VietNamNet Bridge – Consumers have turned their backs to the goods which bear supermarkets’ brands, because they believe that low priced goods always mean low quality.

Supermarket-brand products flooding supermarkets

Big supermarket chains in Vietnam have been pushing up the sales of the products bearing their own brands, after they realized that in the context of high inflation, people tend to cut down expenses and buy the products with new brands instead of branded goods.

The products bearing supermarkets’ brands are always cheaper by 10-30 percent than the products of the same kind in the market, because the distributors place big orders with producers and they do not have to spend money on advertisement.

Big C, for example, is distributing five types of products bearing its brands, including WOW! Gia hap dan (attractive prices), eBon, Bakery by BigC, Casino and BigC. These include 250 product items with the price reductions of 10-70 percent. They are mostly clothes, detergent, paper, soap, spice and teaching aids.

Metro Cash & Carry has also launched a lot of kinds of products with its specific brands, from food, cosmetics to kitchenware. Aro has been well known as the brand for 500 food products and 200 non-food products. Meanwhile, Fine Food brand products include the food products wholesaling to groceries and food retail shops.

Saigon Co-op, which is considered the biggest supermarket chain in the south, has also developed its own brands. The products bearing Saigon Co-op brand are mostly essential goods, food and vegetables. With the cooperation between the supermarket chain and the big companies of Kinh Do (sweets manufacturer), Lix (detergent), Saigon Paper, Phong Phu Textiles and San Miguel (brewery), the products with Saigon Co-op brands have been selling at low price discounts.

Consumers turn their backs to supermarket-brand goods

Phan Thi Hai Minh, a housewife on Tran Duy Hung district, said she has tasted bitterness when using these products.

“You will get what you pay for,” Minh said. Minh many times bought the products bearing supermarkets’ brands, but many of the products were useless.

“Detergent could not clear stains. Tissues were too thin and easily torn. Meanwhile, yoghurt was terrible. I swear I will not buy the products anymore,” she said.

A lot of students, low income earners, the main buyers of low-cost products, have also complained that the products they bought from Big C have low quality.

Nguyen Xuan Vinh, a student of the Transport University, said he bought three inox pots at 210,000 dong, a very reasonable price to students’ pockets. However, the pots were damaged just after several times of using, because they were too thin.

“Be careful when you buy supermarket-brand products,” Vinh said.

Ho Ngoc Giang in Cau Giay district frankly said that the dearest is always the cheapest, and that he will never buy the products that bear Co-op Mart, Big C or Metro brands.

Giang said that the supermarkets are not the producers, and what they strive to is to optimize profits, therefore, their products could not have high quality.

The products with supermarkets’ brands are always displayed on advantageous positions at supermarkets which help easily catch the eyes of consumers.

He went on to say that supermarkets once earned a lot of money with their own-branded goods, but their golden age is over. Consumers, who previously bought the goods because they were attracted by the low prices, have changed their mind.

Meanwhile, Ha in Tu Liem district said she now does not like going to supermarkets anymore, because supermarket-brand products have been available everywhere. “I want to see products of different manufacturers and compare them before making decision. However, I cannot do that now, since you do not have many choices,” Ha complained.

Duc Tinh