Who wins Viet Nam’s sportswear market?

Vietnamese consumers have grown their interests in branded sportswear, especially those produced by “big names” like Nike and Adidas companies. 

In 2016, along with the country’s better economic performance, the sportswear sector also rose by 11% to reach US$280 million, according to Euromonitor’s report on Sportswear in Viet Nam.

Nike and Adidas are like “Cocacola and Pepsi” on the sportswear world.The two rival brands are also competing fiercely for market shares in Viet Nam. According to Euromonitor, in the past years, Nike has remained as the leading brand in the local market, with a share of 14.5% in 2016. However, Adidas almost caught up with its competitor with a very narrow gap of 0.5%.

Another point of note is that Adidas is accelerating its market share growth. While Nike’s share rose by a negligible 2% in the last three years, Adidas doubled its proportion during the same period. The year 2016 also witnessed Adidas’ highest value sales growth of 27%, thanks to the expansion of its distribution network and dynamic marketing campaigns throughout the year.

The competition between Nike Inc. and Adidas Vietnam Co. is even tougher with participation of two other brands also belonging to these companies, Converse by Nike Inc. and Reebok by Adidas Vietnam Co.

With Reebok gaining 5% of the market and Converse only 2%, the balance now shifts in favor of Adidas Vietnam Co. Its total shares of the Viet Nam market reached nearly 20%, while the figure for Nike Inc was 16%.

The majority of local brands struggle to compete with these foreign giants, except for one name: Biti’s. The domestic company behind this brand, Binh Tien Co., has a long history of more than 30 years making sandals and shoes.

The successful campaign called Biti’s Hunter since 2016 has gradually brought widespread fame to this brand. Its viral marketing strategy has proved a success with millions-view videos featuring famous singers and thousands-like posts by top celebrity on social media.

It is still unknown whether the local or the foreign will win this race in the long run. However, with a dynamic population, and growing standards of living, Viet Nam is obviously an active but competitive market for all sportswear makers.