Export Marketing Guidelines Arts And Crafts- Edited

DEVELOPING INTERNATIONAL MARKETS FOR HOME ACCESSORIES AND GIFT ARTICLES

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

Prepared for: VIETRADE/ITC/WTO/UNCTAD

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

Table of Content Page Preamble

3

1

Are you Ready to Export?

4

1.1

Market Analysis (External Analysis)

4

1.2

Company Analysis (Internal Analysis)

9

1.3

SWOT Analysis

11

2

Market Entry Strategy

12

3

Preparing a Professional Presence

14

3.1

Marketing Material

15

3.2

Professionalize your Staff and Communication

19

3.3

Professionalize your Company Operations

21

3.4

Understanding Market Requirements to Improve your Presentation

23

4

Preparing Products for Export

24

5

Export Costing, Pricing and Invoicing

28

5.1

Export Costing and Pricing

28

5.2

Quotations and Proforma Invoices

31

5.3

Terms of Sale

33

5.4

Methods of Payment

34

6

Trade Fair Participations

38

6.1

Selecting the Right Trade Fair

39

6.2

Trade Fair Preparations

40

6.3

Participation Costs

42

6.4

At the Trade Fair

43

6.5

After the Trade Fair

44

7

Export Documentation and Shipping

45

8

Dealing with Claims

47

2

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

9

Appendixes

48

Preamble Vietnam is a land of handicrafts1 thanks to the hardworking and creative Vietnamese people. Fine Vietnamese handicraft articles are exported to over 120 countries worldwide. Products such as ceramics, lacquer, wooden wares, bamboo and rattan products, textile, embroidery etc. are nowadays becoming popular throughout the world as home accessories, home decor and gifts. Vietnam has been extremely successful in exporting craft products during the last few years. It is estimated that 1.35 million inhabitants earn a living from producing or trading with crafts, generating an export turnover of almost 600 million USD per year. However, if compared with the consumption of home accessories and gifts in the world, the above figure only accounts for less than 1% of the market volume. There is still tremendous potential for further export increases. These Export Marketing Guidelines are a manual which aims to provide practical and comprehensive information to a large number of Vietnamese craft exporters. The Export Marketing Guidelines serves the needs of both current and potential crafts exporters, showing them how to enter and get a firm foothold in the world markets in the context of global competition. The authors thank all parties concerned who assisted in preparing the guidelines, notably the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (VIETRADE) and the International Trade Center (ITC) project team in Hanoi and Geneva. Prepared by  

Handicraft Research and Promotion Centre, Hanoi, Vietnam (www.hrpc.com.vn) IDC – International Development Consultants, Aachen, Germany (www.idc-aachen.de)

Copyright The information provided is aimed at assisting handicraft producers, exporters and business support organizations in Vietnam. It may, therefore, not be used for re-sale, the provision of consultancy services and other commercial purposes. For utilization of this information on a non-commercial basis, the condition applies that VIETRADE is referred to as the source of the information. All other use is prohibited, unless explicitly 1

The handicraft articles covered in these marketing guidelines are defined in Appendix No.1

3

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

approved in writing by VIETRADE.

4

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

1

Are you Ready to Export?

1.1

Market Analysis (External Analysis)

To decide if your company is ready to export, first of all assess markets in order to identify opportunities in the most suitable markets. Then assess to what extent your enterprise is capable of taking advantage of the opportunities identified in the market analysis. There are a number of promising markets for Vietnamese crafts in the world and it may cause some difficulties for you to decide where you should focus your efforts. In general, you can use the following step-by-step approach. Step 1: Screen potential markets 

 



Obtain trade statistics about handicraft imports in various countries and Vietnamese exports. The General Statistic Office of Vietnam (presently located at No.1A Hoang Van Thu Street, Hanoi) is the best place to find these sources of information, even for your individual product (product codes according to the Harmonized System). Some information about different major export markets is included in Appendix No.2. Identify 5 to 10 large and fast-growing markets for your products. Look at them over the past three to five years. Identify some smaller but fast-emerging markets that may provide particular opportunities. If the market is just beginning to open up, there may be fewer competitors than in established markets. Target three to five of the most promising markets for further assessment. Consult with experts, the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (VIETRADE) and others to help refine targeted markets.

Step 2: Assess targeted markets  





Identify importers, wholesalers and other main players in the market. Make yourself familiar with distribution channels and business practices. Identify the market segmentation by users (on demographic criteria, on customer preferences, by price/ quality, etc). Who will want to buy what you can make and why? What is their lifestyle, where do they live, what kind of products do they usually buy? Examine price level and market trends for your company’s products as well as related products. Ascertain the current supply sources, particularly with regard to major foreign countries the firm is competing against. Check market entry barriers (tariff or non-tariff) for the product being imported into the 5

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

 

country. Identify incentives that are given by the Vietnamese government to promote exporting of your products to these markets. Examine shipping costs from your main ports to the target markets.

A company may research a market by using either primary or secondary data resources. When conducting Secondary Research (desk research), a company collects data from compiled sources, such as trade statistics for a country or a product. Working with secondary sources is less expensive and helps the company focus its marketing efforts; as a result, most small businesses begin researching their markets using secondary market information. Although secondary data sources are critical to market research, they do have limitations. For example, the most recent statistics for some countries may be more than two years old, product breakdowns may be too broad to be of much value to a company, etc. Popular sources of secondary data research include: 













Trade associations; for websites see Appendix No.3. There is a lot of information on market statistics, up-to-the minute industry news, trade fairs, importers, and expert analyst opinion which is provided by these associations. The General Statistics Office of Vietnam (GSO) or other national statistic offices; for websites see Appendix No.4. Note that, for the effective search of data from statistic offices, you should know well the Harmonized System (HS) codes of your products. Trade journals and trade press; for websites see Appendix No.5. These sources can be a good indication of products which are in fashion (like for example “Tableware International”, a leading journal on the international table and giftware). Books on the home decor, home furnishings and handicrafts sector. Many of these books can be found at the library of the Vietnam Handicraft Research and Promotion Center (www.hrpc.com.vn), or you can buy them at bookshops in Hanoi and Hochiminh City. Most of them can be bought through websites like www.amazon.com, www.barnes& noble.com, etc. International research agencies like Euromonitor (www.euromonitor.com), KeyNote, Datamonitor (www.datamonitor.com) and Mintel (www.mintel.com), where you can find a lot of information on markets, consumers’ lifestyle etc. Trade agencies, like VIETRADE, Japan External Trade Relation Organization (JETRO), the Center for Promotion of Imports from Developing Countries (CBI, the Netherlands), the International Trade Center (ITC), Chambers of Commerce and Industry etc.. Here you can find information on market surveys (segmentation, consumption, competitors, entry requirements), market trends, statistics etc. For websites see Appendix No.6. Sector-related trade fair websites indicate new trends and often contain complete contact 6

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters





information about leading market players. For websites see Appendix No.7. The websites of trend-setting international companies and important fashion companies give good insight into new color trends. In general, a website search of main importers in target markets can increase your knowledge about product portfolios, designs, prices used in the target market. Information about upcoming trends and colors in the EU, Japan and US market can also be taken from the “Trend Forecast” of CBI (www.cbi.nl), the Swiss Import Promotion Programme SIPPO (www.sippo.ch), Japan Fashion Association (www.japan fashion.or.jp), Trend Curve’s (www.trendcurve.com).

