CEO Veerapong Sawatyanon is a Thai businessman who contributed to opening the fishing gear industry in Vietnam through the activities of Siam Brothers Vietnam.
CEO Veerapong Sawatyanon shared: "I was born into a Thai family with a tradition of fishing gear business. I believed that I would spend my whole life in the Land of Smiles, but Vietnam changed me.
Before coming to Vietnam, I thought this was a very backward country, like Thailand a decade ago. Therefore, in 1994, when I was assigned to the Vietnamese market, I was quite confident and even underestimated this trip.
Reality was different from my thoughts. The Vietnamese market is extremely vast and full of challenges; many Thai businesses have failed here. The culture is different, and the customers are demanding; penetrating the market and building trust with customers is a difficult problem.
Mr. Veerapong Sawatyanon shared the difficulties of starting a business in a foreign land
Driven by a desire to conquer, in 1995, I registered to establish a company in Vietnam with the ambition of being the first Thai enterprise in Vietnam listed on the stock exchange. After receiving the business license, I started to strategize, applying technology in management and operations. My goal was to achieve a breakthrough in revenue in the first five years.
However, business always contains unpredictable risks. Everything was going according to plan until the 1998 global economic crisis hit. Thailand was the most severely affected Southeast Asian country. The parent company in Thailand was struggling, and my company, which was on the verge of standardization, was cut off from support. The company had no stable revenue source while having to cover costs for personnel, factory construction, and automation development... I was isolated in Vietnam and had to self-fund the very young enterprise.
To stabilize the organization, I had to borrow from the bank for operational costs. Personally, I had to focus all my efforts on internal issues; from completing the permits for building the factory to coordinating personnel, establishing processes, and regulations. I entrusted the business side to a fellow countryman.
Unexpectedly, in 2000, we were among the top loss-making enterprises in Vietnam. The alarm bell rang! I immediately reviewed the business and sales. My fellow countryman did not understand the Vietnamese market and implemented ineffective sales strategies.
Guests interact with each other in the program "Key to Success"
The deeper I delved into the figures, the more stunned and fearful I became for the company's survival. We were borrowing from the bank at a high-interest rate, while the business was in crisis. Our partners in Vietnam were mostly large enterprises, instead of competing with other brands, they competed for market share among themselves, causing market turmoil. They also continuously pressured us for discounts and special benefits. Some even made under-the-table deals with our person in charge to get favorable prices.
At the same time, a flood of cheap products from China and Malaysia poured in, disrupting the market. Faced with a financial puzzle, internal issues, high partner demands, and fierce competition pressure, I felt drained of energy and no longer confident in making decisions..."
The "Key to Success" program this time features: CEO Bui Duc Vinh, Chairman of the Members' Council cum Director of Gia Vinh Electric Appliance and Interior Co., Ltd.; CEO Nguyen Van Ben, Director of BENMARK Vietnam Co., Ltd.; CEO Vu Thi Mai, General Director of Huong Mai Fine Arts Wooden Furniture Company.
