This report is a compendium of studies commissioned by MPDF to identify the key marketing and operational issues facing private garment manufacturers in Vietnam, and to determine what business support services were or could be made available to them. At the time of the study there were approximately 250 private manufacturers and 90 state owned enterprises. While the garment industry offered strong growth opportunities and contributed considerably to Vietnam’s economy, private manufacturers in particular faced considerable challenges.
Difficulties identified in this paper include: greater competition, diminished demand, a regional economic crisis, and a regulatory environment that discriminated heavily in favor of state-owned enterprises. The writers emphasized that the whole industry had to become more competitive to survive the eventual end of the quota system (Multi-Fiber Agreement) in 2005. A fishbone diagram details key problems facing private garment manufacturers: inefficient production organization, inadequate business management skills, difficulty in establishing links with buyers, low workforce productivity, and low product quality.
This study involved visits to over 40 small to medium sized (100-500 machines) private garment manufacturers; interviews with a multitude of related entities – government agencies, training institutions, buyers, retailers, service suppliers, consulting firms; and a “town hall” style meeting of garment operators. The mission included specialists in marketing, garment technology and training, as well as the former textile unit manager of the IFC.
The researchers concluded that the garment industry had to “move up the value chain” in order to remain competitive. Private manufacturers were advised to capitalize on their core advantages – an industrious and cheap workforce, low operating costs, considerable flexibility – while also improving product quality, seeking out new market, and expanding product range into non-quota items. The rest of the report is committed to in-depth studies and analysis of marketing, training and operational issues and service providers.
January 1999
Full report English 
(490kb) | Full report Vietnamese 
(900kb)
