Hiep Hung Offers Vietnamese Culture Handicrafts to Consumers

Hiep Hung Offers Vietnamese Culture Handicrafts to Consumers

Bringing handicrafts rich in Vietnamese cultural identity to industrialised countries has been the main aim of Hiep Hung Company Limited ever since it started its strategy for exporting handicrafts in 1988.

Initially, the company focussed on hand-made household embroidery products such as tablecloths, scarves and clothes for export to Japan. It has so far produced hundreds of product models for export. To form a trademark for its embroidery, since 2001 Hiep Hung has taken a long time to approach the market, invest in production and stabilise products, enabling it to obtain success in international markets, specifically Japan.

In addition to hand-made embroidery products, Hiep Hung Co. makes garment products to order by customers. However, garment and textile products are currently being put up against fierce competition pressure from non-quota markets.

The company director Doan Thi Huu Nghi confirmed that the non-quota markets force enterprises  face tough competition due to low prices and rivals such as China who make competent products. Therefore, Hiep Hung lays a stress on raising the quality of products to enhance competitiveness. This year, its export turnover is forecast to reach US$2.2 million from the figure of US$1.8 million last year.

One of the company's trade secrets in entering foreign markets, especially the hard-to-please Japanese market is to keep the quality of products stable. Even though the hand-made household embroidery products the company exported to Japan are warmly welcomed by the consumers.

To maintain and raise export turnover to US$1 million, Hiep Hung continually expands production, and has spend as much as VND34 billion (US$2.17 million) buying new and advanced equipment from Japan and West Germany with a view to intensifying product quality to satisfy the taste and consumption habits of the Japanese in particular and consumers in general. Together with investments in new technology, the company also focuses on studying consumers' demands for market products of all sizes, designs and colours. 

At present, Hiep Hung Co. has two Hanoi-based production establishments specialising in supplying embroidered products including fashion flowered silk handbags, footwear, skirts, drapes, blankets and pillows among others for major markets in Japan, the EU and the US, and a garment factory in the Industrial Park of Que Vo, Bac Ninh which produces export garment products of T-shirts, sport wear, jackets and trousers.

In an effort to stabilise product quality, design new products and expand the market for its products, Hiep Hung Co. regularly holds training courses to raise professional skills for its 950 workers.

The company aims to join hands with some other domestic garment companies namely Ha Bac Garment Company in order to satisfy big orders. However, to get out of the current fragmented production scale, according to Ms Nghi, Hiep Hung, the garment and textile sector in general are really in need of investments from the State.

• Thi Van