Positioning and elevating Vietnamese brands in digital space

(Chinhphu.vn) - To be competitive, Vietnamese enterprises need to build a reputable brand in the digital space. This will help maintain domestic market share against the wave of imported goods, and also be a lever to take advantage of new supply chains and boost exports.

The e-commerce market in Vietnam has grown by double digits in recent years.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade , Vietnam's e-commerce market will reach a scale of over 25 billion USD in 2024, growing 20% ​​over the same period last year, accounting for about 10% of total retail sales and consumer services nationwide and ranking 3rd in Southeast Asia. It is expected that by 2030, the market size will be approximately 63 billion USD. This is a great opportunity for Vietnamese goods to reach tens of millions of consumers, while expanding their position on the regional map.

According to the National E-commerce Development Master Plan for the 2026-2030 period, cross-border e-commerce is one of the strategic pillars of the coming period, with the goal of building a sustainable digital export ecosystem, enhancing the international competitiveness of Vietnamese enterprises and bringing Vietnamese goods further on the global trade map.

Enterprises' digital transformation capacity is still limited

However, opportunities always come with challenges. According to experts, Vietnamese enterprises are facing fierce competition from international brands with advantages in scale and quality, along with the spread of cheap goods from many markets.

In particular, the increasingly complex situation of intellectual property rights infringement has reduced the competitive advantage of legitimate businesses. In that context, protecting brands and affirming the identity of Vietnamese goods in the digital space is no longer an option, but an urgent requirement.

According to Dr. Dinh The Hien, digital transformation in enterprises is still slow and unsynchronized, combined with policy and legal shortcomings and limitations in brand building, causing many difficulties for Vietnamese retail.

However, e-commerce emerged as a bright spot with sales accounting for about 10% of total retail sales, leading in the fashion and beauty industries, followed by home appliances, technology and packaged foods.

Regarding branding, Vietnamese enterprises have begun to pay more attention to building brand stories, improving product quality and creating emotional connections with customers, especially among the younger generation. However, the major limitations are the lack of strong brands in the mid- and high-end segments, weak international marketing and the lack of a systematic positioning strategy in the digital space. In the digital space, Vietnamese brands are still spontaneous and unprofessional, mainly focusing on the low-cost and mid-range segments. Compared to the region, Vietnam is only at an average level.

Sharing the same view, Mr. Nguyen Minh Duc, Deputy General Secretary of the Vietnam E-commerce Association, shared that the biggest limitation of enterprises today is the capacity for digital transformation. Many enterprises want to apply e-commerce to get high results immediately. However, e-commerce must be a long-term investment.

According to Mr. Nguyen Minh Duc, to develop e-commerce, businesses must focus on digital management capacity. Businesses need to invest in a team of young, product-savvy staff to be in charge of online sales. Gradually apply artificial intelligence (AI) to automate processes such as reminders, debt management, as well as optimize resources and expand cross-border markets.

Saigon Co.op 's retail systems are actively responding to the "green tick" responsibility program, thereby improving the value and quality of Vietnamese goods - Photo: VGP/LA

From the perspective of management as well as representing retailers, Mr. Nguyen Anh Duc, Deputy Director of the Department of Industry and Trade of Ho Chi Minh City, Chairman of the Vietnam Retailers Association, said: "The digital space opens up great opportunities for Vietnamese brands but also requires thorough preparation from brand management, technological capacity to a transparent legal policy system, unified standards and support from management agencies".

Accordingly, the State, associations and enterprises need to coordinate closely to turn opportunities into advantages, instead of letting enterprises fend for themselves in an unbalanced competitive environment. In addition, there should be a long-term plan, choose strategies, take full advantage and focus on developing in Ho Chi Minh City.

Deploying many solutions to help businesses enhance their brands in the digital environment

Speaking at the workshop "Growing market share - Identifying Vietnamese goods in the digital age" held on September 9 in Ho Chi Minh City, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Nam, Deputy Director of the Department of Domestic Market Management and Development, Ministry of Industry and Trade, emphasized: Reality shows that many domestic enterprises still lack digitalization skills, customer management and e-commerce exploitation; infrastructure is not yet available, while foreign goods are cheap and have superior delivery speed.

In the coming time, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will focus on building e-commerce platforms, training skills for businesses, supporting export connections through the Trade Counselor system, and implementing online auction and bidding programs.

At the same time, the Ministry will perfect institutions, standardize products according to international standards, enhance traceability, protect consumer rights; coordinate with major e-commerce platforms to commit not to trade in poor quality goods... This is an important foundation to improve the competitiveness of Vietnamese goods in both domestic and foreign markets.

In the role of the country's economic "locomotive", Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Nguyen Van Dung said: The city currently has over 500,000 enterprises, which are the pioneering and core force in the journey of positioning and elevating Vietnamese brands. The city's enterprises have the advantage of dynamism, the ability to quickly adapt to the digitalization trend, and are holding favorable conditions to become the nucleus connecting production, trade, logistics and finance in the new development space.

Vice Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Nguyen Van Dung shares solutions to support Vietnamese enterprises to enhance their brands in digital space - Photo: VGP/LA

"In the context of increasingly fierce competition, identifying and developing Vietnamese brands has become an urgent task. Only when each Vietnamese enterprise and product can clearly position itself and have a reputable brand in the digital space can it be competitive enough to maintain its domestic market share against the wave of imported goods, while also taking advantage of the new supply chain's resilience to boost exports," said Mr. Dung.

Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Nguyen Van Dung affirmed: "Ho Chi Minh City is synchronously implementing many solutions to accompany businesses. The city focuses on strengthening the protection of intellectual property rights, promoting digital transformation in management, distribution and marketing, building a transparent and sustainable e-commerce ecosystem, and promoting the leading role of large enterprises to spread strength and support small and medium enterprises. The close connection between the State, associations and businesses will be the foundation for building trust, protecting brands, expanding market share and affirming the position of Vietnamese goods.

As a leading retail enterprise in the country as well as in the Ho Chi Minh City market, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Thang, Deputy General Director of Saigon Co.op said: In the journey to elevate Vietnamese goods, we believe that the most important factor for domestic products to be clearly identified in the hearts of consumers is to build and ensure trust in product quality, while respecting and spreading Vietnamese cultural values, always aiming for positive values ​​for the community. Currently, Saigon Co.op is actively responding to the "green tick" responsibility program of Ho Chi Minh City. At the same time, the enterprise is promoting and aiming at the B2B trading floor to attract large buyers.

Le Anh

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/dinh-vi-va-nang-tam-thuong-hieu-viet-tren-khong-gian-so-102250909154119019.htm