Rising incomes, an expanding economy and changing consumer patterns are attracting a growing number of international brands to Myanmar. By fuelling competition amongst existing players, their presence is expected to trigger an improvement in the range and quality of products and services on offer the Oxford Business Group (OBG) reported on their website on 21 September.
Daw Win Win Tint, managing director of leading retailer City Mart Group and president of the Myanmar Retailers Association, told OBG international brands are attracted to Myanmar’s strong economic growth and increasing consumer purchasing power.
“The average basket of goods continues to grow by around 10% per year mainly due to increasing spending power in urban cities, especially Yangon, where salaries have risen significantly,” she said.
Industry observers forecast a surge in consumer activity in the coming years, with the McKinsey Global Institute predicting in mid-2013 that Myanmar’s GDP would expand by more than four-fold by 2030, from around $45bn to $200bn. The group also predicted that rising incomes would fuel expansion of the country’s consumer class, jumping from 2.5m to 19m over the period, with consumer spending to triple to $100bn per year.