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CREATING A MARKET
EMB
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M YA N M A R :
A R E TA I L E R ’S TA K E
WITH W IN W IN TINT
M
yanmar, a country fringed by open
ocean to the south and a string of
Asian nations—China, Laos,
Thailand, India and Bangladesh—
lining its landlocked borders, is busy writing
a new chapter in its national story. Political
upheaval, repression and ethnic strife have
long characterized the nation of more than
53 million people, but times are changing.
Since the end of dictatorial rule in 2011 and
subsequent lifting of sanctions, progressive
reforms have been introduced and Myan-
mar’s economy has been on the ascendency,
with the IMF highlighting it as the fastest
growing in the world last year, at a rate of
8.6 percent.
For 40 year-old Win Win Tint, her
country’s economic growth spurt comes as
a welcome development, but the founder and
CEO of Myanmar’s leading supermarket and
retail chain, City Mart Holdings, learned to
take the rough with the smooth long ago.
In 1996, at a time when isolation and
economic malaise reigned across the land,
her parents opened their first grocery store
in the country’s capital city, Yangon (then
Rangoon). Just three months later, Win Win
was catapulted to the helm of the company
at the age of 21.
In the early days, the graduate who was
fresh out of business school in Singapore felt
out of her depth, and for years times were
tough. But, with the responsibility of the fami-
ly business on her shoulders, failure wasn’t
an option. Since then, she has built a thriving
retail empire, which now includes more than
150 outlets, from its trademark City Mart
supermarkets and hypermarkets, to
“supercenters”, express stores, bakeries,
pharmacies and fast-food joints.
In the fiscal year ending in March 2015,
the company, which still remains firmly in
family hands, generated US$200 million in
sales and continues to enjoy a dominant
position on Myanmar’s retail landscape.
Some analysts suggest that City Mart
possesses a 60 percent share in the FMCG
market. In the hypermarket stakes, the
company’s market share is even higher.
Here, Win Win Tint shares her insight into
leadership, expansion and doing business in
a country that, despite its recent upturn, still
faces severe challenges on multiple fronts. EMERGING MARKETS BUSINESS (EMB):
You and your team have witnessed lots
of changes in Myanmar in recent years.
What is it like doing business in the
country today?
EMERGING MARKETS BUSINESS ISSUE NO. 3
SUMMER 2017
MYANMAR
IS…RETAILING
WIN WIN TINT (WWT): It is still quite
challenging as some of the laws are still
rather vague. The new government is in the
transition period and it will take some time
before things are regulated effectively and
efficiently. As one of the largest retailers in
Myanmar, we hope to be able to assist the
government in developing a better business
environment that would support locally-born
brands, products or businesses.
As an emerging market that is just coming
out of its shell, of course the opportunities
are there to develop, to grow and to affect
consumers’ lifestyles.
$100 bn
Consumer spending
could increase to over
US$100 billion per year
by 2030, triple the current
figure of US$35 billion,
according to Oxford
Business Group (OBG).
28%
The Yangon Retail Market
Report states that retail
stock in the city grew by
28% y-o-y in 2015.
93%
At the start of the third
quarter of 2016, occupancy
rates in Yangon’s organized
retail space were up to
93 percent according
to a report by real
estate consultancy,
Colliers International.
MYANMAR CONSUMERS’ MONTHLY HOUSEHOLD EXPENDITURE
Food and Groceries
Healthcare
New Clothes
Mobile Phones
33%
9%
8%
8%
Household Products
Education
Transportation
Utility Bills
Personal Care
8%
7%
6%
6%
6%
Entertainment
Eating Out
House Rent
Loan Installments
Source: Nielsen Emerging Market Insights Survey 2014.
3%
3%
2%
1%
10%
Though Myanmar’s
organized retail space is
expanding rapidly, OBG
states that just 10 percent
of sales are made through
modern outlets such
as supermarkets.
AT A GLANCE
In 1996, Win Win Tint’s parents opened their first grocery store in Myanmar’s capital city,
Yangon. Just three years later, the business was passed on to 21 year-old Win Win, who went
on to steer it through political upheaval, repression, sanctions and economic hardship that
marred the country for years. Today, she presides over a veritable retail empire, City Mart
Holdings, and Myanmar's economy is growing fast. Yet, success remains hard fought in
a country still opening its doors to the world.
The challenge is really to align with the new
government on growing the sector. On top of
that, the country has a shortage in terms of
skilled workforce.
The fact that we have to import most of
our products is also an issue. We work
successfully with our Asiatic partners in
Singapore and Thailand as well as with the
trade arms of different embassies in
Myanmar. However, there are many
well-documented challenges with importing
to the country. There is a capacity shortage
both at our sea ports and land borders, which
can lead to delays in receiving shipments.
There are also many regulations, compliance
with which can be very time-consuming.
We have built up strong expertise to allow us
to manage the processes and the regulations
but there will continue to be challenges until
the capacity of the ports is developed.
Meanwhile, we hope that Myanmar’s
manufacturing sector will continue to
develop. As a country, we are very reliant on
imported products, which causes problems
when we have a depreciating currency at
present. Locally manufactured products can
reduce our logistics costs and produce goods
Sometimes, we can’t
keep protecting
people. We need to let
them fall, feel the pain
and inspire them to
get up and try again.
that are tailored for the local market so we
welcome the development of this sector.
In fact, despite the challenges, these are
exciting times and we plan for the future by
keeping our eyes open and ears to the ground
at all times – looking out for changes in such
a dynamic market, especially the lifestyle and
needs changes of our customers and the
people. Learning from other markets is also
an essential part of studying the key trends.
EMB: What kinds of products appeal to the
Myanmar consumer? And, what works and
what doesn’t work, either in terms of
products or shopping concepts?
WWT: Due to the closed nature of the
economy in Myanmar for many years,
consumers are now pretty favorable towards
imported and international products. They
also get excited by the small innovations we
try to bring to each of our stores to enhance
their shopping experiences. We have different
retail formats which cater to different types
of customers because we understand that
different market segments have different
needs and desires – be it products or
shopping concepts.
Online shopping in particular is of
increasing interest. Digital is fast growing
in Myanmar and the statistics don’t lie.
In a country with a population of 53 million—
six million of those in Yangon—to know that
28 million users are on Viber chat messaging
system and another 10.5 million users on
Facebook, I would say the internet is
important. The mobile phone penetration as
well as the presence of international players
in the mobile data scene have helped
escalate this fact. However, as a retailer,
whilst it is important for us to start engaging
with the online communities, we should
never forget our in-store experience because
for brick-and-mortar stores, the shopping »
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