Buying or commissioning market research reports can be expensive. For a fraction of the cost, and mostly even free of charge, much of the same information can be gathered from the Internet. The Internet is one of the most important ways in which an exporter can obtain market information. You can find almost everything there by using search engines like Google (www.google.com) and Yahoo (www.yahoo.com). The Google search tools ‘froogle’ and ‘catalogues’ are extremely useful for product design and pricing. ‘Froogle’ shows photographs of products and their prices ‘Catalogues’ is a directory of over 6000 scanned catalogues with images of products and prices (http://froogle.google.com; http://catalogues.google.com). In conducting Primary Research (field research), a company collects data directly from the foreign marketplace through interviews, store checks, trade fairs, and other direct contact with representatives and potential buyers. Primary market research has the advantage of being tailored to the company's needs and provides answers to specific questions. You can cover some of the missing information in your desk research, and you may become aware of hidden feelings people have towards your company, country or product. Even if statistics show a growing market, field research can be crucial to make the final decision on whether or not to go, and if so, how to do it, etc. The field research should be conducted after desk research to confirm the findings of the desk research and fill information gaps. Popular sources of field research include:   

Discussions with handicraft companies/exporters who have similar export products Discussions with potential buyers or sourcing agents in Vietnam Information from trade promotion organizations (VIETRADE, www.vietrade.gov.vn, JETRO, www.jetro.go.jp, KOTRA - Korean Trade Investment Promotion Agency, [email protected], AMCHAM - American Chamber of Commerce, etc.), and private sector development projects in Vietnam (JICA - Japan International Cooperation Agency, www.jica.go.jp/vietnam, VNCI - Vietnam Competitiveness Initiative, www.vnci.org, GTZ, www2.gtz.de/vietnam/ etc.) 7

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

   

Contact with Vietnam’s Embassies, Consulates, Trade Centers in foreign countries Discussion with forwarding agencies or shipping companies (see appendix No.8) Trade fair visits in your target markets or other trade fairs that are close to Vietnam like Hong Kong, Thailand, China, and Japan. Store visits in your target markets to check trends, prices etc (see appendix No.9).

Besides assessing market size and identifying key importers, market research should also include getting an idea of market entry requirements, competition, price structure etc. It is important to define your research need in relation to your export marketing experience, for instance, whether you already have clients in a country or whether this is your first export business venture. When starting to export to the EU, your research needs would probably be to familiarize yourself with the EU market by finding out relevant information on subjects such as market requirements, structure, developments, segments, main players etc. However, when you have become familiar with the EU market and know which opportunities exist, the next logical step is to go further into details and explore the possibilities to increase your sales. You will need a very specific research about customer requirements for individual products and the strengths and weaknesses of the main competitors. Important issues of market research are: A) Market development and opportunities    

 

Market size, sales channels, major importers, agents, distributors and retailers? What are customer preferences, what is the price level? Who will want to buy what you can make and why? What sorts of products are selling well (characteristics, dimensions, colours and materials)? What colours are in fashion? What new designs are popular? What are the prices and margins at each distribution level? What are the most important requirements of the identified sales channels (quality, packaging, etc) and which sales channel is most suitable for your range of products? What are the major trade shows where your types of products are sold? How about cultural factors in doing business in the selected markets? Professor Geert Hofstede’s model gives you insights into other cultures so that you can be more effective when interacting with people in other countries (www.geert-hofstede.com). Some other interesting information on cultural factors can be found in Appendix No.10.

8

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

B) Market entry requirements         

What standards or requirements apply to the quality of your product and are these standards compulsory? What standards apply to the quality of your company’s management and production? Are there any labels (e.g. ECO labels, etc.), which create a competitive advantage? Are there environmental regulations or requirements on the use of dangerous substances for your product(s)? For raw materials? For packaging waste? What special legislation must be complied with regarding health and safety issues? Are there any requirements on social accountability (e.g. SA 8000)? Which import tariffs & VAT duties apply to your export products? Are there any international trade agreements which have a positive effect on tariffs? What weights and measures are applied in different markets? (e.g. the United States is in its adherence to a non-metric system but Japan is metric measurement) Some specific sources for market entry requirements are in Appendix No.11.

C) Competition     

Is there much competition in these markets? Who are the main competitors? What products compete with yours? Who are the suppliers or manufacturers of those products? What can you make that is different and better? Who are the main clients of your competitors? What are the strengths and weaknesses of your main competitors? How many competitors from your own country are active in the target market?

D) Logistics     

What type of packing is appropriate for your range of products in the target markets? What kind of shipping documentation is required? What are the packaging and labelling requirements? What is the average delivery time in your business line? What type of transportation is mostly used? What are the cost components of transport from your factory to the buyer’s warehouse? What are the key seasonal buying and selling periods?

E) Price level

9

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters



   1.2

What is the price range for your type of products? Can you make a profit at that price? Note that a significant percentage needs to be deducted from the retail price, which is the price that can most easily be researched through desk research (see section 5: Export costing, pricing and invoicing) What are the price developments on the market regarding your products? How price sensitive are your clients? What are the typical sales and payment terms? Company Analysis (Internal Analysis)

After your export market analysis, you should assess whether your company is able to enter your chosen markets, i.e. by doing an internal analysis. Especially if your company is new to exporting, you should do a company audit and establish whether you can use your resources without jeopardizing your domestic sales efforts. Elements to be assessed include: Product standards, production capacity, flexibility, logistics, sales force, financial strengths, capabilities etc. As a result of this internal analysis, you will be able to assess to what extent your company is able to take advantage of the opportunities identified in the market analysis. Furthermore, with a thorough understanding of your company's unique capabilities, you are able to invest in opportunities that exploit your strengths. A) Production    

   

Do you have a factory to fully process your products or focus on treatment and finishing stages to control the quality of your products? Do you have some good production groups/suppliers of finished/semi-finished products so that you can make further processing/finishing at your factory? Are your facilities and equipment in good working condition? Do you have sustainable treatment techniques of raw materials and finished products, e.g. treatment for your bamboo and wood products free of mould and insect, dyeing techniques to keep the colours durable? Have customers ever complained about quality, for example, that your products got cracked deformed/ mouldy at the destination? Do you have a quality management system? How is the present capacity being used? Will filling export orders hurt your present sales? What minimum order quantity is required for different products? Are you able to meet required delivery terms in time/quality?

B) Human resources

10

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

      

Do you have skilled workers – is a sufficient number easily obtainable? Do you have staff that are familiar with export-import techniques? Are they good at customs declarations, shipping arrangements and international payments? Can you speak at least one foreign language, especially English? Who will follow up on orders after the planning is done? Do you have people who are fully computer-literate? Do you have your own designers and are they well aware of market trends? How many new design collections do you have per year? Do you have any person in your company who is familiar with supportive policies to encourage handicraft exporters, e.g. Decision 132 on craft development, Decree 51 on domestic investment? For a list of supporting policies, see Appendix No.12.

