Something I’ve noticed about the small market sector in Viet Nam is people’s loyalty to a range of family-run businesses that are at risk of being driven to extinction by large companies and chains that promise and often offer greater selection and lower prices. (This is a trend not unique to Viet Nam.)

What’s encouraging is how many Vietnamese consumers continue to patronize mom-and-pop shops that have been around for a long time because of their longstanding relationship with the owner, quality service, i.e., they know their products and are experienced, and often lower prices. Some examples of this are a barber, a small shop that repairs shoes, one that sells watch batteries and imported consumer electronics, one that repairs appliances, and another that fixes motorbikes.

This gives me hope as Viet Nam’s economy continues to develop and expand. Business is about much more than the bottom line.

Shalom (שלום), MAA