & Carry thus has helped local farmers to gain new export markets in Europe for pomelo, dragon fruits and mango.

Under a license granted in 2001, Metro can open eight goods distribution centers in Vietnam with total investment capital of US$120 million. However, the company has later got approval to increase capital and build four more centers in the country.

The wholesaler opened its first center in 2002. Today the company has eight wholesale centers in HCMC, Hanoi, Haiphong, Danang and Can Tho.

* Saigon Co.op, the operator of the Co.opMart supermarket chain, inaugurated a new store in HCMC on Friday, bringing the total nationwide to 34.

The 4,000-square-meter store in District 12 is the outcome of a joint effort by Saigon Co.op, Saigon Co.op Investment Development Joint Stock Co. (SCID), 60% owned by Saigon Co.op, and An Giang Shoes Co. The three partners have invested VND28 billion in the new store.

Co.opMart Nguyen Van Thu, as the new store is named, will stock more than 20,000 items, including consumer goods, fashion clothes and food, and 80% of them are supplied by local companies. Besides, it also has restaurants, fast food shops, games area and fashion shops.

Saigon Co.op has 20 operational stores in HCMC and 14 others in other cities and provinces. In December of last year, Saigon Co.op opened four stores in HCMC, Buon Me Thuot City and Ben Tre Province.

It plans to open one more in HCMC next month, after the Lunar New Year holidays, to realize its goal of having 100 stores nationwide by 2015.

Last month, Saigon Co.op opened its first convenience food store in HCMC to provide food of quality and safety to housewives. The company expects to open 20 such stores in HCMC next year and will increase the number to 120 by 2012.

Rol.vn - Source: Saigon Times