VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnamese smartphone manufacturers still cherish the hope of regaining the low-cost market segment, though they have to confront formidable foreign rivals.

There is no sign suggesting that the major players in the market, like Samsung, Nokia and LG, would give up the medium-class market segment. Meanwhile, a series of Chinese brands such as Gionee, Xiaomi, ASUS, TCL, Tianyu, Oppo and BBK have landed in Vietnam.

Analysts have commented that the strongest Vietnamese brands, which have survived the latest battle, have been put between the “jaws of a pair of pincers”.

However, the Vietnamese manufacturers have affirmed that they don’t intend to “give up the game”.

Beaten hollow

The years 2009 and 2010 were the golden age of Vietnamese brand mobile phones. About 30 Vietnamese brands turned up in the market, mostly targeting low income customers.

A report of GfK, a market survey firm, showed that at that time, Vietnamese brand products amounted to 30 percent of the total amount of phones sold. The low pricing policy pursued by the manufacturers, plus an absence of the world’s most famous brands in that market segment helped boost the sale of the Vietnamese products.

However, the market did an about-face later when Nokia and Samsung began targeting the middle-class and low-cost market segments. With their powerful financial capability and large distribution networks, the two major players have quickly sent Vietnamese players off the game.

At the same time, Chinese brands, such as Haier, Gionee,  ZTE andXiaomi, flocked to Vietnam, offering dirt cheap products.

A series of Vietnamese brands then had to bow out, including Hi-Mobile, Avio, Mobell, Malata, Wellcome, andBluePhone. Analysts, believing that the golden days of the Vietnamese manufacturers are over, commented that the manufacturers have “no more room on Vietnamese soil”.

Still nurturing ambitions

Nevertheless, Vietnamese manufacturers have remained ambitious with their made-in-Vietnam phones.

After a series of deals made with Nokia Siemens and Alcatel Network Systems Vietnam, the Vietnam Post and Telecommunication Corporation (VNPT) has become the founding shareholder of VNPT Technology, a corporation with chartered capital of VND500 billion.

With the move, VNPT, a titan in the telecom service market, has officially joined the home smartphone market.

In late 2013, VNPT Technology unexpectedly introduced its first smartphone model, the VivasLutus S1, made in Vietnam, at the Vietnam Telecom 2013 exhibition.

One day later, Viettel, a military mobile network operator, announced that it would market a Viettel-made smartphone model soon. It has been reportedly recruiting experienced engineers, who once worked for the world’s high-technology groups, a move that demonstrates it is making genuine preparations for a smartphone manufacturing plan.

In mid-March, FPT Trading, a subsidiary of Vietnam’s largest technology group, FPT, debuted the FPT F56 and FPT F69 models. Both have the low selling prices of under VND2 million.

The two models have helped make the FPT brand more recognized in the market. To date, FPT has launched some 40 models.

Even BKIS, known as a company specializing in anti-virus software products, has revealed that it is considering the possibility of organizing smartphone production in the near future.

DNSG