In Vietnam, international brands are only available in its two most important cities: in shopping malls such as the Trang Tien Plaza Center in Hanoi, and the Vincom Center and luxury multibrand store Runway, in Ho Chi Minh City. French designer labels rub shoulders with Italian brands, but footwear, at least up until a year ago, was mainly that of the big clothing companies. But as Le Hong Thuy Tien, president of Imex Pan Pacific Group – which in addition to its 28 subsidiaries throughout the country dealing in fashion and accessories, is also the exclusive Vietnamese distributor of Salvatore Ferragamo and Dolce&Gabbana – told italiashoes.com, things are now changing. We met her in September at Micam, looking for Italian manufacturers.

This is your first visit. What did you think of Micam?
I am surprised at how many Italian manufacturers there are and particularly at the level of quality. The high and medium-high target is perfect for the Vietnamese market, which is now looking for leather goods. Here I have found companies capable of expressing values that are of interest to our consumers.

In Hanoi, the Trang Tien Plaza Center has a whole floor dedicated to accessories, but there are no high-quality brands. Why is that?
We are trying to reorganise the layout and to import more high-quality Italian shoes in order to build customer loyalty, just as we did with Salvatore Ferragamo who we have been working with for eight years.

What kind of styles do Vietnamese consumers go for?
Shoes with a lot of detailing, which combine luxury with comfortable light-weight materials. This applies both to men and women, who are attracted to everything that is hand-made.

Le Hong Thuy Tien at Micam 2017