Lotte Mart Opens First Store in Bac Giang, Northern Vietnam... Accelerates Expansion into Emerging Industrial Cities

Expansion Beyond Hanoi: Lotte Mart Enters Bac Giang,
Accelerating Northern Vietnam Business

A Customized Store for an Industrial City,
Featuring Grocery, K-Food, and Community-Focused Services

Lotte Mart is accelerating its business expansion in northern Vietnam by opening a new store in Bac Giang, an emerging industrial city in the region.

Lotte Mart announced on the 2nd that it opened its 17th local store, "Bac Giang Branch," in Bac Giang City, northern Vietnam, on the 30th of last month. Photo by Lotte Mart

On August 2, Lotte Mart announced that it opened its 17th local store, the "Bac Giang Branch," in Bac Giang City, northern Vietnam, on July 30. Having previously focused its store network on southern regions such as Ho Chi Minh City, Lotte Mart is now actively expanding its operations in the north by extending its presence beyond two stores in Hanoi to include Bac Giang. The company’s strategy is to widen its store footprint to promising industrial cities with high growth potential, going beyond central Hanoi.

Bac Giang is a prominent industrial city with one of the fastest-growing economies in Vietnam. The city is experiencing rapid population growth, particularly among young workers and families, due to the active development of global manufacturing companies and industrial complexes. As incomes rise, demand for lifestyle infrastructure such as retail and dining continues to increase. Its transportation network, which connects Hanoi and other major industrial regions in the north, also enhances its growth prospects.

The Bac Giang Branch is a community-focused grocery store tailored to meet the consumption characteristics of this youthful industrial city. With a retail floor area of approximately 1,940 square meters (about 580 pyeong), around 89% of its products are food items, and the store layout has been designed for efficiency, catering to after-work shopping and families. Wellness and kids-specialized sections have been created to further enhance the customer experience.

Fresh food offerings have been differentiated through its own brand, "FRESH 365." By increasing standardized packaging and managing all meat and seafood items in packed format, the store has strengthened its competitive edge in terms of hygiene and quality. Premium products have also been enhanced, including Korean Shine Muscat grapes, U.S. cherries, organic produce, Korean-style marinated meats, Australian Wagyu beef, and air-shipped fresh salmon.

The deli and bakery sections have also been designed to suit the local commercial area. “Yorihada Kitchen” offers lunch boxes and local street food for industrial workers, alongside K-Deli, Japanese, and Vietnamese cuisine, while the in-house bakery brand "Pungmiso" features over 100 varieties of bread and desserts, delivering specialty shop-level competitiveness.

The processed food section has been reorganized based on purchase intent. The "Zero·Health Zone" features over 300 health-oriented products, while the "Kids Street" area brings together about 470 children’s items. The K-Food zone carries more than 1,300 items, and a dedicated “Lotte Zone” presents Korean ramen and kimchi, as well as private label and affiliate products.

For household goods, an "ALL PB" strategy has been adopted for certain categories, offering only private label products. The H&B (Health & Beauty) section includes both a fixed-price zone and Korean beauty brands, appealing to both value and trends. Sixteen tenants—including cafes, restaurants, a bookstore, and a kids cafe—have been situated on the second floor, enhancing the store’s role as a daily lifestyle platform for local residents.

Lotte Mart resumed its expansion into new locations in Vietnam after three years, opening the Tay Ninh Branch and the Bac Giang Branch in succession in July. The company plans to continue expanding its store network in key hub cities and emerging industrial areas to further strengthen its business foundation across Vietnam.

Chow Chul, CEO of Lotte Mart & Super, stated, "The Bac Giang Branch is a strategic hub that leverages Lotte Mart’s grocery competitiveness to meet the growing distribution needs of Vietnam’s emerging industrial cities. We aim to establish the store as a leading shopping destination in Bac Giang by operating a customized store that reflects the lifestyle and consumption characteristics of the local customers."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.