Con Cung, Vietnam’s largest retailer for mom and infant products, recently received an investment of US$90 million from Quadria Capital, Asia's leading healthcare private equity fund provider.
On Tuesday, Quadria Capital made an announcement confirming they’re backing Con Cung to launch 2,000 local stores by 2025, develop an all-in-one super app that will provide personalized products and services, and expand its product portfolio.
Founded in 2011, Con Cung operates over 600 stores across 45 provinces and cities — providing maternity and baby care products, baby equipment, milk and nutrition needs, diapers, clothes. Over the last four years, their sales recorded a compound annual rate of 70%. In 2019, Con Cung launched its mobile app in response to an upsurge in mobile-based purchases and succeeded in doubling its store footprint between 2019 and 2021.
Minh Nguyen, chairman and co-founder of Con Cung, said in the press release that their goal is to “be the one-stop destination for mothers to fulfill their maternity and baby-care needs in a convenient and safe environment.” And for them to achieve that, they have to expand their online and offline retail channels and offer a holistic approach towards their customers.
“We are fortunate that Quadria Capital shares our vision, and we look forward to tapping into Quadria’s network of leading consumer and healthcare companies to serve more families in Vietnam,” Minh added.
The Con Cung chairman and co-founder further said that while traditional shopping remains an important part of Vietnam’s consumer behavior, digitalization is reshaping the preference of many Vietnamese mothers. The kind of change they are preparing to embrace.
Ewan Davis, managing director of Quadria Capital, expressed his company’s intentions of empowering health-care focused companies like Con Cung. Especially those serving the vulnerable populations including growing families with infants and young children, he said.
“Having easy access to essential healthcare products and services is one such step. We see great potential in Con Cung to address such unmet needs and we have lined up several collaborations to help them penetrate the health and wellness segment, as well as further develop better mother and child-centric products and services.”
Following the investment success, Con Cung is set to launch its first-ever 2,000 sqm Super Center in Ho Chi Minh City this month which will feature all Con Cung products. The super center will also include a coffee shop, an integrated playground area, and especially one dedicated floor for infant care, nutrition, OBGYN consulting services provided by leading doctors and healthcare professionals.
Tien Luu, CEO and co-founder of Con Cung, revealed they plan to open one super center each month, and their target is to reach 200-300 stores in the country. “While COVID pandemic brought many challenges, we believe it has also presented opportunities for us to transform our store concept to better serve the ever-changing demands of young Vietnamese parents,” he shared.
As part of the investment, Robert Willet, operating partner of Quadria Capital, joins Con Cung’s board of directors.
“The retail industry is constantly innovating and evolving, it’s exciting to be a part of this Mum and Baby sector that is always striving to undertake a comprehensive approach to provide care and education to its customers through a personalized customer-centric omnichannel experience which is powered by nimble online – offline expansion strategies and underpinned by AI technologies,” Robert said. “I look forward to supporting the Con Cung team in this exciting era of change and to providing the people of this wonderful country with a world-class proposition.”
Con Cung is Quadria Capital’s second investment in the country, following the stake acquisition of FV Hospital in 2017.