Starting with a small shop upstairs from a fashion store to save on rent, after nearly seven years, Đỗ Văn Tuấn, CEO of the Kids Plaza supermarket system, owned a nationwide mother-and-baby supermarket chain that ranked among Vietnam's largest.
Đỗ Văn Tuấn, CEO of the Kids Plaza chain
He said his journey began in a “blue ocean,” and before that ocean turned red, Kids Plaza needed to create its own distinctive business values to retain customers. His chosen strategy for his brainchild was to accelerate chain expansion while investing heavily in “kidsers,” the people helping Kids Plaza grow stronger.
Meeting the owner of the 38-supermarket Kids Plaza chain in Ho Chi Minh City, the first impression of this northern entrepreneur is simplicity. Not only his clothes but also his way of speaking and sharing his ambitions for domestic e-commerce are sincere.
A graduate of the Information Technology department at Hanoi Pedagogical University 2, Đỗ Văn Tuấn only smiled when asked why he went into business instead of teaching. Seeing Vietnam’s enormous e-commerce potential and already possessing technological knowledge, he decided to apply it, beginning by building a brand on forums.
In 2007, the Rich Dad Poor Dad book series was translated into Vietnamese and attracted a huge following. The series also had a considerable influence on Đỗ Văn Tuấn. Unlike other readers, however, he found a business opportunity beyond its pages.
He recounted: “The book series mentions ‘Game Cashflow,’ which is sold at a fairly high price abroad. Knowing most Vietnamese people could not access it despite their interest, I commissioned domestic producers to make it and sold it online. At the time, I did not see this as a business opportunity; I simply wanted more people, including myself and my relatives, to practice the knowledge in the game.”
Meeting market demand precisely, all 5,000 ‘Game Cashflow’ sets produced sold out. Yet the market's reception and resulting profits did not satisfy Đỗ Văn Tuấn. He felt troubled because he knew what he was doing was wrong: infringing copyright and exploiting someone else's intellectual property. ‘I decided to stop. It was not an easy decision, weighing profit against self-respect,’ he confided.
After closing his “Cashflow Game” business, Đỗ Văn Tuấn returned to paid employment while continuing to search for his own path. He was then fortunate to receive a book from a member of the “Rich Dad” forumBlue ocean strategy by authors W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne. That book was the guiding compass that led him to establish Kids Plaza.
Back then, although he was not yet married, Đỗ Văn Tuấn was always fascinated by children’s products at a nearby shop specializing in imported goods. Observing the market, he saw that most children’s products in Vietnam at the time were not only very poor in quality but also carried many risks. Most toys, food and supplies were Chinese goods, while domestic products were of low quality…
This reality opened a clear path for him: selling safe products for mothers and children. While continuing his job, Tuấn bought mother-and-baby products in streets specializing in goods brought in from overseas and advertised them on his website. Gradually, he expanded the range.
However, even when buying online, customers' greatest demand was to visit a store and choose for themselves. After three months experimenting with e-commerce, this need prompted Tuấn and his friends to invest in a traditional store. “Only those who dare to think and act can become wealthy!” he said.
In the Early Days, Kids Plaza Was Just a Small Room Measuring Less Than 30m2, on the third floor at 22 Thái Thịnh, yet crowds came to buy. “I successfully applied what I learned from dayconlamgiau.com to my sales website www.mevabe.com and later www.kidsplaza.vn,” Tuấn shared.
After 8 months working in this room, he and his partner decided to rent the entire apartment. The address 22 Thái Thịnh became Kids Plaza’s first “base.” Kids Plaza Thái Thịnh reached VND 1 billion in sales in June 2010. That was when Đỗ Văn Tuấn began looking for more locations, starting the journey of turning Kids Plaza into a chain…
* You intended from the outset to apply your technology knowledge to e-commerce, yet Kids Plaza's current operations still seem traditional?
– It is true that I initially operated exclusively through e-commerce. But the more I interacted with customers, the more I saw that shopping in person still played a major role. Even now, with the internet influencing daily life, Vietnamese people still prefer to ‘see and touch’ products. I thought I should combine e-commerce with traditional retail. That decision enabled Kids Plaza to achieve breakthrough growth after its early days of online-only sales, laying the foundation for me to pursue more boldly my dream of developing Kids Plaza into a supermarket chain.
* After nearly seven years in business, what has enabled Kids Plaza's rapid growth?