C) Marketing   



  

How do you reach potential customers? What are your marketing instruments? Do you have stable partnerships with key customers? Do you know their requirements? First focus on existing customers before targeting new ones. Do you have more than one customer? Do you know that you may be in a very dangerous situation, if you reduce business with current customers and concentrate on expecting good business with larger potential clients? Do you have your own showroom and website? Is the website frequently updated? Do you have impressive marketing materials (business card, catalogue...)? Do you produce goods under a brand name? Is this brand name recognized and legally registered? Have you met representatives of foreign buyers and offered your services personally? Do you have your own retail outlets?

D) Logistics   

Do you have any problems with transportation of your materials/products, for example, from your factory to the port of loading? Do you have sufficient infrastructure to export? Internet, fax, phone, port, roads, shipping containers? Do you know the major freight forwarders and shipping companies in Vietnam as well as their most competitive routes?

E) Finance 

Do you know your cost structure? Do you have a budget planning for expenditures on 11

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

   

1.3

sales, advertising, and research and development (R&D) on a yearly basis? Can you borrow money from commercial banks or other credit institutions, usually on short-term basis to finance for your export orders? Do you know export encouragement programs of the Vietnamese government, where you can get financial support for export? Do you have the necessary financial means for increased production? Do you have the banking ability to get paid and to issue refunds for damaged merchandise? SWOT Analysis

The findings of the external and internal analysis can be summarized in a so-called SWOT analysis (SWOT stands for: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats), where the most important strong and weak points (internal factors) and the main opportunities and threats (external factors) are ranged in order of importance. The purpose of this analysis is to clearly show the position of the company in the market. The essence of the SWOT analysis is to find a market segment where there is an opportunity that matches the strengths and where the threats have a minimum impact on the vulnerable sides, the weaknesses of the company. In fact, by matching external opportunities and internal capabilities, the exporter should be able to identify suitable target countries, market segments and target product(s) within these countries. Here is an example of a SWOT analysis from a water-hyacinth handicraft company intending to become a direct exporter to Germany. Strengths:

Weaknesses:

•

•

• • •

We are able to respond very quickly as we have a good network and well trained staff We are able to give best customer care We can change direction quickly if we find that our marketing is not working We have little overhead, so can offer good value to customers

Opportunities: •

• • •

Our company has no market presence or reputation We are lacking treatment and coloring technique for our natural materials We have no export experience Ocean freight from Vietnam to Germany is much higher than from China to Germany

Threats:

Our business sector is expanding, with •

There’s a trend of using sisal material

12

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

• •

2

many future opportunities for success, especially for EU market • Government always encourages local businesses with work where possible Our competitors on water-hyacinth may be slow to adopt new weaving skills.

which is produced in China The use of drying equipment that sometimes causes water-hyacinth material to break quickly may reduce our range of in-house products

Market Entry Strategy

Gifts and decorative articles are often distributed through many different intermediaries like agents, importers/wholesalers and retailers. The following chart outlining the distribution channels in the EU may serve as an example of market structures in key Vietnamese export markets. Handicraft articles are sold through widely diverging retail channels such as gift shops, furniture outlets, garden centers, food retail stores, department stores etc.

Source: CBI, EU Market survey 2005, Gifts and Decorative articles

The most important market entry strategies for Vietnamese crafts exporters are: 

To supply specialized importers, who buy a broad range of products and resell and distribute them under their own brand names to countless small retailers. Very often, they are specialized in different retail channels, supplying garden centers, flower stores or exclusive interior decoration stores. Depending on the respective retail channels they operate in, they have different needs for product groups, price levels, and design 13

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

specifications. Understanding these needs is important for exporters in order to be able to offer them appropriate products. Importers can be very reliable partners for exporters, allowing them to enter into longterm partnerships and to ensure stable growth, and to work with reliable trade partners and secure repeat orders. Most of the larger importers from the EU, US or other markets visit Asian supplier countries several times a year, with many of the larger ones having at least some experience also in Vietnam. 

Secondly, there are a number of mass retailers who source products and visit suppliers in Asia and place orders locally. It can be a very good chance for your company to sell directly to such mass retailers in the EU, US, Japan or other countries in the world because of the high volumes they turn over. However, before taking up business with them you should bear in mind that these mass retailers have all the power in the business relationship and control the terms of sale. Lots of vendors in every country want to sell to them, so they can buy anything from anywhere. This leads to price pressure on the suppliers, forcing everyone from retailers and importers to suppliers to become more efficient if they want to stay in business.



Other opportunities exist for producers in target markets to act as contract manufacturers. In order to reduce production costs, some international manufacturers source part of their collections from abroad and produce only some of their collections themselves.

Recently, the EU, US and Japanese markets are overrun with a surprisingly large variety of imported household products. As such, it is necessary for you to concentrate on products that allow both private shops and chain stores to express their individuality. Items that are new and innovative, possess quality, and have a reasonable amount of practicality and functionality will be viable. Also, those which are highly original are promising because they allow the store to differentiate itself from other retailers. In order to establish a first contact with potential buyers, your company may identify and find customers by:    

Identifying purchasing agents of large retailers that already operate in Vietnam or in the region e.g. IKEA, Wal-Mart, Tchibo, Otto, Habitat, etc. Attendance at national or international trade shows Participation in trade missions abroad Launching mailing campaigns to buyers that you may find through their websites, trade directories, trade fair catalogues and websites etc. 14

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters





  

Assessing websites with large databases with international coverage, including ITC Index to Trade Information Sources (www.intracen.org), European Business Directory (www.europages.com), World Trade Center Association (www.wtca.org) Registering as a user of global B2B on-line trade portals such as www.ecplaza.net, www.alibaba.com, http://trade.indiamart.com, www.b2bexplorer.com, www.vertical zoom.com, www.go4WorldBusiness.com etc. and find buyers by searching these databases Assessing sources from government or trade associations (VIETRADE, Vietnam Commercial Affairs in foreign countries, Trade Centers in New York, Dubai, Japan etc.) Identifying representatives or trade promotion organizations of foreign countries in Vietnam like JETRO, KOTRA etc. Your website with special key words like “Vietnam Handicrafts”, “Vietnam Home Décor”, “Vietnam Home Furnishings”, “Vietnam Bamboo & Rattan”, “Vietnam Embroidery”, “Vietnam Lacquer ware”, “Vietnam Ceramics” etc.

Some of the EU importers can best be met at leading trade fairs in the EU, others prefer to source locally and look for unknown suppliers in Vietnam. The latter can best be met at domestic trade fairs and exhibitions in Vietnam. For the Japanese market, the use of agents/distributors is the most realistic entry strategy for a small or medium-sized company, but this approach requires great care in the selection of the representative. Many Japanese companies visit domestic or international trade fairs, where often a first contact is established. In the U.S. market, most trade fairs are dominated by U.S. importers and less suited for exporters to exhibit. Many Vietnamese exporters failed to find buyers through trade fairs in the United States because they competed with their buyers. If you want to enter the US market, you may consider targeting US importers that you may meet through your attendance at local trade fairs like the International Furniture and Handicraft Fair in Hochiminh City or other Asian or European trade fairs.

