McDonald's Ben Thanh store suddenly announced its closure after 10 years

Image of McDonald's Ben Thanh in the first days of opening - Photo: McDonald's Vietnam Fanpage

As one of the first stores in Vietnam, McDonald's Ben Thanh is considered to be in an "extremely central" location, close to the bustling Ben Thanh market and not far from the Western Bui Vien area, which is often crowded with tourists. Therefore, the news that McDonald's Ben Thanh will officially close after 10 years of operation has attracted a wave of public opinion.

On the McDonald's Vietnam fanpage on September 16, the fast food chain suddenly announced that McDonald's Ben Thanh will officially close at 2am on September 19. The reason was not announced, but once again the online community pointed to the reason of "not being able to afford the rent of the central location".

With a prime location and 24/7 opening hours, McDonald's Ben Thanh is not only a place to provide fast food but also a meeting place for young people and tourists in the middle of the night. Many people expected this place to "try to stay" until the first metro line is put into operation. At that time, this will be a destination that is hard to ignore for people.

With the announcement of McDonald's Ben Thanh closing, the American fast food chain will have 35 locations nationwide in Vietnam, with about 17 locations in Ho Chi Minh City alone.

After Starbucks, McDonald's closure of its central location has marked another upheaval in the food and beverage (F&B) market in Vietnam.

The fact that these two "giants" in the culinary industry have consecutively stopped operating several key branches in the center of Ho Chi Minh City shows changes in development strategy, as well as the increasingly fierce competition in the F&B industry.

International brands are facing high operating costs, pressure from central rental prices and changes in Vietnamese consumer behavior, not to mention strong competition from domestic and regional brands.

"It is possible that both Starbucks and McDonald's have restructuring plans to optimize business efficiency, but the closure of prominent locations such as Ben Thanh shows that they are adjusting their strategies to adapt to fluctuations in the market," an expert in the F&B industry commented.

However, the closure of long-standing stores and points of sale inevitably makes consumers regret a new experience and change in service style that appeared many years ago.

The question is whether the withdrawal of these big brands will pave the way for other F&B "giants" to jump into the same space?

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/cua-hang-mcdonald-s-ben-thanh-bat-ngo-thong-bao-dong-cua-sau-10-nam-20240916180510321.htm