While domestic goods are threatened at home by cheap imported goods, many Vietnamese businesses are still boldly stepping out into the world with high-value products and "unique" quality, don't even dream of imitating them...
Vicostone was chosen as the supplier of high-end stone for City Center casinos (Las Vegas), USA since 2007 - Photo: Tripadvisor
With their current market share in the international market, Vicostone, Phuc Sinh, and Intimex Group are like "dinosaurs" in the market. Some brands even wrote special stories when they went from the brink of bankruptcy to trillions in profits thanks to going abroad.
Quietly top 3 in the world
In 2007, Vicostone - a Vietnamese company - was chosen as the supplier of high-end stone tiles for the City Center entertainment casino (Las Vegas), USA.
This contract is like a key for a Vietnamese business with only three years of export experience to open the door to the most demanding market in the world.
After the US, Vicostone continues to supply stone for a series of high-end hotel and building projects in Vancouver (Canada), Mexico City (Mexico), Australia...
In 2020, Vicostone was in the top 3 manufacturers of high-end quartz stone in the world, with products present in over 50 countries with more than 10,000 global agents and partners.
Behind that success is Mr. Ho Xuan Nang, a businessman from Nam Dinh, who brought a company from the brink of bankruptcy to join the "big names" in the foreign market.
From a revenue of nearly 200 billion and a net profit of only 5 billion VND in 2006, in the period 2017 - 2022, Viscostone's revenue was consistently at 5,000 - 7,000 billion VND, net profit exceeded thousands of billions, and in 2021, it even reached a profit peak of nearly 1,800 billion VND.
An international media outlet said that Vicostone's rapid rise caused Casearstone, a company in the same industry with a capitalization of more than 1 billion USD, to put Vicostone on the list of competitors "capable of threatening market share".
Vicostone shared: "We build our own technological know-how, so we believe our products will have a certain position in the world." A business leader commented that Vicostone invests heavily in research and development (R&D), creating unique designs that are difficult to copy. Their success is partly due to mastering core technology and R&D.
International visitors experience Vicostone stone products - Photo: VCS
Do not accept the old order
Phuc Sinh's professional development has left a good impression on the industry. For example, pepper is usually packaged in 50-100kg bags, no one packages in 5-10kg bags, but Phuc Sinh does that.
In addition to taking advantage of free trade agreements, they also work hard on every small detail to find ways to develop and build a name for Vietnamese agricultural products in the world.
Leader of Vietnam Pepper and Spices Association (VPSA)
If Vicostone is the "boss" of the quartz-based artificial stone segment with the US as its main market, then the Vietnamese agricultural "eagle" like Phuc Sinh Joint Stock Company is no less competitive when it "nests" in Europe.
Entering the EU market is also the time when Mr. Phan Minh Thong - Chairman of Phuc Sinh, sees a big rock in front of him. Pepper and spices from a small business in Vietnam will "compete" with products of "giants" from the US, the Netherlands...
"American, Dutch, and Singaporean companies do not lack money. We think that when competing on the same track, we must be different and not accept arrangements. That means we must sell to Germany, France, Spain, etc. to create satellite power, to compete with other large enterprises in the world," said Mr. Thong.
In fact, Phuc Sinh's first customers in Singapore, in 2003, bought pepper with an order value of about 30,000 USD, are still partners and will increase their purchases to 15 million USD in 2024. Partners in Switzerland, the Netherlands as well as leading German companies have always chosen to buy Vietnamese agricultural products.
"Vietnamese agricultural products sold domestically are not profitable. If sold to representatives of agricultural companies with offices in Vietnam, they will "take" all the profits. Not to mention, Southeast Asian countries are very familiar with Vietnam, so buying products is also cheaper," Mr. Thong explained.
The question is how to get to Europe, which is both distant and difficult? But the European market will be highly paid, accepting and encouraging of private enterprise development.
Mr. Thong decided to create a unique direction for Vietnamese pepper products in this market. Successfully approaching, Phuc Sinh was established in 2001, experiencing ups and downs like many other businesses, but after only five years, Phuc Sinh is the number 1 spice exporter in Vietnam, according to the Vietnam Pepper and Spice Association (VPSA). Each year, this business brings in hundreds of millions of USD.
