Takashimaya to enter Vietnam

Japanese department store chain Takashimaya will venture into Vietnam’s retail market with its first store to open at the Saigon Centre in Ho Chi Minh.

Takashimaya Singapore, a subsidiary of Japan’s Takashimaya Company, has signed an agreement with Keppel Land, the property arm of Singapore-based multi-national groups Keppel Corporation, whose portfolio includes Saigon Centre in Vietnam. The agreement commits Takashimaya Singapore to open a 15,000 sqm retail space at Saigon Centre Phase 2, currently under construction adjacent to the existing building.

“We can expect to attain earnings results that can match those of Takashimaya Singapore, which has been faring well, as Vietnam’s middle class is rapidly rising,” said Yutaka Yamaguchi, CEO of Takashimaya Japan.

Saigon Centre Phase 2 is expected to be completed in 2015. The 45 storey commercial building, located in Le Loi Boulevard, will house seven floors of retail and dining, offices and 200 luxury serviced apartments. With the addition of Takashimaya as its anchor tenant, Saigon Centre is now 30 per cent pre-leased. The much smaller Saigon Centre Phase 1 was completed in 1996.

Takashimaya also has outlets in Singapore and Taiwan. It also plans to set up presence in Shanghai at the end of this year and is contemplating opening in Malaysia and Indonesia.

GB

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