It is estimated that foreign businesses now hold 51% of Vietnam’s retail market share. Noticeably, Thai investors are very keen in dominating the retail market. Japanese groups also aim at turning Vietnam into their second large retail market in the Southeast Asian region. In the face of the situation, domestic retailers need to join hands to host fast to the domestic market.
Invasion of foreign products
Foreign commodities are flooding province-based supermarkets and plazas. Thai groups are acquiring Metro, Big C supermarket chains while supermarket chains of Japan’s AEON and South Korea’s Lotte Mart are overwhelmed with products from these countries.
Wooden products being processed at a company in Binh Duong
Duong Bao Khuong, Deputy Director of Co.opmart Binh Duong supermarket was also concerned as foreign products are present at most supermarkets and traditional markets. Not only in Binh Duong, the Co.opmart supermarket chain nationwide has tried its utmost to protect Vietnamese goods.
Whilst, Nguyen Thanh Trung, General Director of Binh Duong Sugar Company said that domestic agricultural products will face severe competition. This is also the worry of domestic businesses manufacturing consumer goods. And competitiveness is a matter of course of the global economic integration.
Vietnam also needs to have good preparation for agricultural products not to lost its market share to other countries. In fact, many kinds of fruits from the U.S, Australia, Canada, South Korea, Japan… have been present at Vietnam’s supermarkets and traditional markets in recent years.
Close linkage needed
According to Nguyen Thanh Kien, Director of Binh Duong Safe Vegetables Company, farmers still find it difficult to seek consumption markets for their products. His company has managed to set up a store chain to deal with a problem on consumption market for hi-tech agricultural products.
Nguyen Quang Vu, Director of Nam Binh Leather Footwear Company in Thuan An town said that the company has also built up a retail network via channels by itself. Similarly, province-based woodwork businesses have managed to develop their own retail networks.
According to experts, along with making close linkage from production to distribution, domestic businesses need to bend on enhancing the quality of products and services as well as customers’ satisfactoriness to them. They also need to promote some prioritized industries and auxiliary ones…
The General Statistics Office said that Vietnam’s total retail sales revenue of commodities and services in 2015 was estimated at VND3.2trillion, up 9.5% compared to that of 2014. With a population of nearly 90 million people, Vietnam has a strong retail market with very high potential for local and foreign businesses.
Reported by Xuan Vi-Translated by K.T