3

Preparing a Professional Presence

In order to strengthen your corporate identity, it is essential that you build up a professional presence, which accounts for core values, behavior, symbols and communication, and other principles. The “core values” are important pillars on which a corporate identity rests, and they are based 15

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

on fundamental managerial decisions, ranging from daily activities to long-term objectives. Core values can consist of elements like company strategy, code of conduct or quality management. Symbols include logo, letter design, brochures, business cards, the website and other graphic presentations. However, your company’s appearance is expressed in many more ways than through a logo on the letterhead and your business card. Another pillar of your identity is the style and contents of your communication with business partners. Is your communication style open, honest and correct? Are enquiries, requests or complaints swiftly answered, and by which means of communication? And is it possible for others to make personal contact with your staff? 3.1

Marketing Material

You need a Company Profile to give buyers an idea about your company. Bear in mind that your company profile should reflect what a buyer likes to know about his supplier. To help potential customers evaluate the appropriateness of your company for their needs, take care that you refer to the following points in your profile:      

Your company‘s background and history Your company‘s corporate philosophy How is your company organized? Which products and services are offered? Does your company understand the needs and requirements of its market partners? Which are the technical and commercial skills, how are the offered products and/or services designed, developed and implemented?

The profile should serve to convince your customer of your ability to meet his needs and to give him the impression that your company‘s competence, skills and reliability are good enough to be taken into consideration as a new supply partner. An example: 

ABC Decor Company was founded in 1998 by Ms. A, a professional designer, who grew up in a family with handicraft trade for generations, and Mr. A, a businessman who had obtained an MBA degree in the United States. With its continuous efforts, so far, ABC Decor has become one of the most famous groups of home and garden decor producers in Vietnam, employing 120 workers in its own factory in Phu Tho province and another 200 in its supporting groups in various craft villages nationwide.



ABC Decor is committed to providing its customers with a broad range of functional, 16

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

high-quality products for the home and garden using environmental-friendly materials for lamps, table, chairs, decor objects.... At ABC Decor, all of us share a common mission: "To reward our customers with long-term value and product satisfaction for every purchase". Our passion for product is what has made us different from other producers and suppliers in Vietnam, and it will always be what moves us forward. 

Currently, we are exporting to Japan, Italy, Germany, America and South Korea with the monthly production capacity of 5 containers. We have received best supplier awards from XXX Company in Japan and we are also boosting our reliability to customers by adopting ISO 9001:2000.

This information can be put together on a single page. You can include pictures of your office, showroom and factory, if appropriate. The profile is not the right place to show pictures of your products unless you concentrate on only one product. The profile should be easy to update and should be in English. You should hand it out to customers you meet with and send it along with your letters and e-mails. You need a Business Card. This sounds simple but many companies assume they don’t need one. Take care that it is readable:   



Use block letters instead of a fancy print that is difficult to read. Current telephone, mobile, fax, and e-mail address should be included and new cards produced if that information changes. Ensure that the physical address of your office/factory is included so the potential customer can send something to you by mail or courier or he could show it to a taxi driver to find your company. It needs to be in English or the language of your primary customers.

The logo, letter type and colors should correspond with those of the letter paper. All vital details should be on the front of the card. Complementary information can eventually be printed on the reverse side. The size of card should not be larger than 9 x 5.5 cm, alternatively the same size as a credit card, 8.5 x 5.4 cm. Be aware that cards covered with a plastic film cannot be used to make notes on and cards which are very shiny or have a silver or gold cover result in problems when copying or faxing them. You need other Image Carriers, such as letterheads, envelopes, file holders etc. Letterhead: The size of letter paper should be A4 format (210 x 297 mm). The paper quality should be at least 80 grams, with a high degree of whiteness or, if desired, a light color. You 17

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

have to realize that letter types have an influence on the impression the letter makes on the reader, such as friendly, businesslike, or reliable. Choose a letter design which supports the desired image. Envelopes: Preferably use the color white for the envelope, but you could also use the same color as the letter paper, if it is not white. File holders: To keep your company introduction (profile, catalogue...) or a set of shipping document or other transaction documents. You need a Product Catalogue. Printed catalogues are produced when there is a need to display a large range or number of products. Product descriptions are accompanied by photos or drawings. A good catalogue is not always easy to produce. Creativity is a must for an attractive and appealing catalogue that will impress your customers. The artwork should be a high priority, both for the text as well as for the layout, photos/illustrations and other illustrative elements. Its colors should be attractive and professionally matched. Key information should cover, for instance, product code numbers, specifications and materials used. While a printed brochure can be browsed in a few seconds to get an impression of the company and product catalogue, a CD-Rom needs to be inserted in the CD-Rom drive of a computer. It therefore happens often that the CD-Rom is tucked away in a quiet corner in the bottom drawer. It can, however, be a very effective tool as a multimedia presentation at an exhibition. As an interactive tool, where the viewer is in control of the navigation panel, it definitely has advantages over a video presentation. You should also take note that the content and design of the CD-Rom will give your customers a good impression about your quality management. An appealing CD-Rom sticker and holder will make your CD-Rom stand out among others and will encourage your customer to actually insert into his CD computer drive. In addition, you can prepare a photo album displaying your product range. You should take a photo of every style you make for reference, and a number of these can be put together to give prospective customers an idea of the products you have made previously and what other customers are purchasing from you. You need a Website. If you have a website, ensure it is up to date. Websites serve as a reference for your company but also need to be promoted. Many companies spend thousands of dollars on the creation of a website and wonder why they do not have any visitors. The reason is simple: no one knows it is there. The company profile, brochures, and catalogues can be digitalized and put on the Web. By placing promotional materials on the Web, you will 18

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

save printing costs, while still being able to update the information any time without incurring substantial costs. In other words, it is an economic and flexible promotional tool. When developing and maintaining your website, you should pay heed to the following factors:             

Design the site in accordance with the corporate image Build a site that looks professional, attractive, and is fast Offer the most important information clearly and concisely Text blocks have to be short and to the point Offer a download option for background information, datasheets and manuals Develop a logical and simple navigation system Register the site with all well-known search engines Ensure that your site is well linked to other relevant websites Check the links regularly Update and renew the site regularly, so as to offer up-to-date information and to encourage repeat visits Include a “What‘s New” page Promote your site on all the promotional materials Track and profile the visitors by offering an e-mail up-date service.

