Ho Chi Minh City is becoming a fashion shopping hub for foreign tourists
Ho Chi Minh City is gradually becoming not only a popular tourist destination, but also a notable center for fashion shopping. Foreign travelers are increasingly including Vietnamese brand stores, showrooms, and multi-brand spaces in their itineraries. Some local retailers report that overseas customers account for a significant share of their sales.
Social media plays a major role in the popularity of Vietnamese fashion. According to Rebecca Morris, a lecturer in fashion business management at RMIT Vietnam, tourists save items they like on TikTok and Instagram even before their trip, and then show photos and videos to store staff to find specific models. Posts with the hashtags #vietnamshoppinghaul and #vietnamlocalbrand also help promote local brands.
Among the places popular with tourists are The New Playground, stores on Nguyen Trai and Tran Quang Dieu streets, as well as the new multi-brand spaces 11 Garmentory and Rue Miche. Such complexes bring together several Vietnamese brands at once and complement the stores with cafés, photo zones, and other spaces, turning shopping into a separate part of the tourist program.
Interest from foreigners is especially noticeable at 11 Garmentory, a complex covering more than 1,000 m². According to its representatives, overseas visitors make up about 60–70% of the total customer flow. The average amount of a single purchase is around 3 million dong ($114), while some individual orders reach 60–70 million dong. Prices for goods in the complex usually range from 300,000 to 3 million dong. On weekends, the space receives about 2,000 visitors per day.
Representatives of the local fashion business note that Vietnamese brands are attracting tourists not only with affordable prices anymore. Original design, clothing quality, and the shopping format itself are playing an increasingly important role. Over the past one to two years, interest in local labels has become especially noticeable, including after items by Vietnamese designers began appearing on K-pop stars and celebrities from other Asian countries.
Experts believe that Ho Chi Minh City can develop this trend further—for example, by creating special maps of fashion stores, themed shopping routes, and events featuring Vietnamese designers. This would allow local fashion to become an independent part of the city’s tourist image.
Source: https://news.tuoitre.vn/ho-chi-minh-city-emerges-as-fashion-shopping-destination-for-international-visitors-103260707194155226.htm https://tuoitre.vn/tphcm-dan-thanh-thien-duong-mua-sam-thoi-trang-cua-khach-quoc-te-100260706173025564.htm