– Not only Kids Plaza but other supermarkets selling mother-and-baby products are growing quickly. A feature of Vietnam’s current demographic development is that the generations born in the 1970s and 1980s, which make up a large share of the population, are entering marriage and parenthood, creating a ‘golden moment’ for the market in safe mother-and-baby products.
Demand for these products is currently very high and will keep growing in the coming years. This is an opportunity not every country enjoys, and Vietnam may have to wait a very long time for another moment this favorable. Despite rapid growth, brands in this field continue investing heavily in expansion. Kids Plaza is no exception.
Besides market factors, empathy and sincerity toward users will be key to brands’ competitiveness. Everyone knows that mothers and babies are the customers who need the greatest care and understanding.
When Kids Plaza began operating, many people were surprised that we could offer free delivery for orders over VND 400,000 or allow easy exchanges and returns.
Mothers with young children naturally have little time to run to a store or find it difficult to carry purchases home. Children's development and preferences vary enormously, so products for them cannot always fit exactly. Kids Plaza listens to these needs to make shopping at our stores as comfortable as possible.
The final factor is price. Mothers with young children often delight in buying something cheaper than others, even by just a few thousand dong. Accepting slightly lower profits in return allows Kids Plaza to win over the majority.
We grow through small but highly practical “tactics” like these. Market power belongs to buyers, not sellers. Be sincere with your customers, and they will help you grow—that is my belief!
* Initially, Kids Plaza won customers with highly safe products imported from demanding markets such as the US, Japan, and Germany… But now brands from neighboring countries appear to dominate?
– Customers now think very differently, and the premium segment is not large. Focusing only on this group means business owners lose opportunities for themselves.
Although we welcome brands from South Korea, Taiwan, and elsewhere, I personally select each product, consider it carefully, and make sure its quality is good before bringing it into our network.
Before being an entrepreneur, I am a father who is “addicted” to his children. My children use the products I distribute, so I must ensure the best for these little customers. That is why Kids Plaza puts safety first when importing products.
Besides products from Taiwan and South Korea…, we distribute many “Made in Vietnam” products. We can have sufficiently good manufacturing if we take product quality checks seriously.
Over the past year, I experimented with producing products under my own Kiza label. Kiza clothing, bassinets, cribs, and baby carriers have been very well received because I draw on Vietnam's strengths in garment manufacturing and wood production and processing.
Kiza also has electronic product lines, such as milk warmers and bottle sterilizers, manufactured to order in the ‘workshop of the world.’ As mentioned, I do not emphasize where a product is made; I prioritize checking its quality before it reaches users.
The current global business trend is cutting out intermediaries. Amazon and Walmart both work directly with manufacturers. I think I will develop in this direction.
* In 2015 alone, Kids Plaza added 37 stores nationwide. Was this too fast? Did you have enough time to prepare management for such rapid growth?
– Growth is indeed Kids Plaza's greatest pressure today. Growing too quickly without good management can cut you, because it is a double-edged sword. However, I believe every business goes through a period of rapid growth. Pressure is good because it pushes people to strive harder and surpass themselves.
If my capacity is one, I set a target of three so I can give all my strength to achieve it. If I fail to reach three, at least I will achieve more than one, meaning I have surpassed myself.
My goal for 2016 is for Kids Plaza to add 70 more stores. We are working extremely hard to achieve it.
* But that goal develops your business, while employees are merely wage earners…
– Kids Plaza still lacks the resources to pay high salaries, but we are rich in optimism. The greatest benefit ‘kidsers’ gain from joining the Kids Plaza family is positive thinking and a spirit of continual striving. To foster this, I often sponsor employees’ courses so they can broaden their awareness and skills.
I also regularly spend time attending courses and sharing sessions by successful entrepreneurs to learn more about management and operations… I then share what I learn during staff gatherings. Running a company is like fielding a football team: every member needs real ability for the team to score.
* Besides caring for Kids Plaza, what personal plans do you have?
– One goal I always pursue is developing my own awareness. Investing in a project may succeed or fail, but investing in the mind is never wasted. Everything else will follow if you have knowledge and the desire to work.
I keep telling employees that when we no longer want to learn, that is when we fall behind. My two children are still too young to understand this, but it will be what I tell them most often as they grow up.
Collected
>> Great Articles on Entrepreneurship
>> Business Consulting Program
Chương trình liên quan tại YUP Education: X-ScaleUp – khóa học quản trị doanh nghiệp «Nhân Rộng Đúng Đắn» · The Journey – lộ trình phát triển doanh nhân
