Vietnam brand-ranking analysis: Many MNCs drop

Many multinational companies dropped in this year's rankings for Vietnam, even as disposable income continues to rise.

Vietnam sits near the top of the list of the world’s fastest-growing economies. The country of about 94 million people posted 6.7 per cent GDP growth in 2015, its highest level in seven years, and will match that number in 2016, according to Asian Development Bank. That organization adds that 70 per cent of GDP comes from cities.

Euromonitor expects consumer expenditures to reach US$132.6 billion in 2016, up a healthy 8 per cent from US$122.6 billion in 2015.

Consumer expenditures on food are expected to grow from US$39.8 billion in 2015 to US$42.7 billion in 2016, an increase of 7.3 per cent, while disposable income is set to grow 8 per cent from US$131.3 billion to US$141.8 billion, according to Euromonitor.

In the brand rankings, the top 10 saw a few significant moves compared with last year: Lotte and Apple changed places, (Lotte fell from 4 to 7, while Apple rose from 7 to 4). Panasonic dropped two spots to 9 despite emphasizing its small home appliances in Southeast Asia markets. Adidas entered the top 10, rising from 12 to 10. The brand that made way for the sportswear brand? Coca-Cola, which dropped from 10 to 14 in the year’s most significant slip.

As in many markets this year, digital and ecommerce companies made impressive inroads. The three biggest jumps on the table were Lazada coming in at 33, Amazon at 47 and Booking.com at 61. None of the above were within the Top 100 a year ago. In addition, Agoda, also out of the Top 100 last year, made a strong showing at 72.

Other top performers come from all over the map: Rolex (up 22 spots to 71), Shiseido (up 39 to 29), Aeon (up 34 to 43), Mentos (up 29 to 65) and Prudential (up 22 to 69). Coca-Cola can comfort itself for dropping out of the top 10 by focusing on  Aquafina’s 21-spot rise to 62.

Many MNC brands took a beating, with tech brands Nokia (-120), Asus (-68) and Philips (-42) all dropping out of the top 100, along with Toyota (-32), Nestea (-25), Lux (-17) and Hilton (-28).

As in the Philippines, a bargain airline soared (VietJet, up 21 to 39) while a national carrier suffered (Vietnam Airlines, down 31 to 66, despite investing in a high-concept campaign). However, the national petrol company, Petrolimex, rose from 44 to 27, the highest position for a Vietnam-based brand.