Shopping centers have mushroomed in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City where people regularly turn up to spend more than US$8,000 for a scooter.
Although 80 percent of the population lives on agriculture, world renowned names like Nike, Christian Dior or Gucci have become familiar in the country of 82 million people -- although most are probably fake.
Most of the brand name products available in Vietnam are imported from China, Thailand and Singapore, with only a few international luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton and Benetton having opened stores in upmarket malls.
"This same fake Nike T-shirt can be sold for about 400,000 dong [more than US$25] if you buy it in a chic outlet that sells `imported' clothes," says Pham Thuy Hang, a shop owner in Hanoi.
But as Vietnam integrates with the world economy -- and the country's affluent grow richer -- the fakes may increasingly make way for the real thing.
RSS