In recent years, Vietnam has seen more and more consumers willing to spend their money on luxury brands, despite the fact that the country has been listed among the lower-middle-income economies by the World Bank.

According to the World Bank’s report in 2013, the Southeast Asian country’s GDP and per capita income were US$171.4 billion and $1,911, respectively.

Fashion seems to be the most-discussed topic in the world of luxury brands in Vietnam with a lot of global giants like Salvatore Ferragamo, Chanel, Hermes, Cartier, Christian Louboutin, and Jimmy Choo choosing to expand their stores in the country.

Early this week local singer Angela Phuong Trinh caused a stir on Facebook when posting a photo showing her seeming new Chanel bag.

The singer then received numerous comments criticizing her for using the bag which is believed to be a fake.

Trinh then responded to netizens with a photo capturing the bill on the bag, proving her item to be an authentic product. No longer being only accessible to the world of showbiz stars and the rich, luxury brands are also attracting more and more consumers, especially young shoppers.

Vietnamese shoppers have found their way to find their favorite items, and of course, discounted brand products cannot be ignored.

Early this month, a crowd of people jostled each other to buy Gucci products at a Hanoi shop where there was a big sale, offering 60 percent to 70 percent discounts.

The products were sold in the liquidation of thousands of Gucci and Milano goods which were seized by a market watchdog in the capital city on tax evasion charges in 2012.

People gathered in front of the shop on Dinh Le Street since early morning on August 7, wanting to buy luxury items at the cheapest prices.

In order to shop, customers were required to get a ticket and wait for hours.

The jostling later made the shop halt their sale since they could not control the situation.

In an effort to hunt for discounted products, local brand lovers often wait for sale seasons to purchase their favorite bags or clothes at more reasonable prices.

Seeking hang xach tay is also one of the ways to have good buys. Hang xach tay is a local term to describe portable goods that are brought to Vietnam as personal belongings, and thus are not subject to any import tariffs.

That is why consumers could buy the goods at lower prices, but, of course, with little information about their real quality.

Vietnamese women prefer brands to functions

According to a survey on global consumer shopping behavior published last July by American market research firm Nielsen, 73 percent of the Vietnamese participants answered that they liked buying products of famous brands.

Meanwhile, 56 percent of the Vietnamese respondents said they were willing to pay more for designer products rather than for less known items with the same functions.

Nielsen polled more than 29,000 online respondents in 58 countries in this survey.

Two months later, Japanese advertising agency Hakudoku released another survey featuring the characteristics of Southeast Asian women as seen in their lifestyles and consumer perceptions.

The survey, Global HABIT, was conducted on women aged 20-34 in the six cities of Jakarta, Metro Manila, Ho Chi Minh City, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, and Singapore.

It said women in the Vietnamese city were highly aware of fashion and they also had a high consciousness of luxury brands and design. 68 percent of the surveyed women in Ho Chi Minh City agreed that clothes are one means of demonstrating one’s individuality.

“The only city where more than 50% of women prefer well-known luxury brands and put more importance on design over function,” Global HABIT talked about the city. “Unlike other cities, there is a strong tendency toward being knowledgeable about products and trying out new products as soon as they come out, as well as a low rate of planned purchasing. Interest in fashion is high, with one in two conscious of how they will appear to the opposite sex when they decide what to wear.”

Specifically, 54 percent of women in Ho Chi Minh City answered that they liked luxury brands known by many people while 53.3 percent paid more attention to design than function when purchasing the goods, making the city also stand out among the six Southeast Asian cities where women were very price conscious.

One of the proofs of the interest in shopping for luxury brands in Vietnam is that until mid-2013, the Hermes shop had regularly seen profits increase gradually by 20 to 30 percent every year since first opening in Hanoi in 2008.

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