Surveying around the central area of District 1, District 3 (HCMC), places that used to want to think about renting premises for business with only big brands are now flooded with signs advertising "renting premises".
Traveling through the "fashion street" of Nguyen Trai, it is easy to see many empty premises interspersed with scattered signs for rent. In addition to the fashion business premises, there is also the F&B business premises (cuisine, restaurant, food and beverage business services) in the waiting situation because they have been empty for more than a year...
Meanwhile, on the most prime streets of Ho Chi Minh City such as Dong Khoi, Nguyen Hue... many F&B business premises are still in a state of tangled rental lists, but have been left vacant in recent times.
The deal is often mentioned as a testament to the depreciation of traditional rental premises, which is a notable story related to Galaxy Reserve with the termination of the contract in the "golden land" of 11-13 Han Thuyen from August 26, 2024. The reason is said to be that the landlord could not negotiate an affordable rental price.
After nearly 1 year of taking it back, the owner of the 11-13 Han Thuyen premises is still having to leave the "golden land" vacant because no one has rented it yet. Meanwhile, Champions League has sought, negotiated and is about to open a new Champions Reserve store at Bitexco shopping mall.
Savills Vietnam's report on the Ho Chi Minh City real estate market in the first quarter of 2025 shows that the street retail space continues to be fiercely competited with modern retail, where goods and services are more diverse.
New shopping mall projects such as Thiso Mall Sala, Parc Mall, Vincom Mega Grand Park and Centre Mall Vo Van Kiet are all launched with a capacity of at least 70%. Notably, Centre Mall Vo Van Kiet (District 6) has recorded a capacity of 88%, although it has just opened.
In contrast, street retail is facing many challenges and competing fiercely with modern retail - where goods and services are more diverse.
According to Savills' observations, the vacant ratio of street retail premises has not yet recovered to its heyday before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The current average rental price of retail premises on major streets in Ho Chi Minh City is currently 10-20% lower than in 2019.
Homeowners continue to have incentives such as: extending the rental price, extending the payment schedule, reducing deposits or being more flexible during the rental period, but the situation of vacant premises has often continued in prime locations.
According to Ms. Cao Thi Thanh Huong - Senior Manager, Research Department, Savills HCMC, the main reason comes from changes in consumer shopping habits.
The extension of social distance during the pandemic has prompted people to seek more online shopping channels and gradually get used to experiencing the convenience and cost-saving ability when shopping online.
Currently, most consumers choose to continue this habit even as the market gradually recovers. This is a long-term change in consumer behavior, causing a significant impact on the demand for traditional retail space rental.
In addition to changes in consumer behavior, the clear difference in nature and operation between townhouses and shopping malls is also an important factor that makes retail brands increasingly prioritize choosing shopping malls.
This expert analyzed that townhouses often lack professional management, rental prices depend heavily on the homeowner's personal decisions, and lack consistency and stability.
Meanwhile, the shopping mall is well operated, with a clear rental price policy, a stable commercial environment and high customer turnover thanks to its location, planning and synchronous infrastructure.
