The Oh!Some store at Vincom Dong Khoi shopping mall (Ho Chi Minh City) is bustling with young people browsing and shopping in the evening - Photo: NHAT XUAN
According to the Q3 2025 report by market research firm CBRE Vietnam, a number of Chinese retail brands such as Chagee, KKV, Popmart, Oh!Some, Polarpopo, Wayjie, Xian Niu Lau, Colorist, etc., have been expanding their store networks in major shopping malls and bustling residential areas in Ho Chi Minh City.
According to Tuoi Tre newspaper, the shopping atmosphere at these brands' stores is vibrant, especially attracting young people and families to visit, shop, and experience the products.
Chinese goods undergo a transformation in Vietnam.
On the evening of October 21st, despite it not being the weekend, the Oh!Some store at Vincom Dong Khoi (Ho Chi Minh City) was bustling with customers. This is the brand's first flagship store in Vietnam, which recently opened.
After spending nearly 20 minutes browsing the shops, Nguyen Thi Truc (23 years old, residing in An Dong ward) still seemed reluctant to leave, saying she "still didn't want to go out." Truc explained that she initially only intended to visit the shopping mall to buy clothes, but when she passed by and saw this store, she decided to take a look. "The clothes here are both pretty and unique, the prices are reasonable, and there are so many styles; I want to buy everything," Truc said.
Not only at Oh!Some, but also at the KKV store in SC VivoCity (Ho Chi Minh City), the shopping atmosphere is equally bustling.
Despite being located in an upscale area, the prices of products here are only comparable to or slightly higher than those on e-commerce platforms. A bottle of domestically produced Chinese shampoo costs around 120,000 - 160,000 VND, lipstick is over 100,000 VND, and household items are only a few tens of thousands of VND.
Notably, KKV doesn't shy away from showcasing the origin of its products; instead, it dedicates a separate area to displaying Chinese cosmetics with brands popular with young people, such as Colorkey, Spes, and Puco. The neat layout, bright lighting, and eye-catching color palette make many young people "get lost" amidst the myriad of cute and affordable items.
Besides attracting customers with eye-catching designs, low prices, and diverse brands, many Chinese retail chains also score points by creating multi-layered shopping and entertainment experiences, where buyers not only spend money but also get to have fun.
At stores like KKV or Oh!Some, in addition to the product display area, there are also fun corners with claw crane machines or building block sets. The minimum top-up is only 50,000 VND, but many young people are willing to spend hundreds of thousands of VND just to "play for fun."
Even items that were once subject to prejudice, such as Chinese snacks and candies, are being more openly accepted by young consumers.
At a large snack shop on Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street (formerly District 3), the best-selling section is almost entirely dominated by products of Chinese origin such as spicy sticks, chicken feet, sausages, domestic noodles, milk cakes, seafood snacks, etc.
Most products have Vietnamese labels, are displayed neatly, and have consistent and attractive packaging. Combined with the low prices, averaging only 3,000 - 12,000 VND per item, and a transparent and reputable sales model, customers are easily won over.
The eye-catching exhibition space attracts many young people who enjoy taking photos and checking in - Photo: N.XUAN
Vietnamese businesses are struggling to defend their "home market".
Speaking with us, Mr. Vu Van Lan, representative of Vina Shoes Joint Stock Company, acknowledged the increasing competitive pressure from Chinese goods. According to Mr. Lan, high-income earners are willing to spend millions, even tens of millions of dong, on a pair of branded shoes, while lower-income earners opt for Chinese shoes costing only a few hundred thousand dong, which are "affordable, of good quality, and visually appealing."
According to Mr. Lan, since the US-China trade war, the domestic market has become even more challenging as more and more Chinese brands, better and more attractive than before, are flooding into Vietnam. This is the inevitable result of the manufacturing capacity that China has accumulated over decades.
"They have a very good foundation, from raw materials to production processes, so when they faced difficulties in the US market after the trade war, it's understandable that they shifted their focus to expanding into Vietnam," Mr. Lan commented.
Meanwhile, many Vietnamese businesses are still struggling after the COVID-19 pandemic, unable to restructure in time to catch up with the new wave. "At this point, simply surviving is a great achievement; many manufacturing businesses in the industry are still just trying to maintain operations rather than break through," Mr. Lan said.
Mr. Tran Quoc Bao, Deputy General Director of KIDO Group, also believes that the expansion of Chinese brands in Vietnam is an inevitable trend in the context of globalization and free trade, especially stronger after the trade war.
"In just the last six months, the group has received and worked with nearly 20 trade promotion delegations from China, demonstrating the great interest of Chinese businesses in the Vietnamese market," Mr. Bao said.
To cope with the increasingly fierce competition, this company has chosen to apply artificial intelligence (AI) as a strategic tool to enhance its sales and marketing capabilities.
The company currently has 5,000 offline sales staff and 3,000 online staff, combined with an AI-powered avatar livestreaming system, creating a hybrid sales network between humans and technology. "This is preparation for a long battle," Mr. Bao emphasized.
Integrating AI has helped this business expand its reach, maintain interaction with consumers, and improve order conversion rates, while reducing operating costs and increasing marketing efficiency, thus maintaining its domestic retail market share.
A trade expert also suggested that the greatest strength of Vietnamese businesses lies in their deep understanding of domestic tastes, habits, and consumer needs, a factor that foreign goods find difficult to replicate.
"By combining this advantage with modern technology like AI, Vietnamese businesses can absolutely strengthen their position and compete fairly with foreign goods, instead of being swept along by the increasingly powerful wave of expansion," this person affirmed.
It was well-received because it catered to the "tastes" of Gen Z customers.
With the rapid development of social media platforms like TikTok, and the flattering advertisements from key opinion leaders (KOLs, influencers), Chinese goods are increasingly being accepted in Vietnam. No longer hesitant or disguised as before, many young people are willing to spend a lot of money on products labeled "made in China" because of their eye-catching designs and trendy appeal.
A prime example is Popmart, a toy brand from China. After K-pop idol Lisa expressed her love for the character Labubu, the trend of collecting this character quickly spread throughout Asia and "landed" in Vietnam. At its peak, it wasn't uncommon to see many young people lining up from early morning in front of shopping malls with Popmart stores just to get their hands on the latest Labubu merchandise.
According to experts at CBRE Vietnam, as Generation Z (born between 1997 and 2012) gradually becomes the main consumer force, the race in the retail industry no longer revolves around location or floor space, but rather the ability to create experiences that make customers want to stay longer.
Trade turnover between Vietnam and China increased by nearly 22%.
According to the Vietnam Customs Department, by mid-October 2025, the total import and export turnover of the whole country reached 718.85 billion USD, with a trade surplus of 17.14 billion USD. In the first half of October alone, import turnover reached 18.69 billion USD.
Data from the General Statistics Office shows that China remains Vietnam's largest trading partner, with total bilateral trade reaching US$159.9 billion in the first eight months of 2025, an increase of nearly 22% compared to the same period in 2024. Of this, Vietnam imported US$117.9 billion from China, almost three times the value of its exports (US$42 billion).
Experts predict that with the current growth rate, total trade turnover between Vietnam and China in 2025 could surpass the 2024 mark of 205 billion USD.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/hang-trung-quoc-do-bo-viet-nam-20251028075138866.htm
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