After Ho Chi Minh City has reopened to operate in the new normal state for more than a month, the purchasing power has still dropped sharply compared to normal days.

Modern retail channels have been invading the domain of traditional markets.

While COVID-19 will disrupting FMCG businesses, not all product categories and retailers will see a negative impact, according to Kantar Worldpanel Vietnam.

Some manufacturing enterprises are concerned about the possibility that goods will disappear from traditional distribution channels and will have to switch to online retail.

It is becoming more and more difficult for manufacturers and suppliers to distribute their products via supermarkets.

All supermarkets in Ho Chi Minh City are expected to replace plastic bags by 2020 as part of a campaign to fight plastic waste launched by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

Foreign retailers started coming to Vietnam 20 years ago but many of them have had to leave.

Transporting goods to supermarkets is an arduous journey for manufacturing enterprises, especially small and medium ones.

After HCMC authorities launched an ‘anti-plastic waste’ program, producers and distributors drew up long-term programs to reduce plastic waste.

Some foreign retail groups have left Vietnam recently. Is this because the retail market is no longer attractive?

Businesses have been told to make high-quality products to attract customers and use different distribution chains to optimize their profits.

Billions of dollars worth of Vietnam’s products are exported via large global retail chains, but these products must adhere to strict requirements to be accepted by supermarkets.

VietNamNet Bridge - Seafood companies complain that retailers are playing tricks to dislodge their products out of supermarket chains.

More foreign retailers have flocked to Vietnam as they believe the market is promising. But many retailers have had to leave because of stiff competition.

The draft decree on managing the distribution industry stipulates that supermarkets and shopping malls must reserve at least 30 percent of stalls for products from Vietnam’s small and medium enterprises.

VietNamNet Bridge - The Vietnamese retail market is undergoing a restructuring with new trends expected in the next three years, especially changes in investors’ strategies.

Grocery owners have begun feeling the pressure of ‘Jack Ma’s retail empire’ which has entered Vietnam through Lazada. They are upgrading their stores in an aim to be more professional in the digital era.

VietNamNet Bridge - The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) is drafting a government decree on the development and management of the distribution sector.

Having products retailed at foreign distribution chains is a good way to bring Vietnamese goods to the world market. But domestic companies still find it difficult to do.