“There are around 600 furniture shops in Ho Chi Minh City and 300 in Hanoi at present,” says Ngo Thi Hong Thu, deputy general director of Truong Thanh Furniture Joint Stock Corp. (TTF).

“Domestic furniture supply almost meets demand, which is falling during the global economic recession. Thus, intensive competition is triggered when a new company enters the market,” she remarks.

Textile maker Nhat Tan general director Lai Kim says some firms have no hesitation in lowering their products’ prices as much as possible to fight over every order.

Kim highlights another issue when she says that “exporters producing popular products also have to deal with pirate copyrights.”

Exporters struggle to compete with domestic producers as their large plants and big assembly lines aren’t suitable to meet smaller domestic demand, according to D&D Co. general director Pham Van Duong.

It seems evident then, that competition in the domestic market is set to become fierce as consumption weakens. A survey by market research firm TNS Vietnam found 50 percent of respondents said they would cut spending this year.

The going, as they say, is going to get tough.

By Tran Tam