It is emphasized that your website cannot be used effectively as a promotional tool unless you actively attract your target group to visit it. You need other Promotional Material. Product Sheets: Product sheets are usually one-page formats which provide more detailed information on specific products. They can be distributed as loose leaflets as well as inserts in company brochures and replaced whenever required. You can easily prepare product sheets with the help of a computer and a color printer. This will further reduce production costs and at the same time allow you adapt and update the sheets easily. Hang tags: It is very important to design a nice hang tag for your product. It will list name, style number, raw material content, colour, size of your product. Hang tags are a good tool to advertise the maker, and to specify that the product complies with safety standards. In many cases, hang tags are used to describe the cultural importance of your design; to explain how it is made and its traditional uses. Make hang tags as beautiful as your products. Insert cards: An insert card should be used professionally, especially for high-end products. 19

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

This is a removable card or label that “romances” the product, tells its story and/or the artisan’s story to help increase the likelihood someone will buy it. Care labels: A care label giving caring and cleaning instructions is permanently or semipermanently attached to a product. It is often applied to lacquer ware and textile articles, of which imported textiles have specific care-label requirements. 3.2

Professionalize your Staff and Communication

You will impress a potential buyer if not only you yourself as the general manager act professionally but if your staff does as well. A good method of accomplishing this is to train the key members of your staff (manufacturing, customer service, and engineering) to be able to make a quick and accurate presentation of their job and to explain in which way they are responsible for the production or shipping of the client’s order. This should be done in advance of the customer’s visits, and the presentation should be reviewed to see that it is accurate but no confidential information is provided. The goal is for the customer to know that his order is being attended to professionally from the time it is received until it is shipped. It is therefore important that the company’s personnel should be given clear instructions as far as external communication is concerned. Although it is not likely, it is possible that a customer will buy from you but will never visit your office. It is likely that a customer or potential customer will communicate with you for some time before visiting your office. A mistake many companies make is that they fail to professionalize their office communication. You should insure that if you have e-mail, you have a policy that it is checked and responded to promptly. Even if the response is “we have received your query and will answer tomorrow.” Fax machines often run out of paper and continue to ring or customer faxes are collected but not acknowledged. Company telephones are answered by people who speak only the native language and hang up if there is a foreign language on the other end. The way your company communicates reveals a great deal of information about your professional conduct to a potential customer. Professionalizing your office communication is very inexpensive yet pays off substantially over time. Writing effective e-mail messages: 

E-commerce is ever more popular in business transactions nowadays. However, many companies often disregard the importance of writing an e-mail message effectively and if 20

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters







you do so, this may influence your image to some extent. It is crucial that your message catches the readers’ eye. Begin with a greeting, or a word of thanks. Thereafter, write your main message in one or two short sentences, and end by stating what you expect from the reader. In the following paragraphs, you give additional information or arguments and describe the advantages to the reader. The last paragraph should once more contain the core of your message, after which you sign off with a greeting. Just as in a letterhead and the signing of an ordinary letter, it must be absolutely clear who is writing the e-mail. Therefore, under the text you should place your own name, company name, address, telephone and fax numbers. When you answer an e-mail message, let the subject line remain unaltered. It is then easier for the receiver of your reply to know instantly what the message is about. You write your answer above the text which you received. It is not advisable to deal with different subjects in one and the same e-mail. Instead, send separate e-mails, so that the receiver can open and/or file them separately. Make sure that there is a policy that all e-mails are checked and responded to promptly – even if the response is “we have received your query and will answer tomorrow.”

Writing effective business letters: 









A formal business letter is constituted by the following elements: Letterhead, name and address, date, salutation, reference, body of the letter, complimentary close, signature and enclosures. The salutation: The type of salutation depends on your relationship with the recipient. Always try to personalize the letter by addressing the recipient with his/her name rather than with dear sir/madam. A reference line is optional, but its inclusion can help the recipient deal successfully with the subject of your letter. Normally the reference line is preceded with the word Re:. It should be placed one line below the greeting. The main body of your letter contains a number of paragraphs, each paragraph dealing with one point and one point only. Start your letter with the main message. Do not waste too much time with introductions. Give the reasoning or the background of your message. Tell the reader why you are approaching him or her. Elaborate on the message: Provide details, precise information, arguments, and, if applicable, the actions you intend to take. Finish with a closing statement. Do not leave anything open by saying for instance “We look forward to your response” but close with “We will phone you next Friday (May 22) to discuss your feedback on the proposal”. The signature should be clear and legible, showing you are interested in the letter and consequently in the recipient’s aim. Your signature should also be followed underneath by a typed version of your name and your job title. 21

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

 

If you include other material in the letter, put 'Enclosure', 'Enc', or ' Encs ', as appropriate, two lines below the last line. Once the final version of the letter is ready, polish it with a final spelling and punctuation check. A letter should make an impeccable impression, neat, without typing errors. Try to pack the whole message onto one A4 size page. Use good quality and clear-white paper.

Telephone etiquette: 







 

 

3.3

Knowing how to answer the telephone is an essential business skill. The person who answers the phone gives the caller a first impression of your company. He or she must be friendly and courteous and know good telephone etiquette. When answering the phone, you should always start with a greeting e.g. Good Morning (Afternoon, Evening). This is ABC Decor, How may I help you? or Hello, ABC Decor, How may I help you?. If the caller asks for a certain person, a proper response would be "One moment please, I will transfer you to that extension" or "Mr. A/Ms. B is out of the office at the moment, is there something I can help you with?" If the caller asks a question and you don't know the answer, a proper response would be "I'm sorry I can't answer that, let me transfer you to someone who can help you" or " Can you hold please? I will see if I can get you the answer in a moment." If you put someone on hold, do not make him or her wait too long. Be prepared before you answer the telephone. Have a pencil or pen along with a pad of paper near your telephone so you can write down important information such as their name. When speaking to them, use their name during the conversation but don't overdo it. When initiating the telephone call, you should organize your thoughts before you place your call. Make a short list of important items you want to discuss. If the person you are trying to contact actually answers the telephone, after shortly introducing who you are, begin by asking them, "Is this a good time to talk?" You may have called while they were busy. In that case, ask them when would be the best time to call them again. Make sure you remember and call them again at the correct time. Do not speak too fast and slow down when you are leaving a message, or saying your telephone number. Pronounce your name clearly and spell it if necessary. For both answering and initiating a phone call, please remember that people do judge you by the tone of your voice and what you say - always sound professional! Professionalize your Company Operations

In many cases, especially when working with large corporate clients, a company’s operations need to be well organized to meet the auditing requirements of their buyers. As a matter of fact, these requirements also always tend to support the effective operation of the companies 22

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

in term of productivity, environmental protection etc. and therefore, in any case, the exporters should consider applying these standards. Following is an example of auditing requirements from a larger retailer to its suppliers. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Employee record. Past 12 months’ time card/attendance record Past 12 months’ pay record. Factory regulations. Insurance certificate. Environment Approval Certificate. Fire drill record. Production machinery list. Organization chart with number of workers in each division / section. Business Registration. Factory owner’s/major share holder’s name

Availability: Availability: Availability: Availability: Availability: Availability: Availability: Availability: Availability:

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

No No No No No No No No No

Availability:

Yes

No

Other information also needs to be provided for the buyers’ quick reference: a. Factory Area – Production: Office: Dormitory: b. Number of employee: c. Monthly production capacity: d. Your major customers: e. Normal working hours: hours/week f. Average overtime hours: hours/week g. Do you have enhanced overtime payment as required by Labour Law: Yes h. Do you have maternity leave policy: Yes i. Do your employees have pay during the statutory holidays: Yes j. Do you discipline the employees by salary deduction: Yes k. Youngest employee: years old l. Local legal minimum wages: /month Average wages: m. Lowest wages: /month n. Do your factory building(s) each has TWO fire exits: Yes o. Do your dormitory building(s) each has TWO fire exits: Yes No p. Do you have first aid supplies in each production floor / dormitory: Yes q. Number of person per toilet: Men r. Number of person per dormitory room Average area / person:

