AEON shifts focus to Vietnam after exiting Thai supermarket business

According to a filing with the Stock Exchange of Thailand on August 7, Central Retail Corporation (CRC) said its wholly owned subsidiary Central Food Retail Co., Ltd. had signed an agreement to acquire all ordinary shares of AEON (Thailand).

The transaction is expected to be completed on September 30.

Following the deal, the MaxValu stores will be rebranded as Tops and integrated into Central Food Retail's network.

AEON (Thailand) operates 30 MaxValu and MaxValu Tanjai supermarkets in the country. The transaction marks AEON's withdrawal from Thailand's supermarket business after more than 40 years, although the Japanese group will retain other operations there, including the Tsuruha pharmacy chain, entertainment services, and financial services.

The move comes as AEON is placing greater emphasis on Vietnam, which the group has identified as a priority market in Southeast Asia.

In early July, Tezuka Daisuke, executive officer of AEON Co., Ltd., chief Vietnam business officer and general director of AEON Vietnam, said the group planned to allocate about 60 percent of its total ASEAN investment budget to Vietnam.

AEON aims to triple the scale of its operations in Vietnam between 2026 and 2030 by expanding its store network and developing products, supply chains, and retail ecosystem.

The group has continued to expand its physical presence in the country. In July, AEON Vietnam opened AEON Mall Da Nang Thanh Khe.

Since opening its first shopping mall at Tan Phu Celadon in Ho Chi Minh City in 2014, AEON Vietnam has enlarged its workforce to more than 7,000 employees and operates 11 general merchandise stores, along with other retail formats nationwide.

AEON Mall's latest financial report, covering fiscal 2024 from March 2024 to February 2025, also showed strong growth in Vietnam.

Operating revenue from Vietnam reached about 17.3 billion yen (US$109.6 million), up nearly 14 percent year on year.

Vietnam was AEON Mall's largest revenue-generating market in Southeast Asia and its second-largest overseas market after China.

Profit after expenses reached 4.23 billion yen ($26.8 million), up more tham eight percent from the previous fiscal year.

Meanwhile, Central Retail, the buyer of AEON's Thai supermarket business, is also expanding in Vietnam.

The Thai retailer said in March 2026 that it planned to open up to 12 additional hypermarkets in Vietnam over the next three years and double the number of supermarkets under its network.

Central Retail currently operates about 43 GO! hypermarkets in Vietnam, with individual stores ranging from 10,000 to 35,000 square meters. 

Its network also includes 16 GO! mini supermarkets, nine Tops Market stores, and 23 LanChi Mart outlets.