Co-branding is now a growing international trend and offers Vietnamese businesses the easiest way to join the global market. — Photo toquoc.vn

HCM CITY — Co-branding is now a growing international trend and offers Vietnamese businesses the easiest way to join the global market.

Shoe maker Biti’s and jewellery manufacturer PNJ are among the first domestic firms to embrace the trend. Biti’s has obtained permission to use images from Disney’s famous film Frozen on its products, and PNJ has tied up with France’s Swarovski to make its products in Việt Nam.

“Buying the rights to use global brands has both improved Vietnamese enterprises and helped customers get the best products,” Vưu Lệ Quyên, deputy general director of Biti’s, was quoted as saying by Phụ Nữ (Women) newspaper.

Disney is also hoping that its tie-up with Biti’s will enable its products to enter Việt Nam through the latter’s 1,500 stores.

Dr Đoàn Đình Hoàng, a branding expert, said “Local enterprises have started to work with foreign brand names and the co-operation will benefit from both party’s strengths.”

Through co-branding, international brands can exploit new markets at low cost while local companies get access to new financial sources, modern technologies and, especially, their partners’ customers and markets.

Economist Lê Bá Chí Nhân said the value of a brand would increase significantly if it can establish a joint venture with a famous brand and develop together.

Phạm Ngọc Hưng, deputy chairman of the HCM City Enterprises Association, said “The famous Disney choosing a Vietnamese company to do business with proves that [the latter] has met Disney’s strict requirements and … that Vietnamese enterprises are growing enough to collaborate with big foreign companies.”

He agreed that co-branding is the way for local companies to become bigger and develop in the context of the growing global integration.

But some economists said Vietnamese firms should be careful because this is a new development in this country.

“Local brands will be weaker or fully dependent on their foreign partner,” Nhân pointed out. — VNS