We just recently came across a very interesting article published by Vietnam Investment Review (VIR), titled Why Vietnamese Brands Struggle in Other Markets? The question is spot-on. As discussed in the article, Vietnam is the country where various big brand goods are being produced entirely or partially, including Nike, Volkswagen.
With industrial capabilities so advanced that the country is a choice for high-prestige companies, how come Vietnam fails to export its own brands, and at the same time fails to impress Vietnamese consumers with domestic brands?
For Vietnamese, local products and local brands are often seen as “uncool” because of a variety of reasons, even if the company has the qualities to be a respected, popular brand.
Vietnamese companies are not good at brand management
As a brand focused market research company, we are most interested in examining how Vietnamese companies, both private and state-owned
To measure how the largest companies are perceived by Vietnamese, we configured a brand awareness and perceptions audit. We have collected slightly over 1,000,000 responses from a mixed audience in Ho Chi Minh City & Hanoi. To keep this article focused, only the popularity scores will be shared.
The results show that over 50% of the Vietnamese domestic mega-corporations are seen as unpopular, with a popularity score below 6 out of 10, or lower. This is significantly lower compared to results in other Asian countries, such as South Korea or Singapore.
| Name | Popularity score (1 to 10) | Industry | Sector | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appota Corporation | 8 | Technology | Software | Mobile apps |
| Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) | 8 | Financials | Banks | Private bank |
| Bao Viet Holdings | 8 | Financials | Full line insurance | Include Bao Viet Insurance, Life, Securities, and Bank |
| Bidiphar | 7 | Health care | Pharmaceuticals | Pharma |
| Casumina | 7 | Consumer goods | Tires | Tire, rubber |
| Hai Au Paper | 7 | Basic materials | Paper | Paper products |
| Highlands Coffee | 7 | Consumer services | Restaurants & bars | Coffee chain |
| Khaisilk | 7 | Consumer services | Restaurants & bars | Restaurants |
| Mekong Auto | 7 | Consumer goods | Automobiles | |
| Mekong Capital | 7 | Financials | Equity investment instruments | Private equity |
| MobiFone | 7 | Telecommunications | Mobile telecommunications | Mobile network |
| 7 | ||||
| Petrovietnam | 7 | Oil & gas | Oil & gas producers | State oil & gas |
| S-Fone | 7 | Telecommunications | Mobile telecommunications | Mobile network |
| Thế Giới Publishers | 7 | Consumer services | Publishing | Publisher |
| TMA Solutions | 7 | Technology | Software | Software development and outsourcing |
| Vietinbank | 7 | Financials | Banks | State bank |
| Vietsovpetro | 7 | Oil & gas | Oil & gas exploration & production | Oil & gas exploration |
| Viettel | 7 | Telecommunications | Mobile telecommunications | State mobile network |
| Vinacafe | 7 | Consumer goods | Food products | Coffee and cereals |
| 7 | ||||
| Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) | 6 | Financials | Banks | State bank |
| Bien Viet Securities | 6 | Financials | Investment services | Investments |
| Binh Minh Plastic | 6 | Basic materials | Commodity chemicals | Plastics |
| Central Service Flight Company | 6 | Consumer services | Airlines | Charter helicopters |
| Habeco | 6 | Consumer goods | Brewers | Beer |
| Northern Vietnam Helicopter Company | 6 | Consumer services | Airlines | Charter helicopter |
| Orient Commercial Joint Stock Bank | 6 | Financials | Banks | Bank |
| Pacific Airlines | 6 | Consumer services | Airlines | Low-cost airline |
| Phu My Hung Corporation | 6 | Industrials | Heavy construction | Infrastructure |
| PJICO | 6 | Financials | Full line insurance | Insurance, Part of Petrolimex |
| Southern Service Flight Company | 6 | Consumer services | Airlines | Charter helicopters |
| Tan Tao Group | 6 | Industrials | Heavy construction | Infrastructure development |
| Tre Publishing House | 6 | Consumer services | Publishing | Book and magazine publisher |
| Vietnam Electricity | 6 | Utilities | Electricity | Power company |
| Vietnam Helicopter Corporation | 6 | Consumer services | Airlines | State charter helicopters |
| Vietnam Multimedia Corporation | 6 | Consumer services | Media | General media firm |
| Vinacomin | 6 | Basic materials | Coal | State coal mining |
| Vinamilk | 6 | Consumer goods | Beverages | Dairy |
| Vinare | 6 | Financials | Reinsurance | Commercial reinsurance |
| Vingroup | 6 | Conglomerates | – | Automobiles, consumer goods, financials, industrials, basic materials, real estate development, retail, services, healthcare, hospitality, pharmaceuticals, technology |
| Bien Hoa Sugar | 5 | Consumer goods | Food products | Sugar |
