Vietnam has huge potential for franchising
Vietnam is showing huge potential for franchises business as dozens of franchises have been established or brought into Vietnam.
Statistics from the Ministry of Industry and Trade show that some 150 franchise registration permits have been issued in which seven were issued to expand franchises overseas.
The biggest restaurant chain in Vietnam, Golden Gate Restaurant Group, has 34 Kichi Kichi hotspot restaurants,17 Sumo BBQ restaurants and 15 Vuvuzela restaurants. Redsun ITI Corporation has 11 Thai Express restaurants and 34 King BBQ branches.
Lotteria entered Vietnam in 1998 and now has 216 restaurants. Since 2014, Lotteria has granted licenced 17 local investors. KFC has also opened 140 restaurants in Vietnam since 1997, while Starbucks opened 19 shops since 2013.
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Viet Thai International Company’s Pho 24 brand also has franchises in Australia, the Republic of Korea and Hong Kong.
Nguyen Phi Van, co-founder of World Franchise Associates in South East Asia, said the franchise market in Vietnam was still in its initial stages according to many investors, only really developing from 2009 onwards.
Van said after foreign franchises entered Vietnam, local firms had the chance to learn and perfect their skills so they can create their own franchises later.
However, she said there were few successful Vietnamese franchises to date.
Van predicted that franchises in services, entertainment and technology will bloom in the future following the retail and restaurant sectors.