No No No No /month No N/A No Women

You can study and apply some useful management solutions to improve the effectiveness of your company’s operations e.g. ISO, TQM (Total Quality Management), Kaizen & 5S, SA8000 or 6Sigma. Of course, it is time-consuming and costly to have the above standards certified, but following and learning from their procedures will surely professionalize your company’s operations. If your customers are from Japan, you may have an advantage if you apply the Japanese 5S philosophy (Seiri, Seiton, Seiso, Seiketsu, and Shitsuke). It focuses on effective work place organization and standardized work procedures. 5S simplifies your work environment, reduces waste and non-value activity while improving quality efficiency and safety: 23

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

    

Seiri (Sort): focuses on eliminating unnecessary items from the workplace Seiton (Set in Order): focuses on efficient and effective storage methods Seiso (Shine): focuses on cleaning the work area. Daily follow-up cleaning is necessary in order to sustain this improvement Seiketsu (Standardize): focuses on standardizing best practice in your work area Shitsuke (Sustain): focuses on defining a new status quo and standard of work place organization.

Your Showroom is the most effective marketing tool to convince the customers that visit you on your premises. If you cannot afford to participate in expensive international trade fairs, start with an impressive showroom first. How things are displayed also affect how valuable they appear. Present your products as nicely as you can, arranging them by topic/collection with specific color and shape. Your product samples need to be creatively arranged in a crisp, clean, architecturally appealing setting so that your customers can visualize how they function and how they can be used. Furthermore, it may be a good idea if you decorate your showroom with a set of green trees to give the room a natural appearance. You may not have the skills required for decorating. In that case, you can ask for the support of the designers at the Art Colleges or the designers who come from your target markets and work in Vietnam through many co-operation programs. 3.4

Understanding Market Requirements to Improve your Presentation

Vietnamese companies have a particular style when it comes to presenting products in marketing documents, like catalogues, brochures, and websites. Most documents refer to either the name of the product or the materials used to make the product. For example, handicraft companies often divide their product range into the categories of bamboo, rattan, ceramic, embroidery and lace and others, then further split the products into sub-categories such as baskets, trays, handbags etc. When dealing with US clients, you should be aware that this classification system seems strange to US customers, because they often categorize products by function, e.g. furniture, home textiles, floor coverings, wall decor, tabletop and giftware (usually grouped together), house wares, sleep products (mattresses), major appliances, etc., and not by raw material or production method. Then they further sub-categorize their products by design, quality and function. Raw material and production method are only important in so far as they contribute to design, quality, and function. For example, a silk pillow is obviously more valuable than a 24

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

polyester one, but the buyers wouldn’t necessarily know the difference between cane, rattan, or bamboo, or their different weaving techniques or qualities. Clients may just recognise which product looks nicer according to their tastes and preferences. Therefore, if the US market is your target, your products should be categorized according to US custom in all of your marketing documents. Generally speaking, if you target a specific market, you should study and understand the conventions of product presentation in these markets in order to improve your own presentation.

4

Preparing Products for Export

Selecting and preparing a product for export requires not only product knowledge but also knowledge of the unique characteristics of each single market that you target. Your market research, especially through field research and through the contacts made with foreign representatives, will give you an idea of which products can be sold in which markets. Before selling, however, you may need to modify a particular product to satisfy buyer tastes or needs in foreign markets, thus creating a unique selling proposition for your products. Your bestseller: If your company manufactures more than one product, you should start with the one best suited to your targeted market. Ideally, you choose one or two products that fit the market without major design modifications. Make what you’re good at and what you know, inspired by your culture. Make everything as perfectly as you can, especially the finishing. Quality comes first: The international consumer constantly expects higher quality at a better price, and this expectation leads to re-structuring the medium and low-end market that most of Vietnamese handicraft items belong to. To meet this expectation, even mass merchants upgrade to higher quality, better-designed goods as Chinese factories improve quality and production methods while still keeping prices low. They have set a new quality standard for low priced mass products and have put tremendous pressure on every other market segment to lower prices and improve quality by comparison. Therefore, to position yourself in the marketplace, you should always produce the best possible quality you can, even for inexpensive items. Constantly strive to improve quality. Different products for different customers: In order to make as much business as possible, Vietnamese handicraft exporters tend to offer everything they produce or source from craft villages to everybody who will buy. This strategy may give you more orders in the short term, but may prove a disadvantage in the longer term. When you (and many other exporters in 25

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

your area) sell the same things to multiple buyers, the market quickly becomes saturated and oversupplied, and the uniqueness of the products gets lost. As they can be bought in many places, they become more ordinary and are perceived to be less valuable. However, depending on the actual situation, you can consider offering the same products for different markets. Do not copy from others but develop unique products: For foreign buyers it is easy to find hundreds of websites of Vietnamese handicraft exporters, but often they are disappointed because they do not see much difference in the products offered on the websites. The pictures of products in some websites operated by different producers are exactly the same. Also, when visiting a foreign show, especially in the International Furniture and Handicraft Fair in Hochiminh City, you will find that many stands display the same products. By doing this, Vietnamese producers severely restrain their own competitiveness and that of their fellow producers, because in the end no company will have a unique product. You should learn the product trends by observing the market but do not copy from them. Try to develop your own products based on your analysis of trends. You can find a lot of finishing patterns from a trade fair, e.g. circles of mother-of-pearl inlaid into lacquered vases, embroidered circles on the pillows and cushions, circles on the wall papers etc.. All of those tell you this: circles can be a trend in the market, and you can apply the “circles” idea to decorate the surface of your ceramic pots in creative way. Designers often collect magazines, and catalogues and make a “catalogue” of finishing patterns to develop their own products, and that is also what you can do to develop your unique products. The cruder and less unique your product, the more you will be expected to lower your price. The better your workmanship, the less you will have to negotiate on pricing. Develop a collection: Home decoration products are fashion items subject to the fastchanging whims of consumers. Consumers buy products they find attractive and which fit to what they already own. It is better to develop a collection of several matching items rather than to try to develop unrelated stand-alone products e.g. a collection for table tops, with a tablecloth, table runner, placemats and coasters. Always bear in mind what the best combination of functional and decorative characteristics of your products can be. Use professional designers: Fashionable product development is a key pre-requisite for success, and professional designers are the ones who differentiate your products. And it would even be better if you developed new collections in cooperation with your customers. On the technical side, you know very well what you can make. In addition, your customers know what they can sell, and will be happy to give you design and color information when you have 26

