Impressive Viet trademarks
Vietnamese enterprises are beginning to assert their trademarks on the
international marketplace
By the end of 2002, the
Industrial Property Department
had granted copyrights to over
100,000 trademarks. Only 1,600
of them are owned by
Vietnamese entities.
Considering nearly 90,000 State
and private enterprises
nationwide, this figure is too
modest.
However, spurred by competition on the integration path, Vietnamese
enterprises have gained some experience in building strong
trademarks.
Impressions on Vietnamese culture. Several domestic enterprises have
attached their trademarks to traditional culture, namely Trung Nguyen
Coffee, Biti's and Saigon Beer. Trung Nguyen, for instance, has
associated its coffee produced in the Central Highland province of
Daklak with images of Vietnamese culture. This is done by exploiting the
traditional Vietnamese interior, original coffee and classic processing.
Trung Nguyen's success is marked by franchise contracts in several
countries. The value of those franchise contracts is much higher than the
coffee itself. In the U.S., Japan and Thailand, the owners of franchised
Trung Nguyen coffee shops have hired local architects to design
Vietnamese interior space, and employed Vietnamese for their staff.
Some have even traveled to Buon Ma Thuot, the headquaters of Daklak,
to seek original ornaments.
Biti's, a local footwear manufacturer, has obtained a nationwide network
of agents selling Biti's products at fixed prices. Biti's has taken a bold
step towards the vast Chinese and U.S. markets where it competes for a
market share, relying on flexibility of designs and prices.
Saigon Beer has fortified its trademark on the domestic beer market,
which has been flooded with the products of foreign beer giants. "Beer
for the Vietnamese" is the motto. The company has also diversified its
products for different regions of Vietnam. The "beer for the Vietnamese"
has traveled far and wide to Taiwan, Russia, the Netherlands, Singapore
and Canada.
Intensive investment in trademarks. The lesson drawn from successful
Vietnamese trademarks is to build a trademark strategy and consistent
investment in this strategy. By the end of 2001, Thang Loi Textile was the
first enterprise in the local export textile and garment industry to directly
export products with a Vietnamese trademark to the U.S. To make its
Vigatexco "made-in-Vietnam" trademark available, Thang Loi had
invested heavily in modern technology and machinery to make product
quality meet market demands. In 2001, the investment was VND100
billion; and in 2002, it was VND300 billion. Currently, Thang Loi has
registered the Vigatexco trademark in the U.S., and is cooperating with a
consulting company in building its exclusive marketing strategy for the
U.S. market.
In recent years, Viet Tien Garments has focused its efforts on fortifying
the VTEC trademark by renovating technology and designs. In 2002, Viet
Tien launched 161 new products. This year, Viet Tien earmarks VND38
billion for purchasing specialized equipment to boost exports to the U.S.
market.
By Minh Ha - The Saigon Times Weekly - February 15, 2003.
Success at Home
Every year, Kinh Do spends
millions of U.S. dollars to
renovate technology and
enhance the competitiveness of
its trademark while Viettronics
Tan Binh has set a new growth
record in Vietnam's electronics
industry with its VTB trademark
VTB are the two Vietnamese trademarks which have been able to
compete effectively with famous foreign rivals.
Kinh Do: characters and closeness. Not satisfied with the current
popularity of its trademark, in April 2002, Kinh Do, one of Vietnam's
biggest manufacturers of biscuit and confectionery, set up a division
specializing in building trademarks, which was headed by a manager.
"Since the first days of establishment, Kinh Do has fostered a correct
strategy for trademark development," says Tran Cao Thanh, the
company's brand manager. "That includes the characters and
closeness of the trademark."
According to Thanh, Kinh Do products are characterized by continuous
creativity. Faithful to this strategy, the majority of Kinh Do products have
been the first to be produced in Vietnam. Every year, Kinh Do spends
several million U.S. dollars importing new production lines to enable it to
turn out new products. Kinh Do also allocates tens of billions of dong for
trademark promotion, a big part of which is used to sponsor
community-related activities like charity, sports, and cultural events. The
goal of these activities, said Thanh, is to create a feeling of closeness to
Kinh Do's trademark. "We plan to make the people who have not known
Kinh Do products recognize the Kinh Do trademark via social activities,"
said Thanh.
Currently, every month Kinh Do exports some 100 containers of biscuit
and confectionery to the U.S. market.
VTB: proud of Vietnamese products. Previously, Viettronics Tan Binh
had no trademark of its own. During that time, the company "lived" on
foreign trademarks through joint ventures with foreign partners.
In December 2000, Viettronics Tan Binh officially launched televisions
with the VTB trademark. The company soon saw its sales of
VTB-trademarked products soar to VND300 billion in 2001, and to
VND450 billion last year. The fantastic growth was also a new record in
Vietnam's electronics industry.
The success, in the words of Viettronics Tan Binh's management, is due
to a justifiable strategy for trademark assertion. Le Van Chinh, Viettronics
Tan Binh deputy director, said the VTB trademark could register a strong
growth in a short time thanks to the management's awareness of the
importance of trademarks coupled with experience in trademark
promotion learnt from its foreign partner in joint ventures. While several
electronics assemblers in Vietnam capitalize on the fondness for foreign
goods of the local consumers, Viettronics Tan Binh does the other way
round. That is to incite the pride on national identity. "All
VTB-trademarked products emphasize on the fact that they are made in
Vietnam," said Chinh.
By Dung Tuan - The Saigon Times Weekly - February 15, 2003.
The urge to build trademarks
Vietnamese products have made their presence felt in over 200
countries and territories. This is a positive sign representing the
integration trend of Vietnam in global trade.
However, domestic enterprises have much to do to feature trademarks
that typify Vietnamese goods on the international market.
Although ranking third in the world as a top rice exporter, Vietnam has yet
to build for itself a trademark of rice which has the same stature of Thai
jasmine rice.
Meanwhile, in Vietnam, when consumers talk about motorbikes or cars,
they almost always think of Honda or Toyota.
If a total export sale of US$100 million is chosen as a norm, Vietnam has
dozens of products which have gained such a revenue, from crude oil,
footwear and garments, to seafood, rice, rubber, coffee and fruit.
After a second thought, however, one realizes that they are almost all raw
or semi-processed products or products of sub-contracts. Therefore,
they will bear foreign trademarks although they are products of Vietnam.
It is still necessary to repeat the case of Vietnam's Phu Quoc fish sauce.
The appellation of origin of this famous fish sauce was previously seized
by foreign producers and was not regained by Vietnam until recently.
The Phu Quoc fish sauce case highlights the significance of Thang Loi's
registration of its Vigatexco trademark on the American market. For
years, many U.S. consumers tested the quality of Thang Loi's products
and now the company asserts its value with the Vigatexco trademark.
It's high time that Vietnamese enterprises invested vigorously in
trademark development and promotion. In many countries, trademarks
are considered a national property, and are protected by the State.
Vietnam could hardly do differently. The State should create favorable
conditions for enterprises to build strong trademarks, and promote and
protect them..
By Minh Thong - The Saigon Times Weekly - February 15, 2003.
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