Tran Quoc Viet, general director of the Kinh Do Bakery based in the north, said that the company has adopted a number of major solutions to minimise the impact of the global financial crisis and the increasingly competitive pressure from regional rivals. It has restructured its chain of shops to operate more efficiently while working closely with its partners to cater for a large range of customer tastes.

Trinh Hong Tung, business manager of the My Hao Cosmetics Company, said that his company has developed a network of 136 distributors supplying products to 200,000 shops in 63 provinces and cities across the country. It has increased investment in training its sales staff, considering them as a key factor behind the successful operation of the entire network and the significant expansion of its customer care services. As a result, its revenue has recently increased by 10 percent.

Tran Thanh Nhan, deputy general director of Vinatex-mart chain, said that Vinatex has restructured its trading system to meet the market requirements during the current economic downturn. It has developed 54 supermarkets and trade and shopping centres in 20 provinces and cities.

Participants in the workshop shared the view that 2009 is an important year for them as they have to maintain production and exports, expand the rural market plus compete against low-quality illegally imported products.

According to Vu Kim Hanh, director of the Business Studies and Assistance Centre (BSA), Vietnam has a large rural market, which has not yet been fully tapped into in recent years. The latest campaign to sell Vietnamese products in rural areas received a strong response from the business community and local administrations. The programme has been carried out in An Giang, Khanh Hoa and Tra Vinh provinces, attracting 30 businesses.

A similar marketing campaign for Vietnamese products will be held in Bac Giang province, about 30km from Hanoi on July 2-3 and in Binh Dinh province in the south-central region on November 10.     

Ms Hanh said that the BSA and Bac Giang province are working on solutions to develop areas to grow organic litchi and promote the product in Vietnam.