Since just about every major news agency has covered last Saturday’s McDonalds Saigon launch, we thought that, rather than rehashing the same story, we’d make a roundup of articles from the foreign press that reveal how the world views the opening. Most articles were copies/adaptations of this AFP article so we only included the original version:
Food industry experts say McDonald’s and other American fast-food brands typically market themselves in Asia as a lifestyle choice for the middle class, rather than as an inexpensive option for the poor, and that their Vietnam strategy is no exception.
BBC:
The move underlines Vietnam's hunger for Western consumer brands and the attractions for foreign investors, say observers.
It's a huge market, and it'll be interesting to see what local menu customizations they come up with. McPho? Mc Banh Mi?
AFP:
The arrival of McDonald's in a country where a war was once fought over capitalism "means that globalisation really is nearly complete," said cultural critic and award winning author Anne Elizabeth Moore.
Tran Ngoc Anh, 63, has been running the restaurant for 30 years and said she isn't worried that the new giant down the street will draw away her customers.
"It's just fast food," she said. "It doesn't have all the delicious flavors of pho."
"McDonald's in Vietnam is going to be packed with parents, many of whom will not be eating because the food doesn't appeal to them but who will be happy because watching their kids munch away on burgers makes them feel they're part of something positive and modern," said Markus Taussig, an assistant business professor at the National University of Singapore and a former Vietnam resident.
For those Saigoneers who speak Vietnamese, did you see similar coverage in the local press?
[Photo via Thomas Maresca]
