Impressive business figures plus daring strategic directions and ongoing research and development of new markets has helped Kangaroo to affirm its position as a leading company in the domestic market and expand its product presence to neighbouring countries. Vietnam Business Forum has an exclusive interview with Mr Nguyen Thanh Phuong, Global Director of Kangaroo Group. Tran Trang reports.
Could you please introduce the outstanding results of Kangaroo after its 13 years of operation?
Changing the lifestyle and livelihoods of the public is our generations’ responsibility and obligations. Kangaroo's success has helped modernise lifestyle and livelihoods of Vietnamese society and Southeast Asian communities and create the habit and culture of using clean water. If you look back, you can see the change that is clear and rapid in a community of 90 million people.
To date, in Vietnam alone, Kangaroo has about 20,000 retail outlets selling 600 models in all 63 provinces and cities. This is probably the necessary and sufficient foundation for Kangaroo to continue with its current market-leading role this year and beyond.
What factors have helped Kangaroo quickly achieve those?
Kangaroo gathers creative minds, experienced talents who know what customers need and how to please them. The company knows that “customers don't know what they want until you show it to them”. Consumer demands are huge and what manufacturers need to do is how to understand their needs. People would still use tap water or well water in daily life if Kangaroo did not produce water filters. They will still use conventional freezers and they will have no concept of antibacterial freezers. So do other products.
The United States is one of the target markets in the company’s strategy to become a multinational corporation. How will Kangaroo manage to access this market and bring its products to supermarkets there?
I always think that if the United States has Apple, Japan has Honda and South Korea has Samsung, why doesn’t Vietnam have Kangaroo? In any market, the first thing to do is to understand consumer habits and market characteristics in order to have a proper strategy. Therefore, in every market, Kangaroo has different approaches and solutions for that market, as in Vietnam where we know what consumers need and how to be chosen by them. Now, one thing that I believe that all markets care about is health. Kangaroo has spent many years of research on antimicrobial solutions for household products, fabrication of antibacterial materials such as freezers, pumps and sinks, and these products will surely conquer the majority of consumers around the world because of their outstanding features.
The coming visit by US President Barack Obama is expected to create many new impulses for bilateral cooperation and provide many opportunities for the two business communities. What is your opinion about this?
This is a diplomatic, macro activity and it of course lays a good premise for businesses to seek partnerships. However, it is about not only motivations and impulses, but the actual strength and acumen of enterprises. The support of State macroeconomic policies only determines 10 per cent of success, while 90 per cent depends on the business. Right in Southeast Asian markets, although we have very good trade promotion policies, only a few companies like Kangaroo, Viettel, VNPT, Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group and BIDV are successful, while others just keep studying. The US is a very demanding market and it is obviously the right gauge to measure the success of a company.
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