|
Vietnamese names unsalable?
Giving English or Japanese names instead of purely Vietnamese names to products is a successful way of marketing that many producers have employed.
There are many brands of electronics and home appliances now available on the market, including Vietnamese ones. However, the Vietnamese brands do not have purely Vietnamese names, but English or Japanese names.
The Vietnamese brands with Japanese names
Hitoshi and Fujiyama are two brands which have been given to Vietnamese consumer products such as blenders, washing machines and electric pans. The Japanese-style names make people think that the products are made in Japan. However, if searching on Google, one would find out that Fujiyama is the name of the company with headquarters in Shen Juan in China which produces audio and mobile phone products. Meanwhile, the name Hitoshi cannot be found on any website.
Producers and sellers who name products with foreign names have every reason to do that. It is clear that this is a good way of attracting buyers, especially when Vietnamese consumers prefer foreign goods to Vietnamese.
Products with Vietnamese brands less salable
Ha Doan, one of the people who invented ABTel Company’s Q-Mobile brand, related that at first, they wanted to use a purely Vietnamese name, but they changed their minds because they feared that a Vietnamese name would not attract clients.
“As a business, we do not allow ourselves to venture in a business field which regularly sees fluctuations,” Doan said.
Ngo Nguyen Kha, Deputy General Director of P&T Mobile, the owner of Mobistar brand, said that he has made a mini survey of the attractiveness of brands to consumers. Regarding coffee brands, foreigners and young clients now well know ‘Highlands’ coffee, while many consumers may have forgotten ‘Trung Nguyen’, though it is the brand which is accredited with having popularised Vietnamese coffee in the last decade.
Kha said that it is not difficult to find a purely Vietnamese name. However, the problem is that a Vietnamese name may make consumers think that the product is not designed for them.
Besides, Kha said, when naming products, the owners of the products should think big. “Imagine that the products will appear in foreign markets some day. How can foreigners read brand names in Vietnamese, then?” he said.
“I give a foreign name to my product, but I make no secret about the Vietnamese origin of the brand name,” he added.
Nguyen Huy Can, Deputy Director of Tan Dong Tam Company, the owner of mobile phone brand ‘ConnSpeed’, also said that this is just a way of attracting buyers.
The owner of a brand with foreign name, who asked to be anonymous, said that producers should not use names which are similar to existing ones.
“I agree with other producers that products will be unsalable if they have Vietnamese names. Consumers well understand that Vietnam still cannot manufacturer all parts of products, how can we use purely Vietnamese names for them?” he said.
VietNamNet, SGTT
|