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

established a trust-based working relationship. Try to combine design advice from your customers with further development by own Vietnamese in-house designers. Add value to your products: Make your products functional in addition to being decorative. Improve the design and desirability, making useful things fashionable too. A pillowcase is functional and decorative. A pretty box is also useful, it can hold things. Multi-use and reusable things have a higher perceived value. Quality and finishing are most important, even for inexpensive items; you can use several materials or patterns, more than one production technique, or moving parts, in one product. Adapt your products to the market: It is quite important for your company to adapt products to the geographic and climate conditions that prevail in your target market, and to take the availability of resources into account. Factors such as topography, humidity, and energy costs can affect the performance of a product or even determine its usage. Given the case of spun bamboo articles, which are mainly produced in Cat Dang village, Nam Dinh province - these articles have been exported to many countries all over the world, especially to Germany, UK, France, USA and Japan. Many producers of these articles (vases, boxes, trays...) received complaints from customers because the products cracked in the customers’ stores and showrooms after only a short period of time. The reason for this was the low humidity in the foreign country. To avoid this problem, Vietnamese exporters should apply more treatments to protect the bamboo core from the outside environment, or use some raw fabric to cover the core before lacquering to strengthen its solidity. The problem of humidity also affects the exportation of wooden articles, especially wooden furniture (chairs, tables, cabinets...). These are produced by exporters or producers in the craft villages who have no advanced treatment (drying) technologies. In addition to adaptations related to the climate conditions and cultural and consumer preferences, the exporter should be aware that even fundamental aspects of its products may require changing. For example, electrical standards in many foreign countries differ from Vietnamese standards. You cannot find two-hole sockets in the States and your beautiful bamboo lamp with silk shade would be rejected by a US client if you fixed your lamp with a two-pin plug. If you are involved in exporting lighting equipment, you need to install different electrical wires for each country, like CE standard for EU, UL for America, UK for England, PSE for Japan and OVE for Australia, etc. Understanding the product sales periods: In Japan, the months of March, June, September and December are said to be the period when household goods sell well as gifts. In March they are bought as graduation presents, while in April, they are bought as presents for entering 27

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

school and for successful job placements and transfers; in June and September, they are given as wedding presents; and in December they are mainly sought as Christmas presents. Products from craft villages: In many cases you need to source out your production to many households in the craft villages. For large orders that comprise one or two product styles only, you may need to employ just one or two villages, but with thousands of households involved. For some orders, you need to consolidate products from many craft villages and some of them are not close to each other at all. In any case, you may find that the final products are not consistent in term of shapes, measurements, colors and even finishing patterns. To ensure the quality of your products, you are always requested to control the quality permanently during the production process and to inspect all products before they are loaded into containers. You should reject all products which are defective or do not match with the approved samples. It is a matter of fact that, the more you control the production at household level, the less work you have to do at your factory. It is therefore recommended that you make efforts to build the capacity of your producer groups in the craft villages in terms of quality management. Consider venturing into machine production: With today’s factory production methods, it is possible to produce large volumes of products that have the appearance of hand-made items at very low cost, making it difficult for the average consumer to differentiate between handcrafts and machine made products. It is not the authenticity of the material or the production method that is critical for the consumer; it is what can be done with it in terms of design, what the look is like. If another material, weave, or production method looks just as good, most consumers will easily be convinced to purchase the item, especially if it costs less. So unless there is a specific design or another feature that is obvious to a western consumer, you will find it very difficult to sell products made with more expensive hand production methods and raw materials. The average consumer cannot tell the difference and just wants to buy the “look”, not the authenticity. Handmade is more valued in the high end art market, where it adds artistic value.

5

Export Costing, Pricing and Invoicing

5.1

Export Costing and Pricing 28

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

You can define production costs, which may include the components of fixed costs (depreciation of fixed assets – defined as objects with value over VND5 million and being used for more than a year like machines and premises) and variable costs (materials, transportation or labor costs). However, there are a number of additional costs that must be considered when calculating your offer based on different terms of delivery (FOB, CIF...) 2. These should all be put into your cost calculation before you engage in a discussion with your customer. You may run into considerable problems if you just set a price for your export product by calculating your production costs and adding a 15% margin or so. Technically, this means that you determine the “Ex Works” price, which covers the production costs plus a certain percentage for profit, and offer it on FOB basis to an importer abroad. This method is common practice but it is far from best practice because your calculated market price may be either too low or too high, as you have not considered many other costs resulting from customs clearance, inland transportation, quantity of export orders etc. A better technique for price setting is based on a simple calculation. You can either start from a cost calculation side by adding the costs of getting your product to the customer - which should give you the selling-price. Or you can calculate down from the final market price by deducting all costs from that price until you have arrived at your product price. So, the point that you have to decide upon now is which technique you should apply for your price calculation. This decision depends on the kind of products you offer to the market. In principle, you might think that your products are new in the marketplace and that they can actually dictate the price level in that market just based on their costs and desired profit margin. But in that case, you should also consider the substitute products available on the market. Bed cloth that is made of bamboo fiber with beautiful decorative embroidery patterns is an example. It is a very unique product and you have a better chance to ask for a higher price, but you should know that your customers may shift to the silk cloth instead and increase its value by trendy and creative designs. To set your price based on the cost-price method, you should be aware of the different cost components (not only add 15% margin as above), which often depend on the terms of 2

FOB stands for Free on Board: A pricing term indicating that the quoted price covers all expenses up to and including delivery of goods upon an overseas vessel provided by or for the buyer. CIF stands for Cost, Insurance, Freight: A pricing term indicating that the cost of the goods, insurance, and freight until the final port of destination are included in the quoted price.

29

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

delivery (will be mentioned in the later part). The following table describes different cost components need to be included for calculating FOB and CIF prices.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Cost components

Cost (US$) /Mark-up (%)

Factory price or producer costs of making the products (labor, materials, packing, overhead...) Profit of the producer Producer’s price/Ex-works (1+2+3) Inland transportation (e.g. to Haiphong port) incl. loading and unloading Customs declaration/export clearance, export agent fees Port receiving charge (usually CFS) FOB Haiphong port Ocean freight & Insurance CIF Destination port Charge in destination port (DDC-destination delivery charge, AMS-Advance Manifest System...) Landed price to importer

1.0 20% 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.1

Price (US$) 1.0 0.2 1.2 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.7 1.9 1.9 2.0 2.0

If your customer finds your offer too high and requests you to review it, take such feedback as a chance to improve your costing. Keep in mind that a sound costing system is very important. But to simply reduce the price and your profit margin is not the right way, until you have considered and checked the following matters:  

 

 

Is the ocean freight you obtained the most competitive? (Are you sure that your selected shipping line/ forwarder is the most competitive in terms of price?) Does the agreed delivery deadline still allow you to change to other shipping companies/forwarders that can offer you lower prices but longer delivery times? Does your customer accept this change? Can your buyer recommend other shipping companies/forwarding agents that offer lower freight rates? If yes, will they accept your offer on FOB basis? Have you offered your customer a quantity-based price yet (especially for LCL3 shipment)? Can you suggest to your customer to switch to bigger quantities in order to reduce freight and other handling charges (customs declaration, CFS, inland transportation...)? Can you optimize your packing to minimize the volume? Do you have other chances to reduce the unit costs (review supplies, productivity, marketing expenses)?

Another option to calculate your prices starts from the selling price. Being an exporter in a developing country, you are most probably a price-follower rather than a price-setter. In this 3

LCL stands for Less than a Container Loaded

30

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

case, you can:   



Find out the current market price for comparative and/or substitute products in the target market; Establish all the elements of the market price, like Value-Added Tax (VAT), margins for traders and importers, import duties, freight and insurance costs etc.; Make a top-down calculation, deducting all the elements of the expected market price of your product(s) in order to arrive at the price “Ex Works” (traditionally called “Ex Factory”) or ex warehouse; See if you can meet this price.

