Vietnam’s menswear makers conquer home market

VietNamNet Bridge – The ‘great recession’ had a silver lining for Vietnamese menswear manufacturers. 

VietNamNet Bridge – The ‘great recession’ had a silver lining for Vietnamese menswear manufacturers.  When export orders plummeted, they turned their attention to developing national distribution networks, and have fast gained dominant market share.< />

Garment makers face declining orders

Garment sector tops table in export totals 

Lack of capital threatening garment exports 

In the last year alone, Vietnamese menswear manufacturers have opened 220 retail shops that sell office-style clothing.  Another 80 more shops will be open by the end of the year. 

These are garment companies that have built up substantial manufacturing expertise by meeting the exacting requirements of foreign importers.  While their order books were full, they didn’t pay much attention to the domestic market.  Now, reports Saigon Tiep Thi, they are learning how to serve a fast-growing market at home.

Opening shops as quickly as possible

The Nha Be Garment Company has opened 100 of its ‘Mattana’ shops in just one year.

Viet Tien Company remains the market leader.  It has opened 30 shops featuring its new, popularly priced ‘Viet Long’ menswear brand. That’s in addition to the 500 shops that sell under its ‘Viet Tien’ badge and 22  ‘Sanciaro – Manhattan’ shops.

An Phuoc Company is also stepping up the pace, aiming to increase the visibility of its own upscale shirt brand.  It now has 79 retail shops and plans to open about ten each year.

Khanh Viet Company has opened four shops to promote its ‘Khatoco’ trademark, the first of up to 50 that will specialize in selling office-style fashion products for men across the country.

Another new entrant in domestic retailing is Viet Tay.  Since late 2009, five ‘Viet Tay’ shops have been opened in HCM City and 10 more will be set up in suburban districts.

The Vietnamese menswear makers’ retail shops include stores on main streets, in supermarkets and shopping malls.  Shirt prices range from 150,000 dong to one million.  Upscale brands are competing successfully with imports in high grade shopping malls, including Parkson, VIncom and Zen Plaza.

Aiming for ‘distinctive’ products

Tran Huu An, a senior executive at Khanh Viet, said his company “can weave patterned fabric according to our own designs. We have the financial capability to buy materials at good prices, and our large distribution network and staff can quickly move products to sales points.”

Le Mac Thuan at Nha Be Company says the ‘Mattana’ brand shirts are quite different from the products of other companies because the shirts are made with Japanese technology which is quite different from European or US technologies.

Services are still ‘under development’

Most of the menswear companies are still learning how to serve the market.  Colors and sizes are sometimes limited.  At retail points, sales staff typically sell both low quality ‘no-name’ garments and the branded high quality products.  In many cases, the profit margin is greater on the no-name items, and so sellers urge their customers to buy the cheaper goods.

A company may have hundreds of retail points.  However, if people want to exchange a purchase, they must return to the store where they bought the item.

Dinh Tien Na, the officer in charge of developing Viet Tien’s Sanciaro line, says “High quality products are not everything. The development of a trademark still depends on good customer service, on the image and the design of retail shops, and on the ‘vibe’ a customer gets when he walks into the shop.”

Source: Saigon tiep thi

Tags: Retail Shops, Physics games

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