Company 1: Viet Dragon Securities Company
On December 22, 2022, the 6th MBA students from Vietnam Japan University had a valuable opportunity to visit and learn at Viet Dragon Securities Joint Stock Company headquartered at Viet Dragon Building, 141 Nguyen Du, Ben Thanh Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City.
Welcoming our delegation was Ms. Nguyen Hoai Thu (VJU Alumini, MBA01), Manager of the Business Development and partnerships department of Viet Dragon Securities. With the warmth and professionalism of a securities company, we were led by Ms. Hoang Trieu of the human resources department to visit the departments of the securities company. In the atmosphere of the approaching Christmas, Viet Dragon Securities’ office is decorated splendidly. After visiting departments, we were introduced by Ms. Hoai Thu to the company’s history, organizational structure, and business lines as well as the vision, mission, and core values of the securities company. Established in 2006, up to now, Viet Dragon Securities Joint Stock Company has grown to be one of the leading securities companies in Vietnam providing multi-financial services to customers such as brokerage, investment, and financial advisory, underwriting, securities deposit, and propriety trading, derivatives, and providing clearing and settlement service of derivatives.
What we have learned from the visit to Viet Dragon Securities Company:
- The overall corporation structure of a listed company in the Vietnamese stock market.
- The potential of the Vietnamese securities market and some of its issues.
- A clients-centric strategy that Viet Dragon Securities is currently applying would require all staff to find the best solutions in clients’ interest. In the meantime, the company policy still ensures the benefits of other stakeholders for sustainable development.
- The way Viet Dragon Securities uses its strength in financial analysis as a competitive advantage among its rivals in the financial market.
What we were impressed with at the company:
We had a chance to visit the headquarters of Viet Dragon Securities Company, which is a 9-story building owned by the company located in the center of Ho Chi Minh City’s District 1. Each story of the building served each department of Rong Viet Dragon Security Company. The most impressive part of the building is the first floor with a trading board updating the Vietnamese trade market for individual clients. Furthermore, we were impressed by the presentation given by Ms. Nguyen Hoai Thu – Manager of the Business Development and partnerships department. Her presentation was so fascinating with the company introducing its history of development and its mission, vision, and strategy.
Additionally, the presentation also helps us to have an overview of the Vietnamese securities market and its potential from the perspective of an investor. Viet Dragon Securities Company has an advanced trading system with a smart recommendation dashboard for investors. One example is that the company provides a chatbot for its clients for easier access to the potential stock or has more abstract information on a specific stock for better decisions for investment.
Company 2: INTAGE Vietnam
On Dec 23rd, 2022, the 6th intake of MBA students from Vietnam – Japan University (VJU) visited INTAGE Vietnam. For the past few years, INTAGE Vietnam has cooperated with VJU on many activities such as online seminars on the topic of marketing research and a joint research project with Japanese companies. It was such a great opportunity for us to visit their head office in Ho Chi Minh City during this internship.
On our arrival, we were welcomed by Mr. Phuc Tran, who is working at INTAGE Vietnam as a Business Development Manager. During our 2 hours at the INTAGE office, he gave us a very knowledgeable presentation to share about the company and its services. Intage currently ranks No.10 globally and has expanded to 10 countries and regions with the mission to provide a variety of innovations & excellence in Marketing Research services. Their projects cover many industries, especially FMCG, automobile, and retailing.
Despite having many years of experience in the field of market research, surprisingly, INTAGE realizes that it must employ new strategies to maintain its foothold in the field. In other words, based on the basic principle of traditional marketing research, that is to provide consumer insights, INTAGE is utilizing technological solutions such as IT & automation, and data science to provide faster, better, and more cost-saving services to their customers. For instance, it is interesting to learn how they use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to design packaging or how they invest in a platform of over three million users to conduct online surveys, or how they exploit the power of data analytics using Power BI and their in-house apps. These data solutions are a part of “Intage Techniverse”, a subsidiary of INTAGE. Mr. Phuc Tran revealed the future of market research not only by asking but also by observing that includes panel asking and IT solutions.
