Around three months after Mobile World Group (MWG) announced that it will close down its e-commerce platform Vui Vui, Central Group also raised the white flag this week as it shut down Robins Vietnam. Analysts attributed the downturn trend to extreme competition in Vietnam's online retail industry.
According to Inside Retail Asia, Central Group announced on Tuesday that it has decided to close Robins Vietnam after nearly two years of being in the e-commerce world. A representative for the corporation said the company "plans to restructure its Vietnamese businesses."
Robins Vietnam is Central Group's online fashion store that opened in May 2017 after a merger with Rocket Internet's Zalora.vn retail shop. Despite the sad news for its customers, the Robins team said it has plans to return to online retail in the near future. For now, customers will be directed to physical stores in Ho Chi Minh's Crescent Mall and Hanoi's Vincom Royal City department store.
Central Group's announcement was made barely three months after MWG closed down Vui Vui, an online retail store that prioritizes shopping needs of Ho Chi Minh residents. According to The Saigon Times, vuivui.com now redirects online shoppers to Bach Hoa Xanh, another Mobile World subsidiary that mostly offers food and other products.
Some analysts suggested that MWG and Thai retail giant Central Group may have given up too early as new reports indicated that Vietnam's e-commerce realm is expected to expand by 30 percent next year. This percentage accounts for $13 billion in profits.
According to Value Walk, e-payment service giant PPRO listed Vietnam as the world's sixth fastest-growing e-commerce market. Despite being significantly smaller than other Asian nations, PPRO noted that online retail stores reported an overall annual growth rate of 32 percent in 2018.
Other industry analysts pointed out that Vietnam is expected to see a hike in income levels with more people reaching the middle-class category. The country has displayed strong consumer confidence at the beginning of 2019 and experts believe this should be a reason for e-commerce providers to be more optimistic of the future.
A recent Nielsen report indicated that 98 percent of Vietnamese online consumers made e-commerce purchases in 2018. The development is said to be highly connected with the rise of cheaper smartphones and increased internet use in the country.
Another report revealed that 48 percent of Vietnamese consumers make cosmetics and couture purchases through local online stores. This percentage is higher than the global average of 45 percent, indicating that more online shoppers have confidence in the products that local providers have to offer.
