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Big name phone brands under threat
As Vietnam’s mobile phone market booms, with more than 81 million subscribers already, consumers are increasingly turning to lesser-known handset brands.
The market is currently dominated by big-name international brands such as Nokia, Samsung, Motorola and Sony Ericsson, according to Sai Gon Tiep Thi (Sai Gon Marketing) newspaper.
Custom officials reported about 40 international mobile phone brands are imported into Vietnam, with each brand including dozens of models.
But international brands are facing increasing competition from lesser known Vietnamese and imported brands of phones, which are especially popular among medium- and low-income earners.
It is estimated that about 1.5 million low-priced handsets with lesser-known brands were sent to Vietnam last year.
And Vietnam’s mobile phone market is set to get expand.
U.S. web-based analyst Seeking Alpha forecast Vietnam will become one of the largest mobile phone markets in Asia, with an estimated 120 million subscribers by the end of 2014, Vietnam News Agency reported in an article published in April.
Four mobile phone service providers in Vietnam plan to offer third generation (3G) mobile technology soon to advantage of a projected 53 million new mobile phone service subscriptions over the next five years.
Vietnamese handset brands, such as Mobell, Q-Mobile, ConnSpeed, Bavapen, F-Mobile and MobiStar, retail for much less than the big-name international models. The cheaper handsets, with entertainment functions such as a camera and music and video players, retail for less than VND3million (US$175).
“Products from smaller brands have a number of advantages, including affordable prices, with multiple functions and acceptable designs,” said Ngo Nguyen Kha, deputy director of local mobile phone distributor P&T Mobile. “Their quality is also accepted by Vietnamese consumers as they are aware of the producers and the distributors of the products.”
A big-name cell phone with two SIM card slots can cost more than VND2 million ($117) but a similar phone of a lesser-known brand retails for about VND800,000 ($46.75).
To maintain their market share, some of the big names brands have slashed prices and are offering giveaways, such as an extra prepaid SIM card with each phone.
Hong Nguyen
vietnews
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