Nitori Group Accelerating Store Launches in Asia: Opening Its First Store in Vietnam This Winter

Nitori Holdings Co., Ltd. based in Sapporo, northern Japan, has announced the launch of its first Nitori store in Vietnam, aiming to accelerate more store openings in the Asian market. The first store in Vietnam will open this winter in "SORA gardens SC," a shopping center in TOKYU Garden City, Binh Duong province.

Image: https://cdn.kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M106920/202311243339/_prw_PI1fl_q4QrrE7V.png

Nitori is Japan's largest furniture and home-furnishing retail chain and its vision is to open 3,000 stores and achieve sales of 3 trillion yen by 2032, based on the mission statement "To enrich homes of people all over the world." The main business of the Nitori Group is opening "Nitori" stores that sell furniture and home-furnishing products. The Group also has a wide range of business operations such as "Deco Home" stores that sell home-furnishing products with a focus on daily necessities, "Shimachu" home improvement stores that sell hardware, daily goods and furniture, "N Plus" stores that sell apparel for adult women, and Nitori Dining "Minnano Grill" which is a food service business. Nitori has opened 808 stores in Japan and 158 stores in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, with a total of 966 stores operating around the world.

The Nitori Group has built a business model, encompassing everything from product planning to manufacturing, distribution and sales, in order to provide a wide variety of products that "offer the unexpected" of excellent quality at low prices. In the process, Nitori has built a network in the Asian region consisting of many partner companies and of its own factories and trading companies. Along with numerous business partners, Nitori is striving to propose the creation of enjoyable, prosperous, and totally coordinated living spaces to people all over the world.

The Asian market, where significant growth is expected, is important for the realization of the Nitori Group's mission and vision. Hence, it has positioned the expansion of its store network by accelerating store openings as one of its top priorities. There are two major manufacturing bases in Vietnam, located in Hanoi and Ba Ria-Vung Tau, which are one of the Nitori Group's strengths. There are approximately 10,000 employees who support the supply of products that "offer the unexpected."

The Hanoi factory began manufacturing in 2003, mainly producing boxed furniture such as cupboards, bed frames and sofas. The Ba Ria-Vung Tau factory started manufacturing in 2015, mainly turning out dining tables and chairs, curtains and bedding such as N-cool. In addition, the Nitori Group has its own trading company and many suppliers in Vietnam, which have been responsible for the supply chain management of the Nitori Group in Southeast Asia. In Vietnam, the Nitori Group will continue to build the store network, aiming to open 70 stores in the next 10 years.

In 2022, Nitori opened 37 stores in four countries and regions in Asia, including its first ones in Malaysia and Singapore. This year, Nitori opened its first store in Thailand in August, Hong Kong in September, and Korea in November, which are supported by many customers. In addition to Vietnam, Nitori plans to open its first stores in the Philippines and Indonesia. By the end of March 2024, Nitori plans to open 58 new stores in both existing and new countries and regions, bringing the total number of stores in the Asian region to 187. Furthermore, from 2025 and beyond, Nitori plans to open an average of 300 stores per year overseas in order to fulfill its mission and vision.

First store in Vietnam opening this winter:
– Facility name: SORA gardens SC
– Location: SORA gardens SC, Lot C19, Hung Vuong BLVD, Hoa Phu Ward, Thu Dau Mot City, Binh Duong Province, Vietnam
*Details TBA at a later date.

Comment from Akio Nitori, Representative Director & Chairperson (CEO) of Nitori Holdings Co., Ltd.:
"We have refined our manufacturing-logistics-IT-retail business model in order to provide products and services that 'offer the unexpected' from the point of view of our customers as we make efforts to realize the Group's mission statement 'To enrich homes of people all over the world.' We are going to accelerate the expansion of our business within the Asian region, which is expected to achieve significant economic growth over the long term and is the core of the supply chain that supports the Nitori Group. We will further accelerate the pace of our store openings to take in the growth of Asia as well as to respond to the needs of customers in Asia. We are very pleased to be able to bring Nitori products to more countries, regions and customers."

Comment from Masanori Takeda, Director, General Manager of Global Merchandising Division, General Manager of Global Sales Promotion Office in Charge of Overseas Sales Business, Nitori Holdings Co., Ltd.:
"We are accelerating our store opening within the Asian region and had realized the first store in Thailand in August, Hong Kong in September, and Korea in November. We are very pleased to be able to start our business in Vietnam, a country where we have our manufacturing base, trading company, and many of our supportive suppliers. We will continue to take on the challenge of providing the same standards of quality refined in Japan to the Asian region, so that we can resolve the 'discontent, dissatisfaction, and inconvenience' of our customers and so that more customers can enjoy coordinating various lifestyles and homes around the world."

Comments from Nguyen Thi My Dung, General Affairs Department Associate, Nitori Trading Vietnam Co., Ltd.:
"I joined the company as the General Affairs Department Associate in 2010. The job in the General Affairs Department is a rewarding job that involves working with many people. In the past 10 years, it has been my dream to be involved in the opening of the first store in Vietnam, and I am very happy that my dream has now come true. I will continue challenging so that the customers in Vietnam will experience happiness through products of Nitori."

Comment from Associate Professor, PhD. Pham Thanh Huyen, Director of Student Affairs Department – Hanoi University of Science and Technology, Nitori International Scholarship Foundation (*)
"Congratulations on the opening of the first Nitori store in Vietnam. In 2015, Hanoi University of Science and Technology signed a scholarship agreement with the Nitori International Scholarship Foundation. Throughout the 7 years, approximately 200 students were able to receive the scholarship, achieved excellent academic performances and joined social activities enthusiastically. We would like to express our respect for this scholarship program as we believe that it is an activity with high humanitarian value."

(*) About Nitori International Scholarship Foundation
Akio Nitori, the founder of the Company, donated his financial resources to establish the Nitori International Scholarship Foundation in March 2005. He wants to give back to the Asian countries and regions for their tremendous help and support in achieving the goals of Nitori Holdings Co., Ltd. Furthermore, he offers non-repayable scholarships to contribute to further friendship and human resource development around the world. Since 2014, Nitori has been providing support to universities in Vietnam and currently is supporting 17 universities. As of March 31, 2023, it had 9,254 students supported in around 46 countries and regions with a total of 4.22 billion yen.

Map showing students' home countries and regions:
https://cdn.kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M106920/202311243339/_prw_PI2fl_m686912t.jpg

Nitori International Scholarship Foundation website (in Japanese):
https://www.nitori-shougakuzaidan.com/

About Nitori Holdings Co., Ltd. (Nitori Group):
https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/attach/202311243339-O1-K6b8UCJw.pdf

Corporate website: https://www.nitorihd.co.jp/en/
Integrated Report: https://www.nitorihd.co.jp/en/ir/library/annual.html
NITORI Vietnam: https://www.nitori.com.vn

Source: Nitori Holdings Co., Ltd.