Many well-known Vietnamese brands have been bought by foreign companies recently, said a representative of ‘Friday Business Forum Club’ at a seminar, in which 500 businesses took part.
Vietnamese brand ‘Pho 24’ has been bought by a foreign company (Photo:SGGP)
Brands take years to build and much effort and money goes into creating a brand name, but to lose it takes a short time. As the brand becomes well-known and famous, other companies eye it as a prospective investment.
In the same way, Vietnam is slowly losing its many famous brands to foreign prospectors.
Highland Coffee bought 100 per cent stocks of ‘Pho 24’ brand and then later sold off 50 per cent to Jollibee- Philippines largest fast food chain.
Lotte, a Korean brand, bought 38 per cent of stocks of Bien Hoa Confectionery Joint Stock Company (Bibica) and is currently managing the entire technology and development strategy of Bibica.
Many foreign companies are eyeing Vietnamese brands in the beverage and beer industry.
Many foreign companies have swallowed Vietnamese companies by collecting stocks during the period that Vietnamese stock market went down in 2009-2011.
According to statistics, more than 50,000 Vietnamese businesses have stopped operations and nearly 7,000 of these have declared bankruptcy.
To keep Vietnamese brands from being overtaken, many participants at the seminar suggested that Vietnamese businesses need to build effective business strategies and focus on developing strong brand names.
In addition, they need to conduct surveys of people’s opinions on their products and carry out extensive market research.
Vietnamese companies should pay more attention to quality standards of products; advanced technology and competitiveness in the market, said Pham Tri Hung from VNR Research Division.
Currently, most Vietnamese companies create their brand name in a simple, basic way by putting stickers on their products and selling them in the market. Such Vietnamese products lack credibility and fail to grip the consumer market.
