Co-ordinated efforts needed to build strong Vietnamese brand names

Vietnamese products are becoming so popular with Vietnamese people that many clothing stores in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City post “made-in-Vietnam products” on their signboards to attract more customers.

At a recent conference to review the campaign “Vietnamese using Vietnamese products” in Ho Chi Minh City, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai said the campaign has had a positive effect on consumers and raised businesses’ awareness of their responsibilities.

Letting buying Vietnamese products become a habit

Since it was launched a year ago, the campaign has gained significant achievements. It has improved the competitiveness of the economy and businesses and Vietnamese products have penetrated both regional and international markets.

In Ho Chi Minh City, domestic products make up 95 percent of the goods on sale in supermarkets while businesses have earned VND1,467 billion in the 67 campaigns to bring Vietnamese goods to rural areas.

According to a recent survey by the Research Institute for Social Opinion under the Party Central Committee’s Commission of Information and Education, 59 percent of people surveyed said they prefer buying Vietnamese products, 38 percent said they will tell their families and friends to buy Vietnamese products, and 36 percent said they have changed their habits and now buy made-in-Vietnam products instead of imported ones.

These positive figures have motivated domestic businesses and manufacturers to expand their operations. They have taken the initiative to modernize their technologies and management to produce high-quality affordable products, set up a variety of distribution channels, and improve after-sale services to meet consumer demands.

Thanks to these effective measures, Vietnamese products are becoming increasingly popular with textile, garment and footwear products being favoured by 80 percent of the market, food and vegetables by 58 percent, household appliances by 49 percent, construction materials and furniture by 38 percent, and toys and school products by 34 percent.

How to hold sway in rural market

According to Nguyen Huu Thang, Chairman of the Hanoi Trade Corporation (Hapro), human resources are the biggest problem facing businesses when they bring their products to rural areas because most of their employees are used to working in big cities and urban areas.

Thang said low-income earners in rural areas still find it difficult to buy Vietnamese products even at cheap prices.

This means businesses need to set up more distribution channels and shopping centres in rural areas.

In fact, only some are keen to engage in such advertising campaigns, he said.

He stated that Hapro will work closely with local authorities to increase the effectiveness of the campaigns and promote Vietnamese brand names.

Van Duc Muoi, General Director of the Vissan Company, proposed the State simplify administrative procedure to help businesses gain more access to rural and remote areas.

Business should also take the initiative to bring products to rural areas more often than now, he said, adding that campaigning once a month is not enough.

Deputy PM Hai said this should be considered a long-term campaign that will determine the sustainable development of businesses and the country overall, and asked related agencies to come up with a set of criteria to assess the campaign’s effectiveness. – VOV

Tags: Vietnam brands