Vietnamese distribution channels

Abstract

Vietnam has for a long time been ignored by researchers due to the closed nature of the country. Little management research, especially in the marketing field, has been done in this emerging country. Aims, therefore, to describe Vietnamese wholesaling and retailing for consumer products. Distribution channels in Vietnam could be characterized as primitive structures, owing to their level of economic development. The example of Vietnam is interesting because its situation is classical for a less developed country: inadequate transport means; inadequate banking; smuggling; counterfeiting; import restrictions; import taxes; the need to pass through importation companies with little added value to enter the market; the passiveness, even incompetence, of intermediaries; the low income of the population. Therefore, despite huge opportunities in Vietnam, investors should be aware of the unexpected and unstable situations they will have to face, especially in the distribution field. Bases its findings on desk research and face‐to‐face interviews done by the author during a position as an expatriate in Vietnam, from 1993 to 1994.