Italian luxury products to appear on Vietnamese market

On March 10, in Hanoi, the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (ICham) organised a business-to-business (B2B) meeting between Vietnamese distributors and representatives of eight Italian enterprises from Veneto city. The Italian guests operate in manufacturing interior furniture, processing machinery, equipment and materials for the construction industry and the textile and garment sector.

“Veneto is one of Italt’s six economic regions. These enterprises are strong in manufacturing luxury furniture and high-tech machinery for the textile and garment as well as fruit and vegetable processing industry. They want to expand their distribution channels to Vietnam because they see potential in this emerging market,” said Pham Hoang Hai, executive director of ICham.

“Consuming of Italian luxury products in its traditional markets is decreasing, thus Italian enterprises are looking for new opportunities and potential markets. Vietnam is considered a good destination because Italian enterprises can meet the ever-increasing Vietnamese demand for high-end products in the wake of a burgeoning middle class. We believe that by co-operating with local enterprises, we can develop our business in this potential market,” said Valeria Sotera, export manager of Modenese Lastone.

“We are looking for distributors to open showrooms for our products. It is our second time looking for partners in Vietnam. This time, we have found two potential partners in Ho Chi Minh City, EURASIA Concept Corporation and CDC Home Design Centre,” she added.

Sotera shared that foreign enterprises in general and Italian enterprises in particular would face difficulties with the language. Besides, almost all Italian enterprises are small-to-medium sized, making it difficult to directly invest in Vietnam. Such companies prefer exporting their products through distributors to establishing long-term presence in the country.

Alongside the barriers in language and capital, Italian enterprises proposed the Vietnamese government to clarify its legal system, claiming that its complexity and lack of transparency obscures the benefits and obligations of investment.

Besides, the Vietnamese government should closely control implementing legislation on intellectual property in order to protect foreign enterprises in general and Italian enterprises in particular.

“We want to apply Italian technology at our new processing factory because Italy is one of the world’s leading suppliers of fruit and vegetable processing machines. Although Italian machines cost significantly more than machinery from other countries, including Korea, China, and the Netherlands, the quality of these machines make it a worthwhile investment,” said Nguyen Phuong Dung, director of Thanh Phuong Company Limited, operating in fruit and vegetable processing for export.