Lingerie label 6ixty8ight will launch its first brick-and-mortar store in Vietnam, as part of its ambitious Southeast Asian expansion program. 

The first 6ixty8ight Vietnam store will open at the new Thiso Mall in Ho Chi Minh City’s Thu Thiem district next month. The company has also signed a five-year franchise deal with Thai Tuan Group, one of Vietnam’s largest textile firms and suppliers to the fashion industry.

Vietnamese customers will be able to purchase 6ixty8ight’s full range of lingerie, complementary sleepwear and everyday staples catering to Asian female customers at the store. Thiso Mall is the city’s newest shopping centre, only partially opened with a basement-level Emart and a collection of food and beverage chains and cafes. At least four more storeys of retail space are under fit-out or planning.

Earlier this month, 6ixty8ight opened its first store in the Philippines and the Chinese brand is currently looking for franchise partners in Indonesia, Thailand, and other countries. Last year, it opened its first stores in Mainland China and Japan.

Founded in 2002 by Erik Ryd, 6ixty8ight has more than 300 stores across China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, and Malaysia. 

According to Savills’ Impacts 2022 research, international businesses continue to invest extensively in physical sites across Southeast Asia as they seek to provide customers with direct, in-person retail experiences following the Covid-19 outbreak when shoppers moved online.

Nick Bradstreet, head of Retail Asia-Pacific at Savills, believes the Vietnam market will bounce back faster than others in the region, such as Singapore and Thailand.