Saigon Co.op to open food chain

Saigon Co.op is set to open a chain of small-scale food outlets in Ho Chi Minh City targeting housewives in thickly populated areas, the country’s leading supermarket chain said Saturday.

The first Co.opFood outlet, selling fresh and safe food and vegetables, according to the retailer, will open in Binh Thanh District next week and the second in District 1 in January.

The chain would help ease the pressure on the Saigon Co.op supermarket chain, chief executive officer Nguyen Thi Hanh said.

She added 20 Co.opFood stores would be opened next year, each measuring 100 to 500 square meters and costing VND2-10 billion (US$600,000-1 million).

Co.opMart has 30 outlets in HCMC, Hanoi, Da Nang, Can Tho and Ben Tre. It plans to expand to 50 by 2010 and double that by 2015.

Minh Quang

Thanh nien

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