Managers of an electronics store in Hanoi have spoken up about the controversial appearances of a group of women in swimwear at their shop on Thursday, claiming they were only filming "sex education videos."

In an interview with Thanh Nien on Friday, Ngo Thanh Dat, marketing manager at Tran Anh Electronics Supermarket, denied allegations that this was simply a promotional ploy to attract the male gaze and lure in customers.

He insisted that rival companies were trying to "defame" his store.

“Young Vietnamese people have not been provided with appropriate sex education... so we want to make a series of sex education videos,” said Dat.

The manager did not elaborate on the content of the series and in what way the women in bikinis can teach young people about safe sex practices.

In several videos posted on YouTube and dozens of photos online, the women can be seen helping a customer park his motorbike and standing and waving next to products.

Many people have expressed their anger, describing this as a cheap marketing campaign built upon disrespectful attitude toward women.

But the company did not see anything wrong.

“It must be our rivals who took pictures and posted them online to defame us,” Dat said.