Vietnamese willing to spend more in 2015, brand-name goods market warms up Recent surveys have found that Vietnamese consumers are willing to spend more money in 2015 because they believe the national economy is recovering.   Official reports have shown the recovery of the most important indexes, including the industrial production index, which has lifted the spirit of Vietnamese. Though many businesses are still in distress as warned by some pessimistic economists, signs of recovery have become more visible. A report from Epinion, a Danish market survey firm, showed that two-thirds of Vietnamese population are psychologically ready to spend more money in 2015 than in previous years as their confidence has been restored. The demand is believed to be especially high from young consumers, who can earn money and want high-quality brandname goods. Viettrack, a report released in early 2015 by Intage Vietnam (FTA Market Research), showed that 50 percent of Vietnamese were optimistic about the recovery of the national economy. In the real estate market, while low-cost products have seen a decline in transactions, the high-end apartment segment has warmed up and the medium-class segment has seen the highest number of transactions. According to CBRE, a real estate service provider, 4,879 apartments of 18 projects were put on sale in the first quarter of 2015, a sharp increase of 60 percent in comparison with the quarter before and 30 percent over the last year. Fashion brands are now prospering with increased demand. Crown Space, a high-end fashion chain, has been expanding rapidly. Phan Anh, senior advisor to Crown Space, noted that the demand for branded goods has always been very high in Vietnam, because the goods have high quality and show off the high positions of the users in society. This was why Ban Mai Xanh Company some years ago, when the national economy was in big difficulty, decided to invest in Crown Space. The warming up of the branded goods market is also the reason behind Fansipan Green’s decision to develop a new high-end product distribution model in Vietnam. Fansipan Green does not manufacture high-end products, but joins forces with manufacturers to distribute products in the market.  Therefore, the products and services provided by Fansipan Green are diverse, from education, finance, banking, insurance, healthcare to tourism, investment and restaurant services. “Though the Vietnamese purchasing power has been affected by economic difficulties, Vietnam is always among the leading Asian countries in terms of branded goods consumption in the last three years,” said Fansipan Green’s CEO Ha Huy Cuong. “If you analyze the figures about the consumption of high-end goods in Vietnam, you will see the market has great potential for you to exploit,” he said, when asked the reason why he decided to sell branded goods, though Vietnamese income per capita remained modest. VTC