Information for OCOP subjects: GO! Big C supermarket system "prioritizes" selling OCOP products

Central Retail: Accompanying OCOP

With the advantage of retailer system with 72 years of international experience, and a wide distribution network throughout Vietnam, Central Retail, after many efforts to implement programs such as: Purchasing agricultural products directly from farmers and Contracts cooperative with 0% discount; Local Farmers Week at Big C; Supporting Vietnamese Small and Medium Enterprises; Connecting the consumption of agricultural products to the modern retail chain of Big C/GO!; OCOP week at Big C and Community Livelihood Program... to increase the quantity of Vietnamese goods (such as the commitment that the percentage of Vietnamese goods in the retail system of GO!, Big C is always over 90%); Currenly, Central Retail has been aiming for a higher goal, which is to improve the "quality" of domestic goods, to better serve the needs of consumers in the domestic market of nearly 100 million people.

Knowing Central Retail Group's vision of "contributing to the prosperity of Vietnam and improving the quality of life of Vietnamese", Big C and GO! single member of Central Retail Group is always committed to maintaining 0% discount for OCOP products, ready to support OCOP production facilities…in breaking into the modern distribution system, expanding markets, and establishing brands.

Up to now, Big C is selling over 40 OCOP products with good brand value; At the same time, we are completing the final stages of necessary documents and procedures to put 50 more OCOP products on display on Big C and GO!

Contents subject to note when cooperating with Central Retail

From the reality of doing business at GO! supermarkets, Big C shows that, in order to sell more products, OCOP product manufacturers need to make adjustments, as follows:

Firstly, most OCOP products are popular in general, with the exception of a few province-specific products. If opening a sales network to another province, it takes time to get acquainted with customers;
Secondly, many enterprises and cooperatives have only obtained OCOP certification but have not really paid attention to supermarkets so that regional products can reach more customers;

Third, many suppliers do not have the capacity to transport goods to Big C's transshipment warehouses, so it is necessary to have a solution to this problem soon.

In recent years, Big C has witnessed significant changes and shifts in the consumption trends of modern customers. Accordingly, we have summarized into 6 main points about the requirements of the market, and at the same time this is also the production orientation for cooperatives to develop & plan production in the near future, including:

1. Products are clearly traceable

Through the traceability stamp on the product, customers can use their phone to scan the trace code and get all the origin information, thereby completely assured when buying agricultural products of clear provenance... Products such as Nghe An Susu, Cao Phong oranges, Hai Duong carrots... are sold at Big C supermarkets nationwide with traceability stamps, and have achieved
impressive sales.

2. Products meet domestic and international standards

"Besides geographical indications, standard certifications such as VietGap or GlobalGap, etc. create great competitiveness for production facilities, contributing to boosting consumption. The number of providers with this certification is growing on our list of NCCs.

3. Products are produced according to organic direction

Customers are willing to pay for organically produced products, even though these agricultural products are sold at a higher price than usual. In fact, right at Big C Thang Long, the Organic Vegetables and Fruits area always receives the attention of a large number of customers. There was a time that there is not even enough supply for costumers.

4. Local specialties and seasonal products

Vietnamese people have the mentality of using products that are produced in the right season, prefer local specialties or seasonal products. It is for this reason that marketing programs promote the consumption of Luc Ngan litchi, Hung Yen Longan, Cao Phong Orange, Song Da fish, Kitchen buffalo meat.... In collaboration with ministries, sectors and localities, the implementation at Big C in the past year has made a great impression, creating a strong attraction for customers, expanding consumption and achieving impressive results.

5. Locally produced agricultural products tend to overwhelm imported products

Contrary to the opinion of many people about the mindset of favoring imported goods, Vietnamese customers actually pay special attention to agricultural products produced in the country. Two examples can be mentioned showing that Vietnamese agricultural products conquered Vietnamese people and can be compared with imported products. Typically, at the beginning of 2019, Big C carried out the program "Weekly Strawberries and Safe Agricultural Products of Son La Province" have attracted great attention and support from customers in the Ha Noi capital. Put on the balance sheet compared with Korean strawberry products, Son La strawberries have the more advantage of Price, freshness and especially quality are not inferior to imported products. However, in terms of packaging, product presentation and preservation, we still cannot do as well as foreign products. Or the Long Hai mushroom product of Dong Trieu Quang Ninh is also a prominent example. In the past, modern retail channels mostly sold mushroom products imported from Korea, Japan…. Through the OCOP product connection programs, we have researched, reviewed the documents, checked the production facilities and put on the shelves of Long Hai's Kim Chi Mushrooms and sales are now quite stable, in December we sold nearly 40,000 packages of this product.

6. In addition, another factor, in recent times, also affects the purchasing decision of modern consumers - that is, environmental friendliness.

Understanding the mindset of customers who prefer products that bring sustainable value, we have deployed with some cooperatives meaningful activities such as replacing plastic bags with biodegradable plastic bags in some days, and especially to replace plastic food packaging with banana leaf packages to join hands to protect the environment.

Since the early days of presence in Vietnam, Central Retail Group has continuously expanded its store system and persified its business categories with 3 main areas: food retail, non-food retail and shopping malls. Trade with prominent brands GO!/Big C, Lan Chi mart, Nguyen Kim, LoolKool, Kubo, Hello Beauty, Supersports and Robins, etc. Up to now, Central Retail has gradually become one of the retailers. The largest foreign-invested multi-sector in Vietnam with more than 290 stores and 38 trade centers spread across 39 provinces and cities across the country, with a total retail area of more than 1,000,000 square meters, create jobs for about 15,000 workers.