"Midwife" for Vietnamese product ecosystem to reach far

In the days leading up to the Lunar New Year, the shopping atmosphere at the oldest purely Vietnamese retail system in Vietnam is more bustling and crowded than usual. For people, going to this supermarket system is not simply to buy consumer goods to serve the needs of the Lunar New Year, but also to preserve cultural features imbued with Vietnamese identity. To learn more about this issue, we had a conversation with Mr. Nguyen Anh Duc, General Director of Saigon Co.op.

Mr. Nguyen Anh Duc, General Director of Saigon Co.op, checks goods at Co.opmart. Photo: HOANG HUNG

* REPORTER: Coming to Saigon Co.op's points of sale during the days before Tet, consumers can easily recognize the cultural characteristics of each region through the displayed products. According to you, how does Saigon Co.op do this? * Mr. NGUYEN ANH DUC : First of all, it must be affirmed that Saigon Co.op's motto is of the Vietnamese people, built by the Vietnamese people and served by the Vietnamese people. Therefore, there is no reason why on the occasion of the traditional Tet holiday of the Vietnamese people, the products sold at 800 points of sale of Saigon Co.op should not bear the strong Vietnamese cultural identity. It must also be added that, throughout its development journey, Saigon Co.op and its suppliers have always been steadfast in the goal of building and developing the purely Vietnamese supermarket brand Co.opmart with the spirit of continuous improvement to best serve the Vietnamese people. Particularly, the Tet program this year that Saigon Co.op is implementing has the theme "Come to Co.op to bring Tet home". Accordingly, when visiting and shopping here, people will be immersed in the Tet atmosphere of the 3 regions of North - Central - South, looking for Tet products with the characteristics of each region that they desire. * When mentioning Saigon Co.op, perhaps each of us will immediately think of the "midwife" of the Vietnamese goods ecosystem. So can you share a few things about this metaphor? * The two words "midwife" sound simple, but to be associated with this mission is a long story built and nurtured over 35 years of formation and development of Saigon Co.op with more than 1,000 Vietnamese goods suppliers. From a Co.opmart Cong Quynh supermarket, District 1, up to now, Saigon Co.op has built more than 800 points of sale nationwide, with many different brands such as Co.opmart, Co.opXtra, Co.opFood, Co.opSmile, Finelife... And accompanying that development, Vietnamese goods always account for more than 90% of the structure of goods in the system. The growth of the distribution system also means that the role of "midwife" of Vietnamese goods is increasingly evident, thereby expanding the market share opportunities of Vietnamese goods. Not stopping there, in 2023, Saigon Co.op proactively cooperated with localities to build supply chains and value chains for goods. This activity aims to plan raw material sources, control product quality and origin, aiming for safe and environmentally friendly consumption for domestic consumers. More importantly, this is the basis for improving product quality, gradually overcoming technical barriers, meeting international standards to increasingly expand market share in the global market. * Expanding export markets is not new to businesses. However, most Vietnamese businesses choose to export raw materials. So what solutions does Saigon Co.op have for Vietnamese goods to export under Vietnamese brands? * It must be admitted that although Vietnamese goods are diverse in types and of good quality, the products are only at the preliminary processing level, with monotonous packaging, lacking appeal to consumers. Businesses with limited capital and little investment in research and development do not have many new products and flavors that keep up with consumer trends. Therefore, in order for Vietnamese goods to reach out to the Vietnamese community, Saigon Co.op and domestic suppliers have proactively implemented many market research solutions. This is the basis for "renewing ourselves", "renewing goods" according to the trend of "selling what the market needs". Along with that, implementing solutions to link domestic enterprises with each other and between domestic enterprises and foreign enterprises, forming an ecosystem of Vietnamese goods. This linkage will create a basis for enterprises to have a harmonious and reasonable division of goods, fields and markets. From there, promote the strengths and advantages of each domestic enterprise, contributing to increasing domestic export capacity. * In the context of greening production, supply, distribution and consumption throughout current economic development activities, how have Saigon Co.op and its suppliers transformed to keep up with this trend? * Saigon Co.op plans that by 2025, products brought into the system, in addition to quality and design, must meet green product standards with specific criteria. At the same time, Sagon Co.op builds promotional policies, sales policies with preferential prices, combining the arrangement of separate display areas for environmentally friendly products, products of enterprises that do a good job of protecting the environment. In early October this year, Saigon Co.op started construction of Saigon Co.op Warehouse located in Le Minh Xuan Industrial Park (Binh Chanh District, Ho Chi Minh City), the first warehouse system in Vietnam built according to green standards with modern equipment, applying advanced technology of the world. The warehouse is built with a "green" standard logistics model, with a surrounding green space system, a natural daylighting system, an automatic fire prevention and fighting system... The putting into operation of this warehouse system is a clear demonstration of the green transformation trend of the Vietnamese goods ecosystem at Saigon Co.op in general. It can be said that, in the context that domestic enterprises are facing considerable competitive pressure from foreign goods and foreign distribution systems, Saigon Co.op still maintains the motto of "purely Vietnamese distribution system", is "a solid support for Vietnamese goods" and is "a reliable destination for Vietnamese people".

Performed by AI VAN

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