At the end of the presentation, all students were eager to join a Q&A session with Mr. Phuc Tran as there were some parts of his presentation that really intrigued us. We realized a key takeaway, that is: marketing research should never be underestimated; a business built on market research will be able to develop stably in the long run. Thank you INTAGE Vietnam and Mr. Phuc Tran for bringing us such useful knowledge.
What we learned from the visit to INTAGE Vietnam:
- Methodologies to collect data, process, and validate data.
- An illustration of how technology applications can be used in market research.
- Case studies of how companies use research data to extract consumers’ insight.
- The strategy to survive and create a strong foothold in the market.
What we were impressed with at the company:
- Mr. Phuc Tran, as a representative of the company, is very friendly and knowledgeable, not just about the company but also about marketing research.
- A busy but harmonious working atmosphere. As shared by Mr. Phuc Tran, even though the company was originally a Vietnamese company and was bought by INTAGE Japan, there was not much structural change after the M&A. Employees remained unchanged and got to work as normal.
Company 3: Uniqlo Dong Khoi Vietnam
Fieldtrip is among several activities organized by the MBA Program. This year we have already had a truly unforgettable 3-day-2-night-trip to Saigon, one of the busiest and most dynamic metropolitans in Vietnam. During this memorable field trip, we were fortunate to have visited several companies and were guided to see how they function, how people communicate, and their wonderful working environment. We were truly impressed by their profession and flexibility. The last company was Uniqlo Dong Khoi Vietnam, a member of UQ Global (based in Japan), which provides a vast array of innovative and sustainable clothes.
The Uniqlo Dong Khoi shop will be located in District 1 in the Parkson Saigon Tourist Plaza on the corner of Le Thanh Ton and Dong Khoi Streets. Uniqlo Dong Khoi, one of Uniqlo’s largest shops in Southeast Asia, would have three floors and a total space of more than 3,000 square meters. The location will provide the whole worldwide Uniqlo LifeWear collection, which includes high-quality, useful, inexpensive, and creative apparel styles for men, women, and children of all ages.
It will also have a kids’ zone to encourage children’s creativity and provide a comfortable family shopping experience. The brand will work with local artists and inventors to create unique items that represent the colorful culture of Ho Chi Minh City and, more broadly, Vietnam. Uniqlo, a part of Japan’s Fast Retailing Company, has over 2,300 outlets in 25 countries. Following Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Indonesia, Vietnam is the brand’s sixth site in Southeast Asia. UNIQLO started its business in 2019 in Vietnam.
Following that, we had the opportunity to visit the UNIQLO Dong Khoi store. Customers are always given a sense of ease, simplicity, and elegance by the store’s design. The general store manager and Ms. Dung, the store manager of the UNIQLO Dong Khoi shop, also offered helpful information to the students about how to organize and handle daily, weekly, and monthly tasks for roughly all staff, which greatly excited the students.
Besides, we discovered how marketing knowledge had been used in practice. In particular, Yen, Pizza 4P’s, Marou, and many other well-known local brands are currently partners with Uniqlo in collaboration. There is no doubt that this partnership will quickly run out of stock after it launches because the fabric and product quality are unquestionably top-notch for the price of the product. The fact that Uniqlo showcased the technology they used in their strategy right next to the product is another aspect of their marketing approach that may have been successful. This type of simulation method is well-known throughout the world in various industries, and by doing so, the consumer will gain more knowledge through this technique.
By the end of the visit, we understood how Uniqlo could conceivably win over the hearts of every customer in the entire world due to their constant, deeply established customer-centric mindset, as well as their backing from peers, managers, and company rules. This might be inferred from the overall store design, the helpful and friendly sales staff, and the clothing’s mix-and-match patterns in response to customer feedback. We firmly believe that Uniqlo will become the apex of retail in the near future.
References
