Specialised in hotel and catering supplies for hotels, resorts and food services in Vietnam, Dan & Dan Co., Ltd. is positively commented as the leading supplier who can provide one-stop shopping many leading brands in the Food Services, a “solution provider” for hotels, resorts and restaurants. Vietnam Business Forum has an interview with Managing Director Nguyen The Dan about its business activities.
Could you talk about the activities of your company, and why the company name is Dan & Dan?
Dan & Dan Co, Ltd. is a strategic partner of Andy Mannhart AG (Switzerland), a professional supplier for hotels and restaurants, one of the most popular brands in Europe, Middle East and Asia for over 20 years (
www.andymannhart.com). Dan & Dan was named after Dan and Daniel (Mr Daniel Sutter is the CEO of Andy Mannhart AG, Switzerland).
Our customers are hotels, resorts, villa complex, service apartments, conference centres, wedding centres, fine dining restaurants, hotel schools, cruise ships, caterers, airlines, etc.
We supply kitchen utensils, pastry items, the world-class chinaware with large selections of designs suitable for different concepts, silverware, glassware, buffetware and buffet displays, banquet furniture including banquet chairs, tables, mobile stages, professional F&B service items, luggage trollies, maid cart trollies, room service trollies, F&B linen, etc.
Dan & Dan represents leading brands and manufacturers of hotel supplies such as Andy Mannhart AG, WMF Hotel Germany, Nikko Japan, Cambro USA, Nardi, Kahla, Sola, Spring, Inducs Switzerland, Zieher Germany.
What challenges are you facing?
The tourism is feeling the impact of the economic downturn. Foreign tourist arrivals and business people arrivals are declining, and so are international flights to Vietnam, leaving negative impacts on the business in five star hotels and restaurants. Hotel and resort projects, up-grading projects, replacements, procurements of equipment and utensils are therefore delayed or stopped. Our revenue has declined accordingly and our business, especially with the 5-star hotels, has been slowing down. Besides, we face challenges in collecting payments.
Nevertheless, you can see a lot of projects under constructions or development nation wide: hotels, resorts, villas, service apartments. We always commit to contribute with the development and hope to develop along with the hotel industry in Vietnam. Together with full commitments from the brands and manufacturers we represent, and expertise of our team, we hope to successfully meet the market demands partly contributing to the development.
Low quality products from China are flooding the Vietnam market. This causes challenges for our products which are mostly imported from Europe, the USA, Japan, etc., because import tax rates applied on the commodities are from 30 % to 44 % at least.
In addition, customs clearance procedures take us 5 to 7 days, even 10 days. Customers sometimes are not patient because we can’t deliver though the goods are in Vietnam.
Do you wish or expect a support from or cooperation between companies and the Government on the basis “development together”?
There are more and more local hotel and resort projects are under construction, or renovation, to mix into the circle of international hotels. This is a positive signal. We are proud to have opportunities to assist local new hotel projects or renovation projects to ensure the quality of products equipped. With proper training, foreign language skills, qualified staff, products with professional quality, appropriate business strategies, local hotels will certainly meet the higher needs as international hotels do. There should be more supports in, among other policies, taxes and duties, customs clearance for local investors who develop hotel and resort projects to contribute to the development of the tourism industry.
Reported by Doan Tien
Vietnamese
