North America offers significant opportunities for Vietnamese products

Speaking at a conference on supporting enterprises in enhancing international economic integration and expanding exports to the North American market, held on June 11 in Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Thi Quyen, deputy director of Ho Chi Minh City Investment and Trade Promotion Centre, emphasised that maintaining and expanding market share in North America requires furniture and furnishing manufacturers to strengthen their management capabilities.

“In addition, businesses need to stay abreast of green consumption trends, sustainable products, solutions to working capital challenges, and modern distribution channels,” Quyen said.

Alongside improving compliance capabilities and enhancing their ability to respond to trade barriers, developing modern distribution channels has also been identified as a key solution for businesses seeking to expand their presence in North America.

Huynh Le Dai Thang, director of Nghia Son Wood Furniture Co., Ltd., shared practical experience in leveraging cross-border e-commerce.

According to Thang, businesses need to shift their mindset from selling what they have to selling what customers truly need.

“To succeed on international e-commerce platforms, enterprises should make systematic investments in market research, brand protection, long-term capital planning, appropriate warehousing systems, and teams capable of advanced data management and analytics,” said Thang.

From the perspective of an e-commerce platform, Huyen Vu, senior account manager at Amazon Global Selling Vietnam, noted that the US furniture and home furnishing market is projected to reach approximately $265 billion in sales in 2026. Of this, e-commerce is expected to account for 34.61 per cent of total industry sales.

“Vietnam currently enjoys several competitive advantages, including abundant raw material resources, strong manufacturing capabilities, and the flexibility to fulfill orders that are well suited to the online business environment,” said Vu.

Amazon Global Selling has been implementing a range of specialised training programmes to help Vietnamese wood products manufacturers build global brands, covering everything from market research and product development to storefront operations and sales optimisation.

Alongside e-commerce, logistics remains a critical factor in export performance. According to Nguyen Thi Thuy Linh, E-commerce Business director at Vinalink Logistics JSC, North America continues to offer significant growth opportunities for furniture, home furnishing, and home decor products through cross-border e-commerce platforms.

“To optimise costs and ensure timely delivery, businesses should proactively develop transportation plans, prepare complete documentation, and thoroughly understand the importing country's specialised inspection requirements. For wood-based products, compliance with declaration requirements under the US Lacey Act is an important obligation that must be strictly observed,” Linh said.

According to data from Vietnam Customs, North America continues to be a high-consumption market and plays a particularly important role in Vietnam’s export activities. Over the years, the region has consistently accounted for approximately one-third of the country’s total export turnover.

In 2025, the US remained Vietnam’s largest export market, with export value reaching $37.85 billion. For the wood industry, 2025 marked a significant milestone as exports of wood and wood products surpassed $17 billion for the first time.

Vietnam also maintained its position as the largest supplier of wooden furniture to the US market, with export value reaching $9.46 billion.

Vietnam maintained its position as the largest supplier of wooden furniture to the US market. Photo: Le Toan

Nestle sells North American spring water brands for $4.3 bn Swiss food giant Nestle on Tuesday announced the sale of its regional spring water brands, plus two of its other North American efforts, to One Rock Capital Partners and Metropoulos & Co for $4.3 billion (3.5 billion euros).