Viettel Post launches another strategic move

Launching the VIPO Mall E-commerce Platform

Viettel Post, a subsidiary of the Viettel Group, has established VIPO Mall, Vietnam's first two-way cross-border wholesale e-commerce platform, leaving its imprint in the rapidly expanding e-commerce (eCom) sector.

In addition to satisfying the needs of the domestic market, VIPO Mall was created to facilitate the direct connection of foreign suppliers with Vietnamese consumers (and vice versa).

VIPO Mall sets itself apart with a cross-border wholesale strategy, in contrast to other Vietnamese platforms that concentrate on retail, such Tiki, Shopee, or Lazada. One of the platform's main features is its two-way connectivity, which enables it to assist the export of premium Vietnamese goods to international markets via Viettel Post's vast network in addition to bringing foreign goods to domestic consumers.

Additionally, VIPO Mall offers a seamless experience, covering product search, payment, and shipping, with transparent processes and real-time order tracking. By leveraging Viettel Post's logistics strengths, delivery times are shortened by 3-7 days compared to competitors, and supply chain costs are reduced. Furthermore, the platform supports local currency payments, allowing transactions in Vietnamese dong, which is a significant advantage for domestic businesses.

At a time when Shopee, Lazada, and Tiki dominate the Vietnamese eCom market, VIPO Mall joins the fray. Although these platforms enjoy the advantages of enormous client bases and great brand recognition, VIPO Mall focuses on a specific market segment: cross-border and wholesale transactions.

In contrast to Shopee and Lazada, which primarily cater to retail consumers, VIPO Mall serves small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) who want to export or source items from other countries. VIPO Mall has a significant competitive advantage in cross-border trade thanks to Viettel Post's extensive logistics network, which provides quicker and more affordable services.

Significant Challenges

However, the reason why established e-commerce sites like Shopee and Lazada are so dominant in Vietnam is because they have made significant investments in AI technology to improve advertising and consumer experiences. As a newcomer, VIPO Mall needs to catch up swiftly in terms of technology in order to keep customers. Furthermore, establishing market trust—especially for cross-border transactions—is a major obstacle for the new platform.

Take Alibaba.com, one of the world’s leading cross-border wholesale platforms. Founded by billionaire Jack Ma, Alibaba has succeeded by establishing a robust ecosystem supporting sourcing, payments, and logistics. Investments in transaction security and trust-building among buyers and sellers have further cemented its position.

Similarly, Jeff Bezos' Amazon has developed Amazon Business, focusing on supplying products and services to businesses. Its efficient operations and ability to leverage Amazon’s vast logistics infrastructure have created a massive global marketplace.

In the meantime, a few international eCom platforms have experienced significant setbacks. For example, despite efforts to enter other markets such as the US and Europe, Rakuten in Japan found it difficult to compete with local platforms because of a lack of awareness of local customs and demands. Similar to this, JD.com Global started extensive marketing initiatives to draw in people from abroad, but their efforts fell short of expectations because of their high operational costs and unclear competitive advantages.

In this competitive environment, launching VIPO Mall requires overcoming difficult obstacles. VIPO Mall will need to put in a lot of work to compete with industry titans like Alibaba.com and Amazon Business, who have well-established ecosystems and experience. Additionally, complicated matters like taxes, import laws, and product standards are frequently a part of cross-border trade.

Despite these obstacles, VIPO Mall has a great chance to become a crucial entry point for Vietnamese companies looking to enter global value chains given the explosive rise of cross-border eCom in the context of globalization.

Furthermore, the success of initiatives like VIPO Mall is supported by Vietnam's national digital transformation policy. Additionally, VIPO Mall benefits by concentrating on a certain market niche. VIPO Mall has the opportunity to dominate the unexplored wholesale industry, which has enormous potential, while rivals focus on retail.