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If you have it, flaunt it: Vietnamese affluence is coming out in labels
Sat Apr 16,12:37 AM ET
HO CHI MINH CITY (AFP) - Sporting a Nike T-shirt, Levis jeans, a G-Shock watch and a gold necklace, Trinh Tung Duong, 37, reckons he has spent about 350 dollars on the outfit.
"I find it more comfortable wearing or using foreign-branded products," says the private property developer in Ho Chi Minh City, communist Vietnam's southern business capital, with a satisfied chuckle.
"The quality, of course, is better than those made in Vietnam ... and I think I just look much better in the "branded" clothes," he says.
Duong is one of a new breed of high-income earners in Vietnam, who are spending liberally on labelled, and comparatively luxurious, items.
Only a few years ago, flaunting foreign labels would have been a definite no-no for Vietnamese people who wished not to be seen straying from the political straight and narrow.
Too-obvious signs of affluence used to provoke suspicions of hobnobbing with bourgeois enemies in this fiercely independent communist-ruled country.
Although Vietnam has not exactly embraced full-blown capitalism, pro-market reforms are beginning to take hold and shows of wealth and success are no longer considered beneath one's dignity.
"It's something irreversible. Success can no longer be hidden. In this respect, Vietnamese society has taken a giant step," says Doan Viet Dai Tu, chairman of the consultancy and investment group Openasia.
Vietnamese society has come a long way since the austere late 1970s and the 1980s when an economy bankrupted following the reunification of 1975 hobbled along until the adoption of economic reforms.
It was only then that what was coyly called the non-state sector officially began to be christened the private sector, and private enterprise was no longer deemed taboo.
"Today, the rich people you see in this country are Vietnamese, not foreigners," stresses Dai Tu of Openasia.
"But the big transformation," he stressed, "is not in the amount of money but in people's mentalities.
"Today when someone's successful, he's seen as someone who is good."
From the point of view of consumption, Vietnam is a veritable new frontier that is fast opening up...
Since Ho Chi Minh originally asked for the support of the United States to achieve independency, his spirit may be quite happy about the transition.Kathianne said:Not in war, but in overthrowing communism? Seems it always starts with Levis jeans and Nikes...
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...lf_afp/afplifestylevietnamwealth_050416043747
Probably he didnt really make his point very clearly, he should say something like "The quality, of course, is better than the dosmetic brands...""The quality, of course, is better than those made in Vietnam ... and I think I just look much better in the "branded" clothes,"
maxinamerica said:I'd like that, that Communism has been a pain for me ever since I was born.
Ok... let's see
Probably he didnt really make his point very clearly, he should say something like "The quality, of course, is better than the dosmetic brands..."
The point here is that he may forget that most of the "branded" products as he said were made in Vietnam or China. You will find most of Nike's products were made in Asia, rather than anywhere else.
About the over all topic, I, am still doubt about some changes can be made to overthrow this system. It never works... but it exists. You guys know what kinda magic it has!
maxinamerica said:I'd like that, that Communism has been a pain for me ever since I was born.
Ok... let's see
Probably he didnt really make his point very clearly, he should say something like "The quality, of course, is better than the dosmetic brands..."
The point here is that he may forget that most of the "branded" products as he said were made in Vietnam or China. You will find most of Nike's products were made in Asia, rather than anywhere else.
About the over all topic, I, am still doubt about some changes can be made to overthrow this system. It never works... but it exists. You guys know what kinda magic it has!
I agree...LuvRPgrl said:Even though many brand names are manufactured in Asia, the company still oversees the quality control, and Nike still makes a higher quality, for the most part, shoe than most local asian brands that cater to the poverty level families.
