"Competitors" of Vietnamese goods

(Baonghean) - In recent years, the consumer goods market has reduced the fever of using Chinese goods as Vietnamese goods have affirmed their position with improved quality, diverse and rich types and designs, and reasonable prices. However, the market share of Vietnamese goods is facing a new challenge: the "invasion" of goods originating from Thailand.

According to observations, more and more housewives prefer to use Thai products. That is the reason why nowadays in Vinh City, there are constantly appearing stores selling Thai products. There are even streets specializing in selling Thai products, of which Hong Bang Street is a typical example. When talking about Thai products, people will immediately think of this street. Here, consumers are fully satisfied with their needs, from household items such as tissues, bowls and chopsticks, laundry detergent, fabric softener, rice cookers, blenders, to food and foodstuffs such as candy, soft drinks, rice of all kinds, etc.

On this route, there are also stores selling Thai silver jewelry. Shoes, fashion clothes, and cosmetics also tend to be imported from Thailand. Ms. Mai Trang (Le Mao Ward, Vinh City) - a customer at a store selling Thai goods, said: "I am a regular customer of this store because I often choose household items originating from Thailand. Thai products are durable, reasonably priced, not much higher than similar Vietnamese products, while the quality is comparable, and many items are even better." According to the owner of a Thai goods store: "The number of customers shopping at the store on normal days is quite large. Especially, on holidays and Tet, the number of customers increases 5-6 times."

Row of shops specializing in Thai products on Hong Bang Street (Vinh City)

In terms of price, compared to Chinese consumer goods, Thai goods are slightly higher, and compared to branded goods from developed European and Asian countries such as Japan and Korea, Thai goods are much cheaper, but the quality is still guaranteed. That is why Thai goods are very popular in Vietnam. A blender Made in Thailand costs 400,000 VND - 800,000 VND. Meanwhile, the Philips and Panasonic branded machines cost from 900,000 VND - 1,500,000 VND; Sharp and Toshiba electric rice cookers cost from 700,000 VND to 2,500,000 VND, Hiep Hung and Kim Cuong electric rice cookers from Vietnam cost from 200,000 VND to 600,000 VND, while "popular" products manufactured in Thailand and imported into Vietnam cost from 500,000 VND to 700,000 VND. According to Ms. Kim Tien, the owner of a kiosk selling electrical appliances at Vinh market, customers still prefer Thai electrical appliances because they are more durable than Chinese products but the prices are not too expensive, consumers with average incomes can buy them without having to consider the price.

About 5-7 years ago, Thai goods were mainly cosmetics, cars, motorbikes and only appeared in a few stores. But now, Thai goods have become popular everywhere such as agents, stores, markets, supermarkets... According to statistics from the General Department of Customs in 2013, with a level of 3.45 billion USD, Thailand ranked 4th out of 6 markets where Vietnam had a trade deficit of over 1 billion USD. The presence of Thai goods makes the consumer market more vibrant, consumers have more choices. However, Vietnamese goods are facing the challenge of competition, even unfair competition. Because besides the goods imported officially, there is currently a large number of goods from Thailand smuggled into Vietnam through unofficial channels, so the prices are competitive with Vietnamese goods because they are not subject to import tax, the quality is not controlled, so the interests of consumers are not protected against poor quality goods. It is known that the authorities have also intervened to prevent smuggled goods from Thailand and some neighboring countries. However, there are still a large number of smuggled goods on the market, including Thai goods. According to the Nghe An Market Management Department, in 2013, the Department seized a number of types of smuggled goods from Thailand, mainly confectionery, household electrical appliances, cosmetics; in the first 4 months of 2014, the Market Management Department confiscated and handled 52 rice cookers, 792 kg of confectionery, 608 packages/boxes of confectionery, 144 packages of fabric softener and a number of other goods smuggled from Thailand.

In order for Vietnamese people to always trust Vietnamese products, in addition to businesses having strategies to improve quality, design, and minimize production costs of products to suit the needs and tastes of the majority of consumers, State management agencies also need to be resolute in inspecting and controlling the market to prevent smuggled goods, creating a healthy competitive environment for domestic businesses to protect consumer rights.

Orchid