Recently, Idemitsu Q8 Petroleum Limited Liability Company (IQ8), a joint venture between Japanese company Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd. and Kuwait Petroleum International Ltd. (KPI), held the opening ceremony of the first Idemitsu Q8 service station at Thang Long Industrial Park, Hanoi, on October 5, thus marking the first station of a petroleum retail network named IQ8 that will spread across Vietnam.

IQ8’s petroleum stations will apply an automatic management software, permitting card payments and numerous convenient functions for customers. Besides, stations will be equipped with the most modern safety technologies and facilities to maximally prevent leakages, thereby minimizing environmental risks. Furthermore, the staff will be trained to meet Japanese standards. IQ8’s service stations will offer plenty of advantages to attract customers, while simultaneously creating competition on the retail petroleum market that is currently dominated by domestic distributors.

Milk tea is currently the favorite for young customers in Hanoi. The market is shared by dozens of international milk tea brands such as Ding Tea, Chago, Royal Tea, Tea Story, Toco Toco, Chatime, Bobabop. At present, customers can choose from a variety of milk tea, from Taiwanese milk teas to milk teas from Hongkong, Thailand, Japan, Singapore, Korea. The market for household products also have famous brands such as Benny, Philips, Elmich, Kangaroo, Bluestone, Gowell, Sunhouse, Goldsun. Besides, more foreign enterprises are expected to come to Vietnam, which pose a risk to the survival of traditional shops with the rise of convenient stores.

As Vietnam continues its deep integration in the world economy, domestic products are facing fierce competition from imported products. Vietnamese enterprises have to rise their games in term of price and product quality, customer services, so that they can compete fair and square with international companies right in Vietnam. Vietnamese enterprises can promote the campaign “Vietnamese gives priority to Vietnamese products”, but it will only have an impact on the short term, as ultimately, customers will only choose what they think will give them the best value with regard to price and quality. 

However, it worth’s mentioning that the Global Competitiveness Report 2017 – 2018 issued by the World economic forum (WEF) has witnessed the improvement of Vietnam economy through related indicators in this field. Specifically, Vietnam has jumped to 55th place, up five ranks from last year and 20 ranks from five years ago. It is the best result of Vietnam in recent years, and put it among the six economies with the best average growth rates in the past decade, together with large emerging economies such as Thailand, India and Nigeria.

Vietnam’s competitiveness is significantly driven by its market size, which ranks 31st of all economies, according to the annual report which measures national competitiveness based on a set of institutions, policies and factors that determine the level of productivity. So Vietnamese enterprises have significant improved in recent years, so there is high hope that they can still compete with foreign companies based on their unique strength and knowhow of the market. In the end, it will be for the benefit of customers and Vietnam’s economy in general.