Vietnam retail support · Đào Lê Duy
Vietnam Retail Pricing: Will Your Product Still Be Profitable?
First identify whose margin you are calculating. The shelf price is not the exporter’s revenue. Build a separate unit calculation for the exporter, importer or distributor, then check when cash has to be paid.
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Choose the party and the basis
Write down who invoices whom, the currency, the delivery terms and whether each input includes indirect tax. Record the date and source of every quote. Do not deduct a retailer discount twice if the agreed selling price is already net of that discount.
The following arithmetic considers one local distributor only. It is an original planning example, not Vietnamese market pricing, a tax calculation or a prediction of sales.
A transparent unit example
Open the working template
| Item per unit | Illustrative units | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Invoice amount to retailer | 100 | Before the separate deduction below |
| Agreed trade deduction | 10 | Count once |
| Net revenue | 90 | 100 − 10 |
| Product and inbound costs | 50 | Simplified input, not a customs estimate |
| Other variable fulfilment costs | 5 | Planning assumption |
| Marketing per unit sold | 8 | Planning assumption |
| Expected returns/service cost | 3 | Planning assumption, not an accounting provision |
| Contribution per unit | 24 | 90 − 50 − 5 − 8 − 3 |
| Contribution ratio | 26.7% | 24 ÷ 90, not net profit |
Profitability is not the cash balance
With a constant contribution of 24 and one-off start costs of 3,000, 125 sold units cover those start costs only. At 100 sold units the simplified result is −600; at 200 it is 1,800. Overheads, financing, taxes and unlisted costs remain outside this model.
Buying 300 units at 50 and paying 3,000 start costs before receiving money means 18,000 of these selected cash outflows. Unsold stock is not sold-unit cost twice: track its cash funding and later valuation separately. Add actual tax payments, other expenses, supplier deposits and customer receipts by date.
Turn the example into a decision
Use actual offers for product costs, transport, commercial deductions, promotion, returns and payment terms. Ask a qualified adviser to confirm product-specific tax, customs and recoverability treatment; no default rate is supplied here.
Compare at least a lower-sales case and a delayed-payment case. Continue only when the stated assumptions, funding owner and acceptable downside are clear. Support can cover input collection and scenario comparison; it does not guarantee margin or retailer acceptance.
Questions before you proceed
Is 24 the exporter’s profit?
No. It is a simplified contribution for the distributor in this example. Each party needs its own calculation.
Can the worksheet replace import or tax advice?
No. Keep those lines unresolved until the product, transaction and qualified review are available.
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Send your company name, a public product link and the issue you need help with. No account or Vietnamese phone number is required.
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