Local businesses can succeed in China: insiders

CA - Insiders say despite risks such as rampant piracy, Vietnamese businesses can succeed in the Chinese market as long as they have smart long-run strategies.

To local businesses selling in China, piracy remains the biggest challenge. Copycat products often become rife only a few months after Vietnamese goods have been introduced to Chinese consumers, seriously affecting sales of authentic ones.

Some products are counterfeited even before they officially enter the market.

Le Van Tri, deputy CEO of Southern Rubber Industry JSC, or Casumina, said that although his company had never developed any distribution system in China, Chinese manufacturers had made fake Casumina tires to export to other countries.

Tri said though Chinese producers had developed a rubber tire manufacturing industry which made 20 percent of the world’s tire production, they were still making fake products to increase sales.

High tariffs are another reason Casumina doesn’t export directly to China. Its tires are mostly traded in the Vietnamese-Chinese border to avoid tariffs.

Nghia Nippers Co, a nipper manufacturer which has long been operating in China, said Chinese partners and distributors had stole its brand name not long after it entered the market.

According to the company, Chinese producers have even registered their copycat products for intellectual property protection in China.

The company said it had filed lawsuits to get back the brand name but was turned down by Chinese authorities who said there was “no proof that the brand name belongs to Nghia Nippers.”

Tri of Casumina said Vietnamese businesses were totally capable of increasing their market shares in China if they had well-planned development strategies, paid adequate attention to brand names and marketing, and had good knowledge about Chinese consumers’ mindset.

A representative of Binh Tan Consumer Goods Manufacturing Co, or Bita’s, said Vietnamese products could win Chinese consumers’ trust thanks to their durability and stable quality.

CEO Do Long said in order to succeed in China, Vietnamese businesses had to determine which market segment they wanted to enter and prove that their products had better quality than their counterparts.

Pham Ngoc Anh, sales manager of the Indochinese market of Nghia Nippers, said Vietnamese goods had already enjoyed good reputation for quality among Chinese consumers.

Anh said one of the best ways to enter the Chinese market was to participate in international trade fairs and exhibitions.

“Most Vietnamese businesses hesitate to attend such fairs, though they are where manufacturers, distributors, and exporters can meet each other to establish trade cooperation,” he said.