Vietnamese manufacturers called ‘still clueless’ about consumer taste

Lots of reasons are offered to explain why Vietnamese goods don’t sell well at home. The fundamental problem may be a disconnect between what companies offer and what consumers want.

Vu Kim Hanh is Director of the Business Studies and Assistance Centre (BSA) in HCM City. Vietnamese goods have three weak points, he says: they are not diversified in design; manufacturers don’t study consumer tastes; and after-sales service is still poor.

Thuy Huong says that she prefers using shampoo in small packets to shampoo in big bottles, because the small packets are easily portable. Thus, Huong explains, she always uses the shampoo made by multinational companies, because only those companies make such packets. “If our soap companies understood customers at all,” she says, “they would do the same.”

In the garment industry, Chinese product designs change frequently, but Vietnamese manufacturers have been very slow to update their designs. Though the Chinese goods are generally regarded as lower quality, their variety helps them sell well.

According to BSA’s Kim Hanh, multinational groups do something very important that Vietnamese manufacturers do not do – consumer testing. Before launching a new product, she explains, foreign manufacturers always test market it. They give away trial samples, collect opinions from consumers, and modify their products accordingly. The manufacturers only launch their products on the market after they feel sure they fit customers’ taste.

The problem is ‘low financial capability’

Dang Chi Hung, business director of a kitchenware maker, says that it takes his company up to five months to launch a new product into the market, not including the time for making research and design.

“We once surveyed the public about the design of a cast iron pan to bake bánh khọt, and we collected hundreds of different opinions. Some people said the pan should be larger, others said it should be deeper. This confused us no end,” Hung said.

Le Xuan Khue at the Hang Viet Company, a veteran of many high-quality product fairs, concludes that Vietnamese manufacturers just can’t produce what our consumers want. They are mostly small or medium-sized firms, unwilling to spend time and money to design new products or invest in marketing to advertise new products. Therefore, enterprises would rather upgrade existing products rather than risk designing new products.

As a result, says Khue, consumers tend to buy foreign-made goods.

There are exceptions, for example, Nhon Hoa, a maker of scales. There was a time when the company only made medium size scales. Now it also makes small scales that are convenient for kitchen use at home.

“It is not difficult to upgrade product lines. We manufacturers just need to pay attention to consumers’ demand in order to make high quality and handy products,” a Nhon Hoa representative said.- Tuoi tre

Tags: Vietnamese goods