The convenience store chain, which entered Vietnam in 2017 aiming to tap into the country’s fast-growing retail sector, has so far been unable to scale to its planned 1,000 outlets.
Luong Tat Trung, technology director at 7-Eleven, said the company had underestimated the difficulty of rapid expansion. “We set that goal, but once we started, we realised how challenging it is,” he said.
Luong Tat Trung, 7-Eleven's technology director (Photo: TT).
He added that the brand is prioritising profitability at each store rather than expanding aggressively. “We want every store to be profitable as we grow, rather than expanding at all costs,” he said.
7-Eleven currently operates more than 100 stores in Vietnam, with over 90 per cent of them generating profits, according to the company. The figures were shared during a strategic partnership signing with GreenNode, an AI cloud platform under VNG Group.
The collaboration comes as Vietnam’s retail market accelerates, with the convenience store segment projected to grow by more than 13 per cent annually between 2023 and 2028.
Research by Harvard Business Review indicates that 73 per cent of consumers now shop through omnichannel models, placing new demands on retailers’ IT infrastructure. Beyond stability, systems must be capable of real-time data processing and ready for AI integration.
Major retail chains are therefore required to synchronise order, inventory and customer data continuously across physical stores and online platforms, a requirement that traditional IT infrastructure struggles to meet at scale.
Under Decision 2326 on Vietnam’s retail market development strategy to 2030, total retail sales are targeted to grow by 11 to 11.5 per cent annually. Investment in technology infrastructure is identified as a key factor for businesses to enhance competitiveness and adapt to evolving consumer behaviour.