A product manufacturing process at Phuc Sinh - Photo: DN
Vietnamese goods "fight to the death"
From the case of Vicostone, Mr. Truong Thai Dat - Director of DSC Securities Analysis Center - said: Fierce competition from China and new manufacturers has caused Mr. Nang's stone export market share to the US to decrease sharply.
If by 2021, Vicostone still accounted for 50% of the US stone export market share, now it is only about 23%.
Mr. Ho Xuan Nang also admitted that 2023 will be a challenging year as his company's main export market is spread across 50 countries on five continents, while the world economic context is unstable. "In the US market alone, demand has not increased due to a decrease in new construction, we plan to focus on the renovation market," Mr. Nang shared.
The big problem that Vicostone and many other businesses making high-value products face is the flood of cheap goods.
Mr. Nang shared that the company must cope with competitive pressure from businesses in China, India, Thailand, Malaysia, etc. "Vicostone has determined that it will not compete on price but on technology and differentiated products," Mr. Nang said about how to cope.
Mr. Do Hoai Nam, chairman of Intimex Group, said that the revenue figures were very successful. But behind those results were many hardships and difficulties for coffee growers, from farmers to traders.
The most notable story about coffee last year, according to Mr. Nam, was also the issue of price. But while Vicostone had a "headache" because of low prices, the largest coffee company in Vietnam was "in turmoil" when prices increased.
"Prices have increased like never before in history," Mr. Nam said, adding that there have been cases of "reneged" contracts and supply disruptions. Looking back, we can see that not many people can stay in this industry for long. Anyone who works in coffee has white hair.
"Once we sign a contract with a customer, we have to make an effort to find enough sources to deliver the goods. With international partners, if you break a promise once, there will be no next time," Mr. Nam said about how his business operates.
Meanwhile, Mr. Phan Minh Thong is a strange guest when he is present at all seminars and fairs related to agricultural exports in the world.
He decided to come because according to him, this is a "treasure trove" of customer information. To help Vietnamese agricultural products be exported to the international market, Mr. Thong revealed a small secret: not choosing large corporations to offer products, but only choosing small and medium-sized companies because when negotiating, there are more options.
The world knows about Vietnamese spices and pepper, but to create trust, we must do well in one market to "enter" dozens of other markets. This is the solution Phuc Sinh is aiming for.
"Like Germany, the number 1 market for food safety in Europe, although we have to upgrade quality, entering Germany is considered as "decoding" the way to enter the remaining 27 markets. The next step is to maintain quality to compete with multinational companies from the Netherlands, Singapore, the US...", Mr. Thong shared the steps.
With many types of pepper such as green pepper, black pepper, pink pepper and soon to be ground pepper produced on a large scale, thanks to investment in technology, currently in the world only Vietnam has pepper sauce products present in the European market.
Because of its diversity and constant new products, Phuc Sinh retains many international customers. As a partner who has purchased many products from Phuc Sinh for 22 years, Mr. Frederic Tang, director of Prokuen (Hong Kong), said: "I see that this business sells all over the world, and sells easily in Europe and the US.
So even though there are many places selling agricultural products, we still choose Phuc Sinh. Phuc Sinh always finds ways to make different high-end products, so it always attracts us from white pepper, freeze-dried pepper, pepper sauce...".
Phuc Sinh's black pepper sauce products are especially popular - Photo: DN
If Phuc Sinh "makes waves" in the spice industry internationally, Intimex Group also attracts attention when exporting coffee that exceeds the billion-dollar mark. Mr. Do Ha Nam said that several hundred containers of coffee regularly go from Vietnam to customers and partners around the world.
"By the end of 2023, our coffee will be present in more than 90 countries worldwide and account for 25% of the country's export turnover of this item, contributing to the country's record export of more than 4 billion USD of coffee," said Mr. Nam.
Vicostone decorates comfortable living space at Han JardinSource: https://tuoitre.vn/khung-long-hang-viet-ra-the-gioi-20250107182529738.htm
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