Yuichiro Shiotani, Director General of Aeon Top Value Company Limited,
said that local companies should add more value to their products.
Aeon Top Value has been working to put a number of made-in-Vietnam
products, which are available in Aeon Vietnam retail stores, on the
shelves of its stores in Japan, according to the director general.
Many Vietnamese goods are available at foreign retailers’stores in Vietnam, but they are still for domestic consumption only.
To be offered abroad, the products must meet other requirements.
Nick Reitmeier, executive vice president for international food &
alcohol buying for Central Food Retail, which is part of Thailand’s
Central Group, said that besides focusing on quality assurance,
Vietnamese producers needed to improve product design.
Cao Thi Phi Van, deputy director of the Investment and Trade Promotion
Centre of HCM City (ITPC), said: “Besides product quality, nice design,
competitive prices, and good financial capacity, local businesses need
to understand the export process and norms set by foreign distribution
systems."
ITPC this year has helped more than 30 Vietnamese companies enter the Aeon Vietnam supermarket system.
ITPC is in charge of selecting firms based on technical criteria
provided by Aeon, and through an introduction by ITPC, businesses can
connect directly with the purchasing managers of the supermarket.
Nguyen Ngoc Luan, Director of the Lam San Agriculture Cooperative, said
Vietnamese firms still encountered difficulties in accessing foreign
distribution systems because, to sell through modern trade channels,
they needed to ensure consistent quality as well as other quality
standards.
Paul Le at Central Group Vietnam said that Big C and Central Group
Vietnam in 2016 launched the programme “Supporting Small and Medium
Enterprises” to help firms understand modern trade, expand their market,
and contribute to the development of Vietnamese brands.
Enterprises in the programme received full support via training (modern
trade integration, packaging, merchandising and so on), financial
advantages in terms of payment terms, logistics, and capital for
investment through Central Group’s banking partners.
“We strongly believe in Vietnamese products and we will contribute to
including domestic brands in our network in Vietnam and help brands be
ready for international expansion,” he said.
Organised by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Central Group, Japan’s
Aeon, and France’s Auchan, the training workshop is part of the
governmental project “Developing Direct Participation of Vietnamese
Enterprises in Foreign Distribution System up to 2020”.
To effectively implement the project, the Ministry of Industry and Trade
has called for close cooperation between state management bodies, trade
promotion agencies, local governments, enterprises and distributors.
The ministry will also partner with several foreign distributors and
hold Vietnamese Products Week in many countries, including Japan,
Thailand, the US, Russia, Australia and others, to promote quality
Vietnamese products and connect Vietnamese firms with international
distribution chains.
“Vietnamese Products Week” events have been held in the EU and Asia
since 2011, which have helped Vietnamese firms export through foreign
distribution channels, cut intermediary costs, and bring higher value,
according to the ministry.
Source: VNS/VNA (http://m.english.vietnamnet.vn)