Vietnam
- GDP nominal: 186.2 billion USD
- Population: 90.7 million
- Unemployment rate: 2.3%
- Ease-of-doing-business rank: 90th
Vietnam is a rapidly growing developing economy, and although the majority of Vietnamese companies are small and medium size entreprises, Vietnam has become a leading agricultural exporter.
Vietnam also serves as an attractive destination for foreign investment in Southeast Asia.
Deep poverty has declined significantly in the last two decades and the recent schemes launched by the government to reform the economy have created a major boom in the Vietnamese stock market as confidence in the economy is returning.
Direct Selling in Vietnam
- GDP Growth Constant USD 2014: 6%
- YoY Industry Growth Constant USD 2014: 3.4%
The Vietnamese Direct Selling industry is worth 420 million USD in 2014 and has grown at an 18% CAGR. The Direct Selling landscape is mostly represented by foreign companies and the number of distributors has reached one million, (1.1% of the Vietnamese population).
The Vietnam Direct Selling industry is relatively new and had no regulations until 2005. The industry has passed new laws for Direct Selling in 2014 and effective from January 2015, Decree 42 from the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MoIT); these new regulations set by the government will impact the industry‘s development in the short term but will help to improve its image in the long-term by limiting the number of fraudulent and illegal schemes.
Vietnam has a high potential for development, with a large and young population (median age of 29). It has a low unemployment rate and one the world’s highest female participation rate to the labor force (72%). However, it is also one of the very few countries that has an increasing gap between male and female wages. Direct Selling could be the answer for millions of women to supplement their income and gain empowerment.
The future of Direct Selling in Vietnam’s will largely depend on the efforts of the industry and the Vietnamese Direct Selling Association (AVDSC) to educate the Direct Sellers. Similar to other South East Asian countries, further development of Omni-channel strategies will support Direct Selling companies in their competition against E-commerce retailers.
Sources: ASENSHIA, World Bank, WFDSA, Euromonitor, Wikipedia
CAGR: Compound Annual Growth Rate expressed in Constant USD 2014, between 2011 and 2014
