VietNamNet Bridge - Many Chinese smartphone brands have entered Vietnam in the last three years but have not sold that well. 


BPhone was the only Vietnamese smartphone brand launched in the Vietnamese market in 2015. Meanwhile, Chinese brands have been numerous.

Two or three years ago, OPPO, Alcatel, Philips, Huawei, Gionee and Wiko penetrated the Vietnamese market. In 2015, Honor, another brand belonging to Huawei, officially joined the market with Honor 4C, with ‘strong configuration and mild price. After that, Coolpad and Meizu also presented themselves before the public.

In November 2015, the one-time famous brand, which Lenovo bought from Google, officially came back to Vietnam after many years of absence. In late December 2015, ZTE also returned to Vietnam after three years of interruption.

An analyst estimated that over 10 Chinese brands are available in Vietnam, making the low- and middle-class market segments with the selling prices of VND2-6 million, a bit crowded.

Observers commented that OPPO has been following the most professional and methodical branding and marketing strategy in the last three years. This allowed it to oust Nokia/Microsoft from the list of three best sellers and list itself in the top three in both the number of products sold and value, according to GfK.

However, OPPO is the only Chinese brand which has gained success in the Vietnamese market. The remaining brands, including the well-known Huawei, Lenovo and less-known Coolpad, ZTE, Philips and Alcatel, have not been mentioned, or have been listed as ‘others’ in the reports about sales.

While Huawei, Lenovo and ZTE prove to be relatively strong in the world market, they are not favorites in Vietnam.

In fact, an analyst said that OPPO is the only Chinese brand which shows strong determination to do long-term business in Vietnam. 

Two years ago, the newly appointed director of Alcatel said that the manufacturer would spend millions of dollars to develop the Vietnamese market. However, no further move has been taken.

BPhone was the only Vietnamese smartphone brand launched in the Vietnamese market in 2015. Meanwhile, Chinese brands have been numerous.

Huawei has spent money on marketing and branding in Vietnam. However, its money cannot be spent in an effective way like OPPO. 

Meanwhile, Chinese products in general are not what Vietnamese like. High income earners stay away from Chinese products, while only low income earners buy Chinese because of their low prices.

The analyst said in principle, once OPPO can dislodge Nokia/Microsoft from the top 3, it would be able to threaten Apple’s and Samsung’s first and second positions.

However, he admitted that he cannot see the possibility for now, at least because OPPO is a Chinese brand.


Bizlive