Viet A Company: Trademarks should be Built in Domestic Markets

Viet A Company: Trademarks should be Built in Domestic Markets

The Viet A Company has become famous in the private sector in Vietnam. Over the past ten years, the company has successfully developed its trademark VAPOWER in the market, founding a strong foothold Vietnam’s energy industry. With its comprehensive development strategy, Viet A is striving to become a leading investment, trade and industrial corporation. The company is preparing to reach markets in the region and around the world. Pham Thi Loan, general director of the Viet A Company, talked with VIB Forum about building her company’s trademark.

What are your thoughts on your company’s production and business activities in 2004 and targets for the coming years?

Despite many difficulties due to complicated developments of materials’ prices, especially steel prices in first few months, last year was a successful year for the Viet A Company. New developments were seen as the company became a corporation with five member companies and over 700 cadres and workers. We maintained our top spot in electricity equipment and composite products. In 2004, we began to manufacture steel towers and gradually found a foothold in the market. Also, the construction of the Viet A Electricity Wire and Cable Plant started in early 2005. In the near future, electricity wires and cables under the trademark of VAPOWER will become our main export. This is a good sign for our company’s development in the coming years.

Most manufacturers in Vietnam have paid great attention to building trademarks. With your experience at Viet A, what do you think about Vietnamese enterprises’ trademark building?

Trademarks, as far as I am concerned, are inextricably linked to the total value of a product. The building of trademarks is a hot issue not only for Vietnamese manufacturers but also exporters. In my experience, enterprises should not build their trademarks in foreign markets. Instead, they should improve their competitiveness and build their trademarks in the domestic market. Then, when they have achieved adequate conditions, including business experience, financial resources, technology, qualified managers, and understanding of international law on trademark protection and the development of distribution system, they should enter foreign markets. More importantly, Vietnamese enterprises, including Viet A, should build and maintain their trademark in the domestic market when they join the world economy.

Integration into the world economy requires Vietnamese enterprises’ gain international marketing capability and an understanding of international law. What do you think about this?

Enterprises’ competitiveness depends heavily on their international marketing capacity, consisting of understanding the roadmap and requirements of the integration process, information about markets, law, and international practice, as well as trademark building and development, and the distribution system in the domestic and foreign markets. This is a big problem for all enterprises but I believe that Vietnamese enterprises can overcome it. Regarding Viet A, we have identified four factors to becoming successful during international integration.

Firstly, we have promoted international co-operation with Vietnamese and foreign partners to boost export, exploiting technology and copyright transfer. Also, we have gradually joined the stock and financial markets in Vietnam and foreign countries to mobilise capital, increasing our financial strength for a further development of production and business activities.

Secondly, as we have always considered human resources to be valuable assets affecting our success, we have focused on improving the capability of our cadres and workers, and intellectual property management.

Thirdly, we have always renewed our technology, cut our production costs and improved our products’ quality and specific features, standardising technical specifications of products and services to meet the demand of the domestic and foreign markets. We have increased our staff member’s access to technology.

Fourthly, we have strived to increase our international marketing capability by developing product and marketing strategies, creating benchmarks and comparative advantages to prevent the control of multi-national corporations during the international integration process. We will develop a strong trademark in the domestic market before reaching out to foreign markets. Also, a strong distribution network in both Vietnam and foreign countries will be built to increase the market share for our VAPOWER products. We have taken advantage of the State’s policies on protection and support of Vietnamese enterprises during international integration, as well as market information and trade promotion activities. We will promote our co-operation with Vietnamese colleagues to improve our competitiveness.

During international integration, Vietnamese enterprises should foresee difficulties and challenges and exert every effort to overcome them. However, we will have many more opportunities to fully develop our intellectual strength to promote our country’s economic development.

Viet A strongly believes in new opportunities for more sustainable development.

• Reported by Luu Hiep