WinCommerce adds a net 348 stores in four months, 86% of them rural: sales up 28.7% as rural WinMart+ becomes the growth engine

One of Vietnam's Largest Retailers WinCommerce (under Masan Group) added a net 348 stores from January to April 2026, of which 86%, or 298 stores, were rural-format WinMart+. Total sales for the period were VND 15 trillion (about 92.3 billion yen), up 28.7% year over year. This confirms in numbers a strategy shift moving the where the business is won for store openings from cities to rural areas.

348 Net New Stores in Four Months — What's Behind the Number

Of the 348 net new stores, the rural-format WinMart+ accounted for 298, or 86% of the total. By region, the north gained 271 stores to reach 2,696, and the central region gained 77 to reach 1,185 — concentrated in the northern and central rural areas. The company said more than 98% of stores opened since the start of the year had reached positive EBITDA at the store level, emphasizing that its store-opening approach is designed not to accumulate losses.

Why Rural WinMart+ Has Become a Growth Engine

Sales for April alone were VND 3.66 trillion (about 22.6 billion yen), up about 27% year over year, and same-store growth was also positive across the board — 14% over four months and 13.6% for April alone. While prime urban locations are starting to see vacancies, the small mini-supermarket format in rural areas is absorbing demand. Under a high-growth scenario for the full year, WinCommerce plans to open 1,000 to 1,500 stores, most of which are expected to be the rural format.

Implications for Japanese Consumer Goods Manufacturers

The rapid expansion of the rural WinMart+ network means more realistic entry points for Japanese food and daily goods manufacturers looking to win shelf space in rural areas. A distribution design that only looks at large urban stores will miss out on rural demand. Whether products get adopted in Vietnam's rural market will hinge on factors such as small-capacity packaging suited to small-format stores, fast-turning SKU lineups, and shelf-life designs that can withstand rural logistics. The company's emphasis on store-level EBITDA is also a signal that it will expect turnover figures from suppliers too.

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Source: Vietnam News