Satra Group: New Age, New Stature

As one of general business corporations with 72 member companies, including joint ventures and capital contributed entities, Satra is engaged in various business fields like trading - service; food production and processing; import and export; and development investment among others. With constant growth in the past 18 years, Satra has not only become a leading brand in the country, but also affirmed the position on the international market. Together with making a reasonable investment, building modern factory systems meeting international quality management standards like HACCP, EU, CODE and ISO9002:2000, Satra has also focused on modernising production technologies, improving staff capabilities to continuously increase competitiveness and serve customers more efficiently. Currently, Satra has managed to develop modern retail systems based on its supermarket - trade centre chains called Satramart like Saigon Tax Trade Centre, Satra Pham Hung Trade Centre, Saigon Supermarket and nearly 40 Satrafoods convenience foods stores in District 4, District 5, District 11, District 9, Thu Duc, Go Vap, Binh Thanh, Binh Tan, Tan Binh, Tan Phu and other districts in Ho Chi Minh City. Besides, the group actively takes the supply from its member companies like Vissan, Cau Tre, APT, Cofidec, Agrex Saigon and Nhabexims. Satra has asserted its name in the supply of consumer goods made from cattle, aquatic creatures, agricultural products, as well as other consumer goods of high quality for domestic and international markets.

 

Understanding that consumers are very concerned about unhygienic food on the market, in April 2013, Satra brought into operation Satra Distribution Centre to manage its system-wide procurement and distribution of goods, thus laying the groundwork for the development of modern, professional Satra retail system to better serve consumers and enhance its competitiveness in the future. By early December 2013, the Satra Distribution Centre linked and cooperated with over 200 reputable suppliers and added some new items to serve more customers.

 

At the end of 2013, Satra’s sales totalled VND43.31 trillion (US$2 billion), up 9.6 percent over a year earlier and profit reached VND6,283 billion (US$300 million), up 7.4 percent year on year. Notably, domestic sales of the parent company valued VND6,345 billion (US$300 million), equal to 108.8 percent of the full-year plan and up 26.1 percent year on year, of which retail revenue was estimated at VND669 billion (US$31 million), up 60 percent year on year. In 2014, Satra will strive to fulfil all plans and targets: Expanding more than 10 percent in comparison with 2013. The corporation will seek to open a new trading centre, develop 13 Satrafoods stores to increase Satrafoods store chain to 50 stores in 2015. Moreover, Satra will continue investing in production and business activities like building Vissan food processing complex in Long An province and Satra - Tax Plaza project in Ho Chi Minh City, expanding Binh Dien wholesale market, building Hoa Sen apartment complex, building rice mills and husk compression factories in Dong Thap province, purchasing Viet Nhat factory to enhance export processing capacity for Cofidec Company, upgrading equipment and facilities in member companies to meet international standard requirements like GlobalGAP, HACCP and ISO.

 

While being successful in the domestic market, Satra is also strongly reaching out international markets and building strong networks with partners and customers in many countries around the world such as Japan, Australia, the US, the EU, China, South Korea, South Africa and ASEAN bloc. The corporation has also opened representative offices in Japan (Yokohama and Osaka) and Myanmar (Yangon).

 

Without doubt, Japan is a top, potential export market of Satra. Currently, many of its member companies like Cau Tre, Savimex, Sadaco, Cofidec, Artex Saigon, APT, Agrex Saigon and Vissan have set up business cooperation with Japan. The corporation’s export turnover with Japan has kept continuous growth in the past years. Satra’s biggest export is seafood and Japan is the biggest consumer.

 

General Director Le Minh Trang said the opening of representative offices in Japan marked a new development step of Satra Group, as Japan is always its targeted, potential market. Apart from representing Satra’s interests, marketing products and brands and expanding business ties with customers, the representative offices in Japan also perform the task of promoting trade, investment and tourism into Ho Chi Minh City.

 

Since going into operation, the representative offices in Japan have successfully organised many trade, investment, culture and tourism delegations for Ho Chi Minh City, thus helping popularise the dynamic image and economic potential of the largest city of Vietnam, and providing business opportunities for other enterprises with Japan in the coming years. Especially, through the offices, many Japanese companies have promoted their investment and business in Ho Chi Minh City. In addition, the offices have actively built up close partnerships with business organisations and companies in big Japanese cities such as Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka, Kawasaki and Machida (Tokyo). These localities have strong trade, food processing, engineering, automobile manufacturing, electricity, electronics, energy, environment, supporting industrial, technology information industries for Ho Chi Minh City to seek development cooperation.

 

To boost exports to the Japanese market, in the 2013 - 2015 period, Satra has focused on building and completing its export programmes and export processing investment projects for this market. The group has strengthened import-export business and market research apparatuses, completed product consumption networks in Japan. In addition, it will export staples and establish the Satra product position in the Japanese market.

 

In the 2015 - 2020 period, Satra will accelerate exports to Japan while attracting investment from this market to enhance its competitiveness. It will improve business performance to increase exports to accumulate resources for its development. Ms Trang stressed, "In the coming time, Vietnamese enterprises in general, Satra-affiliated companies in particular and Japanese firms should actively work with the Satra Representative Offices in Japan to promote economic, trade and investment relations for common goals and sustainable development in the future."