The domestic market has been over years valued highly by local and foreign businesses. As such, the domestic market has been in fierce competition. Realizing potentials of Vietnamese market, many businesses in Binh Duong province have chosen ways to affirm their position in the coming time.

  Taking Vietnamese goods to rural areas is a way to approach local market effectively.

 

Lessons from Thien Nam

 

Garment is a staple export item of Vietnam over the past 10 years. However, as a strong country of garment export, Vietnam has been in shortage of auxiliary areas for the industry including fiber, silk, thread. This requires a material import for the garment industry. Therefore, actual value from the industry is not high.

 

Realizing potentials, Thien Nam Investment and Development JSC in Binh Duong province in 2001 invested in a fiber plant to cater for the domestic demand. Over the past 11 years, Thien Nam fiber trademark has gradually affirmed its name in the industry. At present, the company has had 4 plants in Binh Duong with the capacity of nearly 150,000 pickets of fiber, annually offering about 25,000 tons of various fibers with the total revenue of about VND1,500bil.

 

Thien Nam’s development has contributed to create the “made in Vietnam” fiber trademark, helping make up a Vietnamese brand name in domestic and foreign markets. Aside from meeting the domestic demand, Thien Nam fiber has served for foreign markets such as Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Korea, Turkey, Brazil, Taiwan…    

 

Assessing Thien Nam fiber, Ho Thi Kim Thoa, deputy minister of Trade and Industry, said investment in fiber industry of Thien Nam Company has contributed to raise competitive capacity of Vietnamese fiber industry on local and foreign markets. The deputy minister said that over the past 11 years Thien Nam’s development in the fiber industry has significance for the industry, helping increase localization.

 

Paradoxes

 

If Thien Nam fiber chooses ways to affirm its trademark in local market firstly, other businesses pay attention to export firstly, then to focus on domestic market. Talking about development of local market, Ly Ngoc Minh, general director of Minh Long I Ltd. said the company’s products were formerly focused on export. Since 1996, Minh Long I’s products have been increased in local market and accounted for about 70% of local market. Meanwhile, Cuong Phat Company’s products have been loved by local customers.

 

However, there remain many local businesses focusing on foreign market and forgetting local one. For example, Vietnamese timber industry focuses on export. Right in Binh Duong – a strong locality in timber production, there are only several showrooms of some trademarks such as Truong Thanh and Hoang Anh Gia Lai from central highlands. Meanwhile, customers find easily out timber products imported from Italia, the US, Taiwan, France…

 

It’s time for local businesses to pay more attention to domestic market and consider the market as a crucial channel to consume commodities. Nguyen Lam Vien, general director of Vinamit Company, said foreign businesses open showrooms to display their products, so Vietnamese enterprises should quickly set out strategies to spur local market.

 

Reported by V.Giang – Translated by A.C