Hanoi (VNA) – The Vietnamese markethas seen an increasing amount of Japanese goods winning locals’ predilection.

An array of supermarkets and convenience stores sellingJapanese products have opened in Vietnam in recent years, including AEON,Ministop, Family Mart, Tokyo Deli, Gyu-Kaku and Osaka Ohsho.

Experts said Vietnamese consumers are ready tospend big on safe and high-quality food, products Japan has strength in. Therevenue of safe vegetables sold at Japanese supermarkets in Vietnam has surgedby more than 200 percent annually in recent years, and it is predicted to keepgrowing sharply.

Meanwhile, Japanese restaurant chains have alsodeveloped fast in a short period of time.

According to the Asia-Africa Market Departmentof the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), Japanese products have gained thetrust of global consumers, including Vietnamese, because they prioritise humanhealth. Most people feel secure about product quality when they see the words“made in Japan”.

At first, goods from Japan only satisfied thedemand of a small group of consumers with high income. However, many importershave purchased mid-range products from the Northeast Asian country to servecustomers in other segments, helping Japanese products swiftly gain a footholdin the local consumer market, the department said.

Many convenience stores have restructured theJapanese products they sell, with high-end goods accounting for only 15percent. This means hundreds of products priced at only tens of thousands ofVND have won favour, helping Japanese goods stores remain an attractivedestination in the local market.

Takimoto Koji, Chief Representative of the JapanExternal Trade Organisation (JETRO) Office in Ho Chi Minh City, said Japanesefirms consider each step before bringing goods to Vietnam. They firstly makesurveys to see which products should be sold and how to persuade Vietnameseconsumers to buy Japanese goods.

The number of Japanese convenience stores inVietnam is less than 200 at present, but it will reach 500, even 1,000, in thenear future. Then, the presence of Japanese products will increase even moresubstantially, insiders said.

Japanese companies prioritise convenience storesin Vietnam, said Yamanouchi Hirohisa, head of the marketing division of theFamily Mart chain.

He explained that it takes a convenience storesix years to regain its invested capital, but this is a good model to maintainproduct quality since the Japanese only compete by quality.

Additionally, some Japanese businesses said theVietnamese market is growing and is open to new products. Therefore, by sellingproducts on a trial basis here, they can find out difficulties awaiting themand work out solutions before importing in bulk.

Aside from opening supermarkets and conveniencestores to connect local consumers with their goods, Japanese firms have alsoorganised promotional programmes.

At a recent meeting with the MoIT, Japanesecompanies said Vietnam has a young population, about 60 percent of whom areunder 35, with improving income. That has made the market attractive to foreigninvestors in the consumer, food and retail sectors.

Some analysts also partly attributed the growingpresence of Japanese products to thriving economic ties between the twocountries.

Statistics show that Japan currently rankssecond among 126 countries and territories investing in Vietnam, with 3,725projects worth some 50.5 billion USD.-VNA