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Vietnam’s top value brands

With a country that is experiencing rapid economic growth and deep integration like Vietnam, it is no longer a rare issue for businesses to enter the world market. The problem now is establishing Vietnamese brands on the map.

One of Vietnam's brands that has been identified not only domestically but also around the world is Vinamilk. Vinamilk has been ranked in the top 10 highest tax-paying businesses in Vietnam for two consecutive years. In 2017, Vinamilk ranked 6th in the list with total corporate income tax paid up to VND 1,800 billion. This enterprise has had acumen in its business strategy, focusing on investing in technology, expanding international cooperation and towards sustainable development. Vinamilk's investment in international-standard dairy farms has also made its mark on the world milk map with ‘Asia's largest global GAP dairy farm system in terms of number of farms’. In addition, Vinamilk is building a complex of organic dairy cow farms in Laos, with a large scale of up to 100,000 heads on an area of ​​20,000 hectares with total investment of US$500 million.

In addition, Vinamilk has started to exploit export markets since 1998 with an average growth of 24% per year. Vinamilk's products are present in more than 40 countries around the world including the Americas, Europe, Africa, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and other countries. This strategy is expected to help Vinamilk move faster to the target of Top 30 largest dairy companies in the world as well as leading the region in advanced nutritional trends.

The top 10 most valuable brands in Vietnam. Chart: T. Binh

With a bold strategy of investing abroad, Viettel has a way to build a brand in completely different international markets. Although Viettel is present in many countries, Viettel does not use its own brand in these markets, but in each country the group has a mobile network under its own name, logo, and brand positioning. They are: Metfone in Cambodia, Unitel in Laos, Bitel in Peru, Lumitel in Burundi, Telemor in East Timor, Nexttel in Cameroon, Mytel in Myanmar, Natcom in Haiti, Movitel in Mozambique, Halotel in Tanzania.

Just like in Vietnam, thanks to the strengths of technology and people, every Viettel network in the international market has been well received by consumers. When investing in Peru, Viettel determined to compete fiercely with carriers that have developed for a long time. But after only two years of business, Bitel was profitable and became the most popular network operator with a high customer satisfaction index (according to an investigation by Arellano – a market consulting and research company in Peru).

In addition to the two prominent brands mentioned above, many other Vietnamese brands have also invested in foreign markets and have gained many achievements, such as TH Group invested in a milk processing factory in Russia with total investment of up to 2.7 billion USD; in the field of construction materials, there is Viglacera; in the field of apparel, there is Viet Tien with stores in Southeast Asian countries; or many banks have also expanded their branches in ASEAN region.

Considering the largest private corporation in Vietnam – Vingroup – the introduction of names and brands to the world has been determined by many bold and breakthrough business activities. Most notably, Vingroup set up VinFast Company – specializing in manufacturing and trading cars and electric motorcycles with the world's leading scale and modern factories. This has helped create a historic turning point for the Vietnamese automobile industry, marking a new milestone to register Vietnam as a country with an automobile industry on the world map.

Solid foundations

Many experts liken branding to building houses and foundations. Especially, when expanding, the solidity of the brand foundation must be strengthened, and must know what are the strengths and weaknesses are to have an appropriate strategy.

Sharing the benefits of having the brand marked on the world map, Nguyen Truong Thinh, Deputy Sales Director, Luong Quoi Coconut Co., Ltd. said that a reputable brand will help increase the presence of Vietnamese products on the world market. In particular, with seasonal agricultural products, when branded, the price fluctuation will be lower.

However, the fact that although we have many brands reaching out to the world, we cannot expect that these brands will grow to be as big as “America's four great powers: Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple” or Samsung and LG of Korea, or Sony and Toyota of Japan. Because Vietnam's business system is still "lacking", especially when up to 98% of enterprises are small and medium, lacking in capital and highly skilled human resources, weak in experience, skills. Therefore, in order to "write your name on the world map", businesses think that it may not be necessary to do so but to "keep strength", focusing on each market and each target customer segment.

For example, few Vietnamese consumers know the brand Minh Hoa faucet valve, but for those who are engaged in construction, installation of water, petrol and oil supply equipment or construction and technology enterprises, this is a famous brand. According to Nguyen Thi Thuy Duong, representative of Minh Hoa Investment Joint Stock Company, the company has exported spare parts for supporting industries to the US, Japan, and Korea, and the valve products have been displayed not only in the distribution network of more than 1,000 stores and agents in 63 provinces and cities but also in Germany, Saudi Arabia, Korea, Malaysia, Laos. This is thanks to the results of more than 15 years of building and developing its brand, so international customers often buy products of Minh Hoa. In order to do this, Duong said that enterprises had a roadmap to invest in automation, train engineers and workers, ensure quality, production schedule, and raise products according to ISO standards. Enterprises must also attend many fairs and exhibitions to promote the brand. Therefore, businesses have kept their brand position through product quality, especially in fastidious markets.

Agreeing with the above point of view, Nguyen Truong Thinh said that it is difficult to build a brand but it is even harder to preserve and develop it, so this must be a regular, continuous job and must be registered for trademark protection. The branding process must be an investment process, not a cost.

Vietnam is on the way to open the market, integrate into the international economy, so businesses always try to participate in the global value chain. Therefore, businesses must have determination and knowledge about building and protecting their brands. The branding needs to be implemented by businesses from the start-up stage. There will be no naturally famous businesses and no naturally famous products without original and long-term investment. Therefore, branding on the world map should be the goal and motivation for Vietnamese businesses to help increase the competitiveness of national brands.