The volume of Thai products in the Vietnamese market is expected toincrease as Thai retailers expand their presence in the country.
VuVinh Phu, Chairman of the Hanoi Supermarket Association told Vnexpressof a number of concerns about recent deals that enable Thai companies tofurther penetrate the domestic retail market.
The deals includeThai company Berli Jucker's purchase of Metro Cash & Carry Vietnamfor 876 million USD earlier this month, and the opening by Thai CentralRetail Corporation of the 10,000-square meter Robins shopping center inthe capital city last April. Vietnamplus reported that,Thai CentralRetail aimed to become one of Vietnam's most popular retailers.
"Thaicompanies have nurtured the ambition of competing with Chinesecompanies in the Southeast Asian market for quite some time now," arepresentative of a Thai company told Vnexpress at the Thailand TradeExpo here last week.
"Vietnam, a highly-populated market, is akey part of the Thai chain that is penetrating the regional market,"said the representative, in response to questions on the recent Thaiexpansion in Vietnam.
"A complete market trajectory throughshopping malls and supermarkets will help them achieve the target,especially in 2015, when the ASEAN Economic Community is set to launch,"the representative added.
Nearly 150 leading Thai companiesdisplayed a variety of products at the trade expo, including food andbeverages, health and beauty products, household products and electricalappliances. Also on display were jewellery, textiles and garments anddecorative items, as well as auto spare parts, bicycles and accessories.
Hoang Ha, a resident of the capital city, told Vietnam Newsthat members of her family have favoured Thai consumer products sincethe 1990s, when most of the products were hand-carried.
Twentyyears later, patronage of Thai products by Vietnamese consumers hasbecome a widespread habit as shown by the crowd that showed up at theexpo.
"Thai goods are indeed of high quality, durable,well-designed and quite affordable," said Mai Huong, a young mother whobought several items for her baby and ingredients for cooking at theexpo.
Thu Trang, another loyal consumer of Thai products, told Vietnam News she has been frequently attending Thai trade expos.
"I'malways able to find something good to buy when I visit. Good qualityand good design are coupled with good pricing. What more should youexpect?" Trang asked.
The question remains: what should Vietnamese companies do to retain their hold over the domestic retail market?
"Allcompanies must follow market rules. If Thai products are good, theywill be imported for re-sale in Vietnam," an official of the Hoang GiaTrade Export Import Company told Vnexpress.
Experts suggest thatVietnamese companies improve quality control, as well as managementcapacity for manufacturing and distributing.
Than Duc Thien,Deputy Director of Garment 10 JSC (Garco 10), said his company plannedto focus on quality, design, marketing and branding activities so as tocompete effectively with foreign rivals.
The Vietnam NationalTextile and Garment Group (Vinatex) also announced that it hasrestructured its domestic business strategy to further invest indomestic production by expanding its sales and distribution units anddeveloping the fashion industry.
Vinatex is expanding itsdistribution chain by setting up 50 Vinatexmart outlets nationwide andseeking private distributors who could link them to more consumers.
NguyenTrong Tuan, Deputy General Director of Ocean Retail and Real EstateMangement Company, said that in the competition, Vietnamese producershave to distinguish their brands, define target consumers and minimizedependence on promotion and sales.
Experts also suggest thatVietnamese producers and distributors meet and draw up strategies todefend themselves against foreign billionnaire retailers.-VNA
VuVinh Phu, Chairman of the Hanoi Supermarket Association told Vnexpressof a number of concerns about recent deals that enable Thai companies tofurther penetrate the domestic retail market.
The deals includeThai company Berli Jucker's purchase of Metro Cash & Carry Vietnamfor 876 million USD earlier this month, and the opening by Thai CentralRetail Corporation of the 10,000-square meter Robins shopping center inthe capital city last April. Vietnamplus reported that,Thai CentralRetail aimed to become one of Vietnam's most popular retailers.
"Thaicompanies have nurtured the ambition of competing with Chinesecompanies in the Southeast Asian market for quite some time now," arepresentative of a Thai company told Vnexpress at the Thailand TradeExpo here last week.
"Vietnam, a highly-populated market, is akey part of the Thai chain that is penetrating the regional market,"said the representative, in response to questions on the recent Thaiexpansion in Vietnam.
"A complete market trajectory throughshopping malls and supermarkets will help them achieve the target,especially in 2015, when the ASEAN Economic Community is set to launch,"the representative added.
Nearly 150 leading Thai companiesdisplayed a variety of products at the trade expo, including food andbeverages, health and beauty products, household products and electricalappliances. Also on display were jewellery, textiles and garments anddecorative items, as well as auto spare parts, bicycles and accessories.
Hoang Ha, a resident of the capital city, told Vietnam Newsthat members of her family have favoured Thai consumer products sincethe 1990s, when most of the products were hand-carried.
Twentyyears later, patronage of Thai products by Vietnamese consumers hasbecome a widespread habit as shown by the crowd that showed up at theexpo.
"Thai goods are indeed of high quality, durable,well-designed and quite affordable," said Mai Huong, a young mother whobought several items for her baby and ingredients for cooking at theexpo.
Thu Trang, another loyal consumer of Thai products, told Vietnam News she has been frequently attending Thai trade expos.
"I'malways able to find something good to buy when I visit. Good qualityand good design are coupled with good pricing. What more should youexpect?" Trang asked.
The question remains: what should Vietnamese companies do to retain their hold over the domestic retail market?
"Allcompanies must follow market rules. If Thai products are good, theywill be imported for re-sale in Vietnam," an official of the Hoang GiaTrade Export Import Company told Vnexpress.
Experts suggest thatVietnamese companies improve quality control, as well as managementcapacity for manufacturing and distributing.
Than Duc Thien,Deputy Director of Garment 10 JSC (Garco 10), said his company plannedto focus on quality, design, marketing and branding activities so as tocompete effectively with foreign rivals.
The Vietnam NationalTextile and Garment Group (Vinatex) also announced that it hasrestructured its domestic business strategy to further invest indomestic production by expanding its sales and distribution units anddeveloping the fashion industry.
Vinatex is expanding itsdistribution chain by setting up 50 Vinatexmart outlets nationwide andseeking private distributors who could link them to more consumers.
NguyenTrong Tuan, Deputy General Director of Ocean Retail and Real EstateMangement Company, said that in the competition, Vietnamese producershave to distinguish their brands, define target consumers and minimizedependence on promotion and sales.
Experts also suggest thatVietnamese producers and distributors meet and draw up strategies todefend themselves against foreign billionnaire retailers.-VNA
