Vietnam: Potential Market for European Furniture

 

Mr Jan Naplava, representative of the European Union Delegation to Vietnam, said this EU business delegation to Vietnam had eight companies, primarily engaged in sculptural and decorative pottery, furniture design and production, kitchenware, bedroom furniture and ornament. They wanted to meet, exchange and cooperate with Vietnamese companies in the same industries to lay the stepping stone for its presence in Vietnam in particular and ASEAN in general.

 

As a dynamic economy with 90 million people, Vietnam is a large potential market for the furniture industry, especially upmarket segment. Europe is home to world’s leading furniture manufacturers and European furniture always takes the lead on the market in designs and quality. He expressed his confidence in this meeting as Vietnamese companies would see the uniqueness and creativity of European interior furniture. He added that, with this success, EU Business Avenues plans to a new business delegation to HCM City to seek business cooperation opportunities, focusing on green technology.

 

Business Avenues is a business support programme which aims to assist small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from the EU, looking to enter or expand their businesses in ASEAN. The programme seeks to help businesses from the EU better understand the characteristics of the ASEAN market, with the ultimate goal of establishing mutually beneficial and lasting business relationships between companies in the EU and ASEAN. During this pilot phase, over 100 companies will be selected to take part in three business missions, where they will engage with relevant counterparts in Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia. Also during the pilot phase, the Business Avenues programme will focus on the Interior Design and Clean Technologies sectors. It will provide strategic, logistical and financial support to SMEs from the EU looking to gain first-hand experience in this region.

Nguyen Van Tuan, Head of International Transaction Department (VCCI-HCM), said the EU is now an appealing export market for any country in the world, including Vietnam. According to International Trade Centre (ITC), EU furniture accounts for 40 percent of total global share. With a market size of over 90 million people, a stable economic- political - social environment, and specially a growing economy, Vietnam is a promising market for EU businesses. In 2012, Vietnam’s domestic upmarket furniture sales valued more than US$2.5 billion, of which multinational corporations and wholly foreign-owned companies captured 80 percent of the market share and Vietnamese items accounted for only 20 percent. This shows that Vietnamese consumers still spent a lot on European furniture, especially high-class items. Chilai, Pho Xinh, Nha Xinh and Cao Dong have become big names in importing and distributing EU furniture.

 

Known for its particular focus on quality and design, Spain’s Carmenes Sofas SL hoped to find out suitable Vietnamese partners via this programme to boost its export to ASEAN.