CENTRAL RETAIL IN VIETNAM
“ First and foremost, I’ m passionate about my team, people, building teams and developing teams – and just as passionate about retail supply chain”
Mike Reid, Chief Supply Chain Officer, Central Retail in Vietnam
“ You never know when you set out where you’ re going to end up,” he adds.“ I embrace a mindset to go and gather new experiences, meet new people and sometimes find new environments to apply what I love doing, with fresh challenges and different teams.”
This has given Mike a wealth of experience with different cultures and different ways of leading and landing transformative change. Now, CRV operates more than 330 stores and welcomes in excess of half a million daily visitors.
“ Last week, I was in Yen Bai for a new hypermarket opening,” he reflects.“ The store was absolutely bouncing. That’ s what’ s really special – reaching people far from the big cities with a modern retail offer.
“ We put the customer first,” Mike continues,“ and we put service before cash, and cash before cost.
“ If you take care of customers, you win their loyalty, then you win the volume and, ultimately, the efficiency game follows.”
This approach extends to CRV’ s internal operations. Mike explains that the CEO is focused on cross-functional collaboration, breaking down silos and other people-led shifts. For him, this is a reflection of Vietnam’ s welcoming culture:“ It’ s probably the easiest place I’ ve been to build teams.”
He adds that most people, especially the younger generations, are“ genuinely engaged to listen, learn and apply new skills and new ways of operating.”
While other cultural differences across Asia and beyond do shape the way retailers do business, Mike prefers to focus on common ground:“ Everyone loves an opportunity to get on and everyone loves to enjoy themselves at work. If you treat people the way you expect to be treated, you won’ t go far wrong.”
As Vietnam’ s retail sales rise – up 10.6 % in 2025 according to the National Statistics Office – CRV’ s people-first approach is setting it up for a future of continued growth.
Closing the modernisation gap There is increasing awareness in Vietnam of modern supply chain principles, such as centralisation and digitalisation, but, like many regions, the area faces a gap between theory and practice.
Mike highlights an uncomfortable truth for some: technology can’ t simply replace foundational processes.
148 November 2025