According to mobile phone distributors, seven to eight years ago Vietnamese brands Mobiistar, QMobile, Masstel, Hkphne, Bavapen and others were thriving. However, a few years later, they had to leave the market.

Mobiistar’s products first appeared in the market in 2009 and the brand was once listed among the top 5 smartphones in Vietnam with market share of 10 percent. However, it quietly gave up the game last year and only a few models are still available.

Asanzo has scaled down its business, while QMobile products are no longer found in the market. Masstel only sells cheap feature phones.

Mobiistar’s products first appeared in the market in 2009 and the brand was once listed among the top 5 smartphones in Vietnam with market share of 10 percent. However, it quietly gave up the game last year and only a few models are still available.

BPhone joined the market some years ago with marketing campaigns.

It successfully caught the attention of the public as it was introduced as 100 percent Vietnamese designed and manufactured.

However, targeting high-income earners, BPhone products have relatively high selling prices and the sales have been below expectations. Sources said BKAV plans to launch BPhone 4 this month.

A representative of a distribution chain said Vietnamese brands cannot exist in the home market because of the flood of cheap Chinese products.

“Chinese manufacturers make products in large quantities and sell products all over the world. They have high inventories which they need to sell before launching new models. Vietnam is one of the targeted markets for these," he said.

“They will sell products at a loss of 30-40 percent in Vietnam to clear stocks,” he explained.

Vietnamese now puts high hopes on Vsmart, the ‘truly Vietnamese’ brand which joined the market recently.

Vsmart launched its first four smartphone models in December 2018 and revealed its ambitious plan to gain 30 percent of market share by 2020.

Vsmart, backed by the powerful conglomerate Vingroup, has launchesmd new products and sale promotion programs to implement its plan. In late 2019, it took a daring move, slashing the selling price of Vsmart Live by 50 percent.

The Gioi Di Dong, the largest mobile phone distribution chain, reported that Vsmart products were the third bestseller among low-cost products priced at below VND4 million in February thanks to attractive selling prices.

Vsmart Ram 6GB sold at below VND4 million, while Chinese products with the same configuration are priced at VND5 million.

Another Vietnamese brand is expected to join the low-cost market segment soon. Viettel, the largest mobile network operator, has stated it will provide smartphones at the low price of VND1.5 million. 

Ngoc An

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