Compared to previous years, the digital entertainment market is thriving this season! Many distributors are planning to import more products, seeking new sources with a variety of designs, and most importantly, lower prices to remain competitive.
MP3 and MP4 Dominate!
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Customers testing MP3 players at Nguyen Hoang supermarket, Ho Chi Minh City – Photo: Song Hoang |
The signs of a successful digital entertainment season are evident, as MP3 players (for digital music playback, mainly in MP3 format) and MP4 personal movie players (for MPEG-1 movie playback in various formats) are available everywhere. Previously, these products were only sold at specialty computer stores, but now, electronic supermarkets in Ho Chi Minh City, such as Nguyen Kim, iDeas, and Thien Hoa, also carry these items. There is a wide range of products available, from well-known brands like Samsung, Sony, Creative, JVJ, Acer, TCL… to lesser-known brands like Diboom, Transcend, Degen, Dell, and Imax…
Our survey at the beginning of the year in computer supermarkets shows that digital entertainment devices are “thriving.” Mr. Tran Ngoc Minh Tuan, director of Nguyen Hoang computer supermarket, stated that sales of digital entertainment products after the Lunar New Year are slightly higher than before due to customer expectations for discounts.
The most popular MP3 players among consumers are still the affordable models, priced around 1.2 million VND or less, such as Lenovo HC0536, Sony 219, Dell XB, and TCL V085… Compared to MP3 players, MP4 products are currently selling better because they combine movie viewing and music listening functions, while prices for these products are decreasing. Popular models include Dell X51, Dell XO, Sony 495, Dell 928, and Imax UM-660…
Interestingly, despite being relatively expensive, many customers have chosen high-capacity MP4 movie players like JVJ M9 with a 3.6-inch screen and 20GB, iPod Video 30GB, and Archos Gmini 402 20GB, Archos AV700 40GB… The image quality of these models is quite sharp. Prices for these high-end MP4 models range from 300-450 USD depending on the brand and capacity.
However, this chaotic market is also mixed with brands that appear to be genuine but are actually counterfeit. The most commonly counterfeited brands include Sony, Samsung, and Creative. A clear sign of counterfeit products is the extremely low prices, only 30-40% of the cost of genuine items. Additionally, there are fake products from brands that do not participate in this market, like Dell, misleading customers because Dell is a well-known brand in computer manufacturing.
Cameras: Budget Models Still Best-Sellers!
Similarly, the digital camera market seems to be busier after the Lunar New Year. According to a sales employee at Vuong Minh Company (distributor of Olympus digital cameras and Hitachi camcorders), customers still prefer to choose affordable models, priced around 3-5 million VND. For the Olympus brand, the two best-selling models after the Lunar New Year are FE100 (4 megapixels, priced at 252 USD) and FE110 (5 megapixels, priced at 299 USD). These two models are currently out of stock and new stock is being prepared.
Launched at the end of 2005, models like T1 (priced at 564 USD), T2 (483 USD), L1 (411 USD), Coolpix S3 (374 USD), and Coolpix S4 (507 USD) from Nikon continue to be popular choices at the beginning of 2006. According to Ms. Huyen (from Tan Thinh Company, Nikon distributor in Vietnam), sales of Nikon products at the beginning of the year are slower than before the Lunar New Year, but compared to previous years, there are still signs of good growth.
Fujifilm has effectively targeted budget-conscious customers with its Mpix camera line, priced surprisingly low at 1.7 million VND each, alongside the two models E500 (9.1 megapixels) and Z1 (5.1 megapixels) that are among the best-sellers at the start of 2006. Sony Vietnam reports that new models released at the end of 2005, such as DSC-M2, DSC-H1, and DSC-N1, are among the best-selling models in the Vietnamese market.
Following the success of Canon camera brand, at the beginning of 2006, Canon continues to succeed with four best-selling models: A410 and S80 (PowerShot series), Ixus55 and Ixus750 (Ixus series). According to information from Le Bao Minh Company (Canon distributor), after the Lunar New Year, the company must import a large quantity of digital cameras to ensure supply in the market, preventing any stock shortages.
The digital entertainment market at the beginning of 2006 shows signs of growth. Many distributors predict that this product category will continue to sell well, provided that the products are more attractive, cheaper, and come with more integrated features: music playback, movie viewing, photo capturing…
THIEN VU
