Sun&Moon with Long-term Investment Plan

Sun&Moon with Long-term Investment Plan

Vietnamese handicraft enterprises compete in the market with prices but not design. It is possible to say that Vietnamese enterprises have been left behind in the world. However, a young businessman Phan Ngoc Minh decided to invest in this risky field and has gained great achievements.

Graduated as master of business administration in the US, Minh, 28 years, decided to establish the Sun&Moon company, specialising in producing greeting cards for export, after working for some Vietnamese and foreign organisations. He said that many people in foreign countries sent greeting cards. For example, a person in the US each year sends 54 greeting cards. The greeting card market is valued at US$3 billion, while the figure is put at only US$1.5 billion for coffee and tea. The greeting card market remains abandoned by Vietnamese enterprises while facing many difficulties in the tea and coffee markets.

After a short time's operation, Minh has found it difficult to access the market. Even though since its early days his company has followed a right track, Minh had yet to be aware of the fact that Vietnam's designs were unable to compete in the international market. Despite cheap prices and specific designs, Vietnamese-made produces were unable to meet the demand of hard-to-please markets. Minh thought about a new orientation for his company by using paper to decorate other items.

From this idea, Sun&Moon began to market specific products, including greeting cards, dolls, paintings and boxes of good-looking designs, which are made of paper.

The company is concentrating on the domestic market, partly because the company does not face fierce competition and promotion costs are low. When his company's production scale remains small, Minh focuses on exporting his products to small markets for gradually building a trademark. He said that his company would be self-confident to co-operate with major partners when the company's scale was big enough. So far, the company has expanded its market to the UK, Japan, New Zealand and Australia.
Sun&Moon's business motto is to develop plans and make bold decisions on investment. Sharing the same point of view with other successful enterprises in Vietnam, Minh said that small and medium-sized enterprises in Vietnam lacked leaders, capable of developing and implementing concrete long-term plans. This is because they lack knowledge about running business.

The success of Sun&Moon has resulted from its business motto 'each customer needs an individual service.' This means that each staff member of the company can serve maximally five customers. Therefore, the company forecasts the number of its customers to prepare human resources. Minh said that to be successful, enterprises should have concrete targets.

In 2004, Minh and his company won the special award at the Golden V handicraft contest organised by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the G-Mark, the largest design award in Japan. To become a successful businessman at a young age, Minh said, a person should be self-confidence and make great efforts.

• Nguyen Thoa