The annual Vietnam International Retail and Franchise Exhibition (VIETRF) will be held in Ho Chi Minh City this week, for three days from Thursday, (November 5).

Some 320 exhibits will be mounted by 250 companies from Vietnam and 13 other countries, according to organisers.

“Vietnam’s retail market is growing rapidly and global retailers are rushing to Vietnam from over the world since 2009 when Vietnam’s market was open to foreign enterprises,” Ji Hang Shin, representative of South Korean trade show organizer Coex, one of the organisers of the exhibition, said.

The event was first held in 2009 and has steadily grown in popularity since then as the country’s barriers to overseas business have steadily eroded.

Top brands including Jollibee, Ministop, Effoc Cafe, World Franchise Associates, Uncle Bill, Snowee and Tous Les Jours have been confirmed for the exhibition, which will be held in the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center in District 7. Last year’s event attracted 35,600 visitors and the organisers are confident 40,000 will turn up this week.
Exhibitors will be present from South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, the US, Latvia, Poland and Spain.

As a concurrent event with VIETRF, the Korea Sourcing Fair 2015 will be organised at the same place.

Vietnam’s retail sales and services grew 6.3 percent last year to roughly US$140 billion, according to official data.