Apart from promoting the spirit of patriotism among people, how to implement the campaign effectively is a big challenge facing goods producers and distributors. Some people argue that domestic consumers still prefer imported commodities to Vietnamese goods even not all of them are as good as the locally-made products. It is a fact that they buy such imported goods similar to Vietnamese designs at expensive prices.

Do Gia Phan, Vice Chairman cum General Secretary of the Vietnam Association of Standards and Consumer Protection, says that there is a wide range of Chinese goods available at cheap prices on the Vietnamese market.

It seems Vietnamese enterprises care little about domestic consumers; most of their standard products are exported and only substandard ones are sold on the local markets. Dr Nguyen Lan Dung says as the quality, safety and hygiene of Vietnamese goods are not well guaranteed, fake goods continue to flood the local markets.

The behavior of sellers toward consumers is another reason why people do not want to use Vietnamese goods. Customer care services in domestic businesses are not as good as in foreign companies. In addition, information on local products often confuses consumers, especially when rural markets have become a dumping ground for poor quality and fake goods.

To encourage Vietnamese people to use Vietnamese goods, there must be closer cooperation between the State, consumers and enterprises. Every enterprise must focus on improving the quality and design of products and customer care services, as well as expanding distribution networks to the countryside. In so doing, they will gradually build up consumer confidence about the use of Vietnamese goods.

Vo Van Quyen, deputy head of the Domestic Market Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) says that enterprises should be fully aware of market demand. Apart from encouraging consumers to use Vietnamese goods, the MoIT must guide enterprises to produce certain kinds of goods for local markets. In the fourth quarter of this year, many fairs and exhibitions of Vietnamese goods have attracted consumer attention. Currently, the Vietnam Garment and Textile Group and the Leather and Footwear Association are joining efforts to control the domestic market by strictly banning the selling of fake goods, especially in rural areas.

Pham Gia Tuc, general secretary of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has proposed a number of solutions to corner the domestic market, including selling standard goods at reasonable prices, increasing co-ordination between retail distribution networks and domestic producers and strengthening links between big and small enterprises. Cornering and developing the domestic market should be considered in terms of geographical scale, industries, and potential of each enterprise. It is also important to improve the role of organisations, which support enterprises.

Nguyen Van Nghia, deputy director of the Prime Group says that it is necessary to harmonise the interests between goods producers and distributors. Prime Group often signs contracts with distributors one to three months ago before putting products on the market. The basic criteria for selecting distributors are knowledge of local markets, prestige in the distribution market and financial power as well as commitment to long-term cooperation and investment.

To encourage consumers to use its products, the group always attaches great importance to advertising its products, and more than 100 of the group’s distribution networks are improving their customer care services.