Mobile World eyes 60 pct market share

The company also wants to raise its smartphone share from 48 percent last year to 55 percent by 2022, according to a recent report put out by brokerage SSI Securities Corporation after its analysts met with Mobile World representatives.

It plans to achieve these targets by opening 600 new Dien May Xanh Supermini outlets this year, aiming to reach buyers in rural areas.

After launching this new type of outlet last July, the company has built a network of more than 300 outlets already. These outlets are small, under 150 square meters, and can be operated by four staff. It sells smartphones and household electronic items.

SSI analysts said that retail chains like Nguyen Kim and FPT Digital Retail will have difficulty competing with this type of outlet since they have limited logistics resources and lack the ability to manage such large number of stores.

Mobile World is also planning to increase its number of grocery stores by 281 this year to 2,000 and considering the establishment of an e-commerce platform.

February was a challenging month for Mobile World, having had to temporarily shut down 100 outlets amid the latest Covid-19 outbreak.

In the first two months, its revenues rose 5 percent year-on-year to VND21.5 trillion ($938 million), compared to a growth rate of 18 percent in the same period last year.

SSI analysts estimate Mobile World’s revenues will rise 16 percent to VND126 trillion this year, with post-tax profits rising 30 percent to VND5.1 trillion.

Last year, Mobile World had over 4,000 outlets in Vietnam and 37 in Cambodia. It opened nearly three new outlets a day on average. The company plans to become the top retailer in Southeast Asia by 2030.