| Cuulong Fish | 5 | Consumer goods | Farming & fishing | Fishery |
| Đại Cát Tường | 5 | Consumer goods | Clothing & accessories | Textiles, part of Vinatex |
| Kim Dong Publishing House | 5 | Consumer services | Publishing | Children’s books |
| Nafovanny | 5 | Health care | Life sciences | Primate captive-breeding |
| Petrolimex Gas | 5 | Oil & gas | Oil & gas producers | LNG, Part of Petrolimex |
| Phu Phong Glass Joint Stock Company | 5 | Industrials | Building materials & fixtures | Glass |
| Southern Seed | 5 | Consumer goods | Farming & fishing | Seeds |
| Vietnam Petroleum Institute | 5 | Oil & gas | Oil & gas exploration & production | Research and exploration |
| Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) | 5 | Conglomerates | – | Telecommunications, financials, technology |
| Vietnamobile | 5 | Telecommunications | Mobile telecommunications | Mobile network, acquired EVNTelecom in 2011) |
| Vinaphone | 5 | Telecommunications | Mobile telecommunications | Part of Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group |
| FPT Group | 4 | Technology | Software | IT consulting and development |
| Hanoi Radio Television | 4 | Consumer services | Broadcasting & entertainment | Radio and television |
| Hanoimilk | 4 | Consumer goods | Beverages | Milk and dairy |
| Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group | 4 | Conglomerates | – | Consumer goods, financials, industrials, basic materials |
| LienVietPostBank | 4 | Financials | Banks | Bank |
| Petrolimex | 4 | Oil & gas | Oil & gas producers | State petroleum |
| PetroVietnam Finance Corporation | 4 | Financials | Specialty finance | Non-banking finance, part of Petrovietnam |
| Phuoc Sang Films | 4 | Consumer services | Broadcasting & entertainment | Film studio |
| Sabeco Brewery | 4 | Consumer goods | Brewers | Saigon Beer |
| SAMCO | 4 | Consumer goods | Automobiles | |
| Sara Vietnam | 4 | Industrials | Business training | Technology education |
| Savimex | 4 | Consumer goods | Furnishings | Furniture |
| THACO | 4 | Consumer goods | Automobiles | |
| TVM Comics | 4 | Consumer services | Publishing | Comic publisher |
| VietJet Air | 4 | Consumer services | Airlines | Low-cost airline |
| Vietnam Air Services Company | 4 | Consumer services | Airlines | Airline, part of Vietnam Airlines |
| Vinatex | 4 | Consumer goods | Clothing & accessories | Textiles |
| VinFast | 4 | Consumer goods | Automobiles | Subsidiary of Vingroup |
| Gmobile | 3 | Telecommunications | Mobile telecommunications | Mobile network |
| Hai Ha Confectionery | 3 | Consumer goods | Food products | Confectionary |
| Hoa Cam Concrete | 3 | Industrials | Building materials & fixtures | Concrete |
| Hue Beer | 3 | Consumer goods | Brewers | Brewery |
| Kinh Do Corporation | 3 | Consumer goods | Food products | Food conglomerate |
| 3 | ||||
| PetroVietnam Insurance | 3 | Financials | Full line insurance | Insurance, part of Petrovietnam |
| Trung Nguyên | 3 | Consumer goods | Beverages | Coffee |
| Vietcombank | 3 | Financials | Banks | Commercial bank |
| Vietnam Airlines | 3 | Consumer services | Airlines | Flag-carrier airline |
| Vietnam Asset Management | 3 | Financials | Equity investment instruments | Fund management |
| Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development | 3 | Financials | Banks | Agribank |
| Vietnam Railways | 3 | Industrials | Railroads | State railway |
| Viglacera Corporation | 3 | Industrials | Building materials & fixtures | Construction materials |
| Vinavico Group | 3 | Industrials | Heavy construction | Infrastructure and power construction |
| VNG Corporation | 3 | Technology | Internet | Online content and games |
| World Auto | 3 | Consumer goods | Automobiles | Volkswagen assembly |
Why Vietnamese don’t like domestic brands?
Vietnamese market research participants left overwhelmingly poor comments and feedback regarding the listed companies. Common reasons for disliking were:
- Ugly brand identity
- Bad reputation
- Exploiting local workers
- Cheaters
- Liars
- Not popular
- Not desirable
Less than 18% of survey respondents disliked companies because of product or quality-related reasons, while over 70% of negative responses were linked to the brand image and public opinion o the company.
With corporate identities and poorly designed brand experiences that look decade old, it is not surprising why Vietnamese companies fail to make a good impression on their local customers and ex-pats alike.
Back in 2018, VnExpress published an informative article about the same issue: https://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/economy/vietnamese-consumers-losing-interest-in-domestic-products-survey-3706242.html
With suspicion surrounding Vietnamese products, competitors from Japan, South Korea and Thailand have stepped in.
