Taiwan Excellence marks another successful year in Vietnam
2015 marked the successful sixth year of Taiwan Excellence, the annual series of events by the Taiwanese Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT), Ministry of Economic Affairs of Taiwan (MOEA) and implemented by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), in Vietnam.
Taiwan Excellence was introduced in Vietnam for the first time in 2010 with only 17 brand representatives. After 6 years, the number of brands has increased significantly, reaching 70 brands in various areas from home-living, health care, sport, transportation and information technology. The significant increase reflected the positive attitude of Vietnamese consumers towards high quality made-in-Taiwan products.
Besides the significant increase, Taiwan Excellence 2015 also had several other advanced differences compared to previous years. The campaign was official launched in June with Taiwan Excellence Experiencing Zones at Vincom Mega Mall, Royal City in Hanoi, and attracted thousands of Vietnamese to experience the “Excellent Lifestle” of Taiwan Excellence.
In September this year, a Taiwan Excellence Pop-up Store was set up for the first time in Ho Chi Minh City. As a continuation of the Taiwan Excellence Experiencing Zone event, which had been held in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city, Taiwan Excellence Pop-Up Store was a convenient place for local consumers to buy products from honoured Taiwanese brands.
2015 also marked the first time TAITRA cooperated with Life 1 - a major retail store in Vietnam and the largest e-commerce platform Lazada, to adapt both a physical and a virtual channel to introduce “Taiwan Excellence collections”. Taiwan Excellence also attended two biggest commercial fairs of the year, namely Saigon Autotech Show 2015 and Vietnam Expo 2015, which attracted 140,000 people attending and opened many partnership opportunities for both Vietnamese and Taiwanese organisations.
Taiwan Excellence was also the gold sponsor for the biggest race in Ho Chi Minh City - HCMC Run 2015 – a playground to promote sports as well as encourage healthy lifestyles among young people. HCMC Run 2015 attracted nearly 6,500 attendances, 22,000 likes and shares on Facebook, which proved the great attention from young generation towards the event. In 2016, Taiwan Excellence will continue to sponsor HCMC Run, which will be held on January 23 and 24.
Taiwan Excellence 2015 has brought valuable chances for Vietnamese consumers to visit and experience the latest products from Taiwan. It was also an opportunity for Taiwanese brands to receive feedback from customers. Singer – actress Minh Hang was selected to be the new celebrity endorser of Taiwan Excellence 2015 in Vietnam. Her dynamism and full energy made her the best representative of Taiwan Excellence.
“The interest of Taiwanese organisations in Vietnam has increased significantly after the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the EU – Vietnam Free Trade Agreement FTA were signed. Till September 2015, Taiwan had invested in 2,476 projects in Vietnam with total capital of US$29.4 billion, ranking fourth out of 105 countries and territories currently having investment projects in Vietnam.
This figure proved the increased attention of Taiwanese organisations towards the Vietnamese market. There is a high expectation from Taiwan Excellence to continue the success of this campaign in many more years, to continuously deliver more excellent quality made-in-Taiwan products to satisfy and enhance the quality of life of many Vietnamese consumers,” said Tang Ming Hui, director of the Taiwan Trade Center, representative office in Ho Chi Minh City.
According to the most recent market research, the brand awareness of Taiwanese ICT, electronics, home and living products in Vietnam reached 80%, which is even higher than that of South Korean products and is close to that of American products.
It means that out of 10 respondents, 8 out of 10 recognized and highly valued the excellent quality and smart design of made-in-Taiwan products. The figure showed that Taiwanese products were earning more trust and satisfaction from Vietnamese consumers.
The symbol of Taiwan Excellence was established in 1992 by the Taiwanese Ministry of Economic Affairs, and subsequently the Taiwan Excellence Selection was launched the following year.
The selection is based on the distinct criteria of research and development, quality, design and marketing. Taiwan Excellence awarded products, using cutting-edge innovation and meeting the highest quality standard, will represent Taiwan internationally to reinforce buyers’ confidence and continue building a favourable impression of Taiwanese products.
This year marked the 23rd selection with 489 winners from 215 companies. Among them, there were many recognised brands in the international market such as Acer, ASUS, HTC, ADATA and BenQ.