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VIETR ADE - Under the Market Access Programme for CLMV and within the framework of the activities of the ASEAN - Japan Centre (AJC) in fisical year 2012, the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (VIETRADE), in coordination with AJC organized the seminar entitled “Enhancement of Product Design and Marketing for Craft Villages of Ninh Binh Province to Japan” on the occasion of AJC's expert visiting Vietnam from January 13-19, 2013 for help choosing exhibitors participating in “Interior Lifestyle Exhibition” in Tokyo, June 2013.
1. Participants and guests
The seminar attracted 80 attendants including 76 people representing Vietnamese enterprises manufacturing handicraft and interior goods, trading companies, industrial associations, trade promotion agencies, and 4 representatives from newspapers and television stations. Mr. Nguyen Manh Hung, Director of External Communication and Relations Department of VIETRADE was also present at the seminar.
Representatives from Ninh Binh Province included Mr. Duong Bien Thuy, President of Business Association of Ninh Binh Province (former Chairman of Ninh Binh Administration); Mr. Ngo Minh Kim, Vice General Director of Trade and Industry Office of Ninh Binh; Mr. Hoang Manh Dung, Director of Trade Promotion Section of Ninh Binh; and Mr. Vu Thanh Luan, Chief Executive of Van Lam Craft Village, a 100-year-old traditional craft village of Ninh Binh.
2. Speaker
Mr. Hiroshi Sakamoto (President of the Sense of Life Inc., AJC’s Expert), accompanied by two AJC officers including Mr. Trieu Thanh Nam, Assistant Director and Mr. Yasuke Kawashima, Project Officer of Trade and Investment Division.
3. Outcome of the Seminar
Mr. Katsumi Taki’ presentation at the seminar on Japanese interior lifestyle market focused on:
- The current market trend (How it changed from last year);
- System of distribution (Management of relationship with a business partner in different distribution routes);
- Specific ways to enter Japanese market (through collaboration with Japanese companies);
- Advice on designing;
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How to make best use of exhibition & trade fairs;
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Some specific suggestion for improvement of Interior products.
The weather on the day of seminar was really cold and rainy, but considering that the seminar was a rare and valuable opportunity for the local people to learn and improve their knowledge about Japanese interior lifestyle market and with his whole-hearted affection with their craft industry, Mr. Vu Thanh Luan, Chief Executive of Van Lam Craft Village decided to rent a return bus to drive representatives from his village to Ninh Binh City to attend the seminar. The seminar turned out very successful with 80 attendants representing many economic organizations, business associations, companies, craft villages and media in Ninh Binh Province. The presence of so many representatives showed that Japanese market is so important and attractive to export-oriented craft villages in Ninh Binh Province.
Ninh Binh is strong in manufacturing and export of hand-made products such as: embroideries, lace, products of rush grass, water hyacinth… At present, there are nearly 2000 enterprises and nearly 100 traditional craft villages, of which more than 100 enterprises engaged in manufacturing for export.
In 2012, the export value of Ninh Binh Province reached more than US$ 400 million of which the share exported to Japan was quite large and recorded high annual increase. Products exported from Ninh Binh to Japan include mainly embroideries, rush grass, garments and textiles, and agricultural produce. However, the export value is still very small as compared to its potential and advantages which are not yet fully and efficiently exploited and utilized. The major causes include poor design, lack of market information, lack of direct business relationship resulting in exporting mainly through middlemen and then poor profits.
In order to help enterprises and craft villages to understand Japanese consumer tastes and business practices as well as improve their capability of design and market access, at the seminar, Mr. Hiroshi Sakamoto focused his presentation on Japanese economy, trade and market features, possible ways to enter Japanese market; some guidance on designing small lifestyle and interior products for Japanese market; How to make best use of exhibition & trade fairs in Japan; market forecasts, opportunities and challenges for enterprises entering Japanese market.
According to Mr. Sakamoto, Japan has long been a large and traditional market for handicrafts and interior products from Vietnam. Recently, due to difficulties as consequences of natural disasters and economic recession in Japan, import of these products from Vietnam recorded small drop. However, the market of interior products in Japan is still very large with retail turnover of 134,000 billion Yen in fisical year 2012.
Mr. Sakamoto concluded that the key for Vietnamese enterprises to successfully enter the Japanese market is that “Vietnamese enterprises must fully understand the Japanese consumer tastes in order to design suitable products; pay due attention to the unique feature of products and efficient management of production for reasonable price. More importantly, enterprises should be capable to design their own products with new, useful, unique and Vietnamese features different from products currently on sale in the market’’.
In addition, Mr. Sakamoto also introduced about retailing market, system and channel of distribution in the future in Japan. Suitable channels of distribution for handicraft and interior products include: department stores, shopping centres, self-service shops, convenience stores, supper markets, e-commerce such as Rakuten …
The seminar has helped the Vietnamese attendants to understand more about business opportunities as well as challenges, and the changes in consumer tastes, system of distribution and methods of market penetration in Japan. It also helped the participants to realize that suitable design, high quality, reasonable price and reliable relationship are the keys for successes in Japanese difficult and complex market. The seminar encouraged production enterprise as well as industrial associations to pay more attention to design work and product development.
The organisation of the seminar has helped to enhance the role of VIETRADE in coordinating trade promotion activities with other trade promotion organisations and industries associations as well as in strengthening the bilateral trade relations between Vietnam and Japan in general and between VIETRADE and AJC in particular. /.
Source VietTrade
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