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Will the ‘Buy Vietnamese Goods’ campaign help VN’s products?
Late last week, the Politburo launched a ‘Vietnamese give priority to using Vietnamese goods’ campaign. Businesses hope that this Party initiative is really a big opportunity for them to conquer the home market. However, analysts warn that it will not be so easy to persuade Vietnamese people to use Vietnamese goods.
Tuoi tre newspaper asked consumers, producers and retailers what producers need to do to solidify their positions in the home market.
Nguyen Thi Yen Chau, a stall owner at Tan Dinh Market in HCM City
I have been selling goods here for dozens of years and I see more and more foreign-sourced products in the market, from dairy products to candy, shampoo and shower cream. Sometimes I urge customers to buy Vietnamese-made goods, but It’s as though nearly all the shoppers have made up their minds that Vietnamese goods are only for the common people. I think that we have many quality products, but because they aren’t advertised and producers do not offer after sales service, they sit on the shelf; no one even considers them.
Nguyen Thi Ngoc Linh, bank officer
I still prefer foreign made goods because I feel that the products have a better, more stable quality. I know we have some high-quality Vietnam-made goods, such as cosmetics, footwear and plastics, but I still do not like them because of the inadequate after-sales service.
To create a cultural preference for Vietnamese goods, producers need to make Vietnamese consumers feel proud of using domestic goods. Vietnamese consumers will respond if domestic producers make a heavier investment in improving product and service quality.
Nguyen Xuan Hai, Head Manager of a Big C supermarket
Sales at the supermarket in recent days show that Vietnamese consumers now tend to use more Vietnam-made goods. I think that our products, especially consumer goods, have many competitive advantages.
First, the products fit consumers’ wishes, and the diversity of products can satisfy the demand of many classes of consumers. Second, the prices of domestic goods cover a wider range, from low to high, and so they are highly competitive.
The biggest problems of domestic goods are their weak advertising and unattractive packaging.
Nguyen Dinh Kim, a Director of Asia Footwear Company
The most important thing for enterprises is to understand consumer taste very well. Then they will understand what products they need to produce, who will use their products and how high the prices should be. The period of subsidies and rationing has gone, and we can’t force consumers to purchase this product or that one.
We can’t compel consumers to purchase low quality, relatively expensive products. I think that the campaign will put some pressure on domestic producers, because it is now consumers will look carefully at domestic products to find out what products we can make and if the goods can meet their requirements.
Ho Thi Kim Thoa, Chairwoman of the Dien Quang Lightbulb Company
It’s not that Vietnamese consumers do not like Vietnamese goods, but they don’t yet have information about high quality products which are made domestically. What’s the best way to propagandize people naturally? We producers need to answer through the goods we produce. Then there are some enterprises that make high quality products, but do not receive the necessary protection from government agencies against the counterfeit goods and illegally imported products that are available everywhere. If our high quality products cannot be protected from counterfeit goods, big efforts by Vietnamese producers to improve product quality will be in vain.
Nguyen Thi Dien, an executive at An Phuoc Garment Company
We domestic producers can only conquer Vietnamese consumers and persuade them to use our products instead of foreign made goods if our products are of high quality, are offered at reasonable prices, fit consumers’ tastes and are diversified to serve different market segments.
The campaign to ‘buy Vietnamese goods’ will be a lot of nonsense if producers cannot improve their product quality and reorganize production.
Hoang Tho Xuan, Director of the Domestic Market Management Department in the Ministry of Industry and Trade
Now our ministry is implementing a programme to stimulate the internal domestic market. We are surveying consumers’ tastes to help businesses to set suitable strategies on production and sale. Many trade fairs and campaigns to bring goods to rural areas are being undertaken. All these things will help Vietnamese people to get familiar with Vietnamese goods and help enterprises establish sales networks in the countryside.
However, companies themselves need to improve the quality and designs of products. Consumers will only use Vietnamese goods if they have high quality and reliable after sales services.
Heard at a ‘Buy Vietnam’ fair in Ben Tre province, August 6-7, where 36 companies exhibited their goods:
Shopper Nguyen Thi Anh Hong from Cho Lach district: “I can see many products that have high quality and reasonable prices. If the designs are attractive and the quality is better, all consumers will use Vietnamese goods.”
Shopper Vo Thi Thanh from Mo Cay Bac district related that she had visited all 36 booths and she wanted to buy all the things she saw. She said that she had planned just to window shop, but she ended up spending 170,000 dong on goods. “The Duy Tan plastic tubs were 5000 dong less than at the market I use, the My Hao soaps are 10,000 dong cheaper and they were giving promotional gifts, too. If more Vietnamese products get to the countryside at a reasonable price, it will be good for all of us farmers.”
vietnamnet, tt
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