Swiss luxury watchmaker Franck Muller has opened its first store in Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh City just a stone’s throw from Dong Khoi street, the city’s iconic shopping strip for luxury goods. The watchmaker is yet another in a long line of luxury goods makers to look to profit from Vietnam’s growing uber rich.
Earlier this year, luxury mobile phone marker Vertu opened a second store in HCMC. Lamborghini also opened a showroom in Vietnam in December. These brands join the likes of Cartier, Armani, Tiffany and Co., Prada, Gucci, Chanel, Porche, and McLaren all vying for a piece of Vietnam’s growing luxury goods market.
The number of ultra-high-net-worth individuals–persons with a net worth greater than US$30 million–has grown exponentially in recent years. According to Frank Knight’s Wealth Report 2024, Vietnam had 752 of these uber-rich at the end of 2023 and that number is expected to grow to 978 by 2028.
That said, it’s worth noting that Vietnam’s GDP per capita is about US$4,000. Also, by World Bank estimates, about 5 percent of Vietnam’s population was living on less than US$3.20 per day (PPP/2011) in 2020. This serves to highlight the huge disparity in economic development around the country. This does not appear to be a problem yet but may be worth keeping an eye on.
See also: Shopping in Vietnam: Quick Guide 2024