During 14 years in the Vietnamese market, consumers generally know Kangaroo as the leading brand of water purifiers, home appliances and kitchen appliances. With the launch of antibacterial sanitary ware in September 2016, Kangaroo officially stepped into construction material industry, a bold decision that surprised many people. This is a compulsory trend if a company wants to survive and develop, and Kangaroo is ready for a new conquest, said Mr Nguyen Thanh Phuong, Global Director of Kangaroo Group to Vietnam Business Forum. Tran Trang reports.
Consumers often know Kangaroo is the brand of water purifier, household appliances and kitchenware. Now, the market is seeing a new line of Kangaroo-branded sanitary wares. Could you please tell us about this expansion?
In Vietnam, the sanitary ware market is quite vibrant with the presence of well-known global manufacturers, local producers and even unknown brands. There are two distinct segments, one is foreign high-class brands with very high prices and the rest is mostly popular segment with reasonable price. The latter also includes origin-unknown products with poor product quality and unreliable warranty service. Low-quality counterfeits not only cause economic loss but also seriously affect production, and environment of Vietnam.
Therefore, Kangaroo set two main goals: Providing consumers with best options, designs and reasonable prices. In addition, with the nationwide distribution system, Kangaroo helps to push back counterfeits, fakes, origin-unknown product and helps consumers to choose out best products. In fact, Kangaroo launched product lines such as antibacterial stainless steel sink and antibacterial shower since 2014. But after two years of preparation, Kangaroo officially announced the line of antibacterial sanitary wares in 2016. This was a technological breakthrough of Kangaroo.
Antibacterial material is a new concept that Kangaroo called when it entered the construction materials market. Would you elaborate this definition as well as Kangaroo sanitary wares?
As a late comer in the sanitary ware market, Kangaroo's products eliminate shortcomings of existing products in the market. Accordingly, using modern production technologies and new materials has created products with optimal antimicrobial properties. All products are designed with two press-to-run buttons aimed to save water and reduce operational noise. Warranty is up to 5 years.
Accessories are imported from reputable brands such as WDI and R&T. Using this "smart" technology on a variety of materials requires sophisticated technology and engineering. Therefore, Kangaroo has thoroughly researched antibacterial agents, durability, smoothness of product and picked up best accessories and industries for its products.
Its products like hot water boilers, antibacterial showers and stainless steel antibacterial washbasin have been widely accepted by consumers. And, the launch of these sanitary wares this time has confirmed Kangaroo's deep penetration into the market and laid a stepping stone for Kangaroo to become a leading sanitary equipment producer in Vietnam by 2018.
The study on antimicrobial materials will create breakthroughs and open a new direction for domestic manufacturers. On the occasion of the Prime Minister's Meeting with Business, do you have any suggestions or contributions to the Government and ministries?
The upcoming Meeting is expected by the business community to create new forces for the improvement of domestic business environment.
Currently, the Ministry of Construction is drafting a decree on management of construction materials which encourages construction material development. As a manufacturer, I think that the Government needs support policies to encourage enterprises to apply high production technologies, and avoid the abuse of mineral resources to protect the environment. Presently, the global trend is to develop and apply artificial technologies to reduce the extraction of natural resources. Thus, the Government should have supports to drive enterprises to go this way.
Moreover, it also needs strict policies on market management to ensure interests of businesses. Notably, the building material market lacks control of origin-unknown.
At the same time, it is also important to have incentive policies to stimulate companies to conduct scientific researches and compare their products with world-class items. Companies understand their own products, market demands, global trends and their research capacity most. They can shape consumer trends and create valuable products in both commerce and science. Nevertheless, given unattractive incentive policies, most companies are focusing on doing business rather than conducting researches to make global inventions.
Kangaroo Group has concentrated on research on use of antimicrobial sanitary material. This can be considered a new and highly intelligent material and we will continue to go on the way that combines science with business to generate new values for society.
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