A campaign to encourage Vietnamese citizens to use made-in-Vietnam products has yielded positive results in 2 years of implementation. Vietnamese goods are available in every corner of the country even remote areas and areas inhabited by ethnic minority people. The campaign has changed consumers awareness of Vietnamese products, benefiting domestic production and corporate sustainable growth.
In 2011, the Ministry of Industry and Trade delivered 160 shipments of goods to rural areas from 1,600 business, who earned more than 2.8 million USD. Locally-made products comprise the majority of goods on sale in supermarkets and shopping centers. Enterprises have built their strategies on developing products and expanding their markets to rural and remote areas. According to organizers of the campaign called “Vietnamese prefer made-in-Vietnam products”, 59% of consumers say they give priority to Vietnamese goods, 38% say they advise their relatives and friends to buy Vietnamese goods and 36% say they shifted their shopping habits from buying imported products to buying domestic goods. Even in rural areas, which are considered dumping ground for low quality imported goods, made-in Vietnam products are in greater demand.
The best-selling local items are apparel, footwear, food, household appliances, building materials, home furnishing and stationery supplies. Nguyen Thi Hong Tin from the Vietnam Garment and Textile Group is enthusiastic about the domestic market: “Vietnam’s domestic market of more than 86 million people is promising. Many apparel companies have pioneered in developing this market: Viet Tien, Phong Phu, Nha Be, Garment company No10 and others. Revenues and profits earned from local consumption are remarkable”.
Distribution networks, however, are unorganized and exhibition and trade fairs often don’t support Vietnamese trademarks. Dinh Thi My Loan, Secretary General of the Vietnam Retailers’ Association, says sellers should be more dynamic and professional about product promotion and manufacturers should focus more on after-sale service: “Small retailers in traditional markets, producers and consumers are different parts of the jigsaw but the link between them is poor. For example, retailers can’t order goods from export producers, who require high volume orders with no return or exchange”.
Ho Thi Kim Thoa, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, said uniform measures are needed, and enterprises should improve their product quality and undercut import prices. She called on Vietnamese consumers to think about national growth when shopping: “Next year, we will focus more on connecting producers, distributors and consumers and improving trade infrastructure. Currently, goods are sold in markets, which meet only in on certain days in many remote areas. But on the other days, it’s impossible to buy or sell products. So we will work with local authorities to make sure Vietnamese products are always available at shopping centers and traditional markets in remote areas”.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade will accelerate the campaign “Vietnamese prefer made-in-Vietnam products” next year by helping enterprises promote their trademarks, touting the advantages of local-made products, organizing trade fairs and exhibitions, and working to expanding domestic markets. The Ministry will also strengthen certification of qualified products to build consumers’ confidence in domestic products.