This was the fourth time Saigon Co-op has received a gold award. In the past it has been recognized as one of the top ten retailers in the region. SJC won a silver award (for the second time) and Saigon-Nguyen Kim a bronze award (for the first time).

This annual event has been held since 2004 to honor retailers from 14 economies in the Asia-Pacific region: Australia, China, Hong Kong–China, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Chinese Taipei and Vietnam.

Steven HL Goh, the chief executive officer of the Asia Retail Journal, spoke highly of economic and retail development in Vietnam in recent years.