VIETNAMESE GARMENT INDUSTRY TOO FOCUSED ON EXPORTS.

HCM CITY, Nov 3 Asia Pulse - Vietnamese garment companies are missing out on a great opportunity to expand at home because of their preoccupation with export markets, an industry seminar said.

With a population of 82 million people, most of them young, Vietnam is considered a highly promising fashion market in Asia and globally.

A recent survey by the Vietnam Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex) found domestic demand for fashion increasing 20-40 per cent annually.

Fifty per cent of consumers in Ho Chi Minh City spent 500,000 VND (US$29.50) to 1 million a month on clothing, according to a survey by Business Study and Assistance Centre (BSA).

With Vietnamese spending around 150,000 VND per month per capita, the market is estimated at US$150 million per year.

Vietnam ranked ninth among garment exporters. But Le Quoc An, Vinatex's chairman, said domestic firms did not dominate the local market.

Around 140 popular international ...