Price mark ups of importers and retailers vary a lot depending on market segments and distribution channels. The following table may serve as a rough average calculation.

1 2 3 4 5

Landed price to importer Import duty (10% of landed price) Price upon arrival at the port Wholesaler mark up (warehousing, distribution, marketing, profit) Wholesale price Retail mark up (store, personnel, advertising, profit etc.) Final consumer price

2.0 0.2 2.2 80% 4.0 100% 8.0

If you find that your price is very competitive (much lower than your competitors’ ones) then at which price you should offer your products? Your primary aim in the target market is to offer your products at a price level that does not exceed that of your competitors. You can apply “Penetration pricing” – offer the product at a price that is slightly lower than the one of your competitors. After fixing your price, it is important to create stability and reliability in your pricing. It is difficult to increase prices later, if you started with very low prices. However, in practice, the market price is always changing, up or down and as a player in the marketplace; you should adjust your prices accordingly. Whatever your (forced or voluntary) changes in your prices may be, always make sure that your customer and trading partner understands the reasons for it. Those reasons should be made acceptable and justifiable in their minds. The choice of currency in which you calculate your offer is very important. You can offer the products in VND to avoid complicated and expensive currency transactions with your bank, but in general, your customers will not accept a quotation in VND but ask for a quotation in their own currency, e.g. JPY in Japan. In those cases, you should consider some hard foreign currency; say Euros or US dollars because of their stability. 31

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

5.2

Quotations and Proforma Invoices

A quotation describes the product, states a price for it, sets the time of shipment, and specifies the terms of sale and terms of payment. The description should include the following points:       

Buyer's name and address, buyer's reference number and date of inquiry Listing of requested products and brief description Unit price and quantity of each item Gross and net shipping weight GREEN WORLD CO., LTD. Terms of delivery & Terms of payment No.20 Lane 192 Giap Bat Str., Hoang Mai Dist., Hanoi - Vietnam Validity period quotation Fax: 84.4.6642983 E-mail: [email protected] Tel:for 84.4.6642866 Estimated time of Departure (ETD) and Estimated time of Arrival (ETA).

QUOTATION

Ref:with Inquiry QUO61/06.LP Sellers are often requested to submit a pro forma invoice or No.: instead of a quotation. Pro Date: June 27, 2004 forma invoices are not for payment purposes but are essentially quotations in an invoice To: DECO IMPORTS 3-2-22 Higamitsu, Saitama-Tokyo, Japan. format. NO

ITEM

1

BS01

PICTURE

ITEM

SIZE

PACKING

Q’TY

Sea-grass

56x35x2

2PCS/

1,212

CIF

TOTAL

In addition to the foregoing list of items, a pro forma invoice should include a statement CODE NAME (CM) IN 40’’ TOKYO AMOUNT certifying that the pro forma invoice is true and correct and a statement describing the country CONT. (USD) (USD) of origin of the goods. (PCS) 10.5/PC

12,726

Also, the invoice should be visibly basket marked4 "pro forma CTN invoice." These invoices are only models that the buyer uses when applying52x32x2 for an import license or arranging for funds. 0

As an example of a quotation, have a look28x20x1 at the following quotation for sea-grass baskets for 8 a Japanese customer. 17x9x17

TOTAL 1,212 In words: In US dollars Twelve thousand seven hundred and twenty six only.

12,726

Time of delivery: FOB Haiphong seaport, Vietnam Place of delivery: Tokyo, Japan – 45 days after receipting your first remittance Term of payment: T/T remittance. 30% advance right after signing contract. The balance (70%) will be paid up upon the readiness and final inspection Validity of the quotation: By 27 September, 2004 Green World Co.,Ltd.

Le Nguyen Bao Tram Sale Manager

32

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

5.3

Terms of Sale

In any sales agreement, it is important that a common understanding exists regarding the delivery terms. Confusion over terms of sale can result in a lost sale or a loss on a sale. For this reason, you must know the terms before preparing a quotation or a pro forma invoice. A complete list of important terms and their definitions is contained in INCOTERMS 2000, which are grouped in four categories E (EXW, ex-works, formerly ex-factory), F (including FCA, FAS, FOB), C (including CFR, CIF, CPT, CIP) and D (including DAF, DES, DEQ, DDU, DDP). The obligations and charges that will be at your or your buyer’s account is summarized in the following table:4

4

Refer to “A Guide to Exporting Solid wood product” United States Department of Agriculture.

33

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

The first group (E) has only one trade term EXW, formerly ‘ex factory’. The second F-group The first group (E) has only one trade term EXW, formerly ‘ex factory’. The second F-group indicates the obligation of the seller to hand over the goods to a carrier free of risk and expense to the buyer. The third C-group includes terms that indicate the seller’s obligation to bear certain costs after main carriage, which is a critical point in the sales contract: the obligation to bear risks and costs change from one party to the other. The fourth D-group includes the terms that prescribe that the goods must have arrived at a specified destination. The most popular terms of sale that you often use are FOB (port of loading) and CIF (port of discharge). For FOB (free on board) at a named port of export, you quote the buyer a price that covers all costs up to and including delivery of goods aboard an overseas vessel. But for CIF (cost, insurance, freight), you quote a price for the goods (including insurance), all transportation, and miscellaneous charges to the point of debarkation from the vessel. You should quote CIF whenever possible, because it is internationally recognized. It shows the foreign buyer the cost of getting the product to a port in or near the desired country. When quoting a price, you should always make it transparent to the prospective buyer. A price for your tablecloth quoted "EXW Ha Tay" would be meaningless to most prospective foreign buyers because they don’t know how to determine the cost to the port as well as the total cost to their warehouse. Therefore, they would hesitate to place an order. 5.4

Methods of Payment

There are several methods of payment for your products sold abroad. Ranked in order of security for the exporter from most secure to least secure, the basic methods of payment are: 34

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

    

Cash in advance, Telegraphic Transfer (T/T) Letter of credit (L/C) Documents against Acceptance (D/A) Documents against Payment (D/P) Open account.

Since getting paid in full and on time is of utmost concern to exporters, risk is a major consideration. One of the most important factors in reducing risks is to know what risks exist. For that reason, you are advised to consult your banker to determine an acceptable method of payment for each specific transaction. Cash in advance: Cash in advance of shipment may seem to be the most desirable method, as the seller is relieved of collection problems and has immediate access to the money if a wire transfer is used. However, on the other hand, advance payment creates cash flow problems and increases risks for the buyers and they may refuse to pay until the merchandise is received. In order to ensure that both parties benefit from the payment arrangement, you need to discuss the method of payment with your buyer. In case that full payment before shipment is not accepted, you may consider other terms of payment, for example: “30% of the total contract amount will be remitted to the exporter’s account right after signing of the contract, and the remainder will be paid by the importer right after receiving copies of shipping documents” or “30% of the total contract amount will be remitted to the exporter’s account right after signing of this contract and the balance will be paid through Confirmed Irrevocable Letter of Credit” in order to minimize your risks. Letter of credit (L/C): The buyer may be concerned that the goods may not be sent if the payment is made in advance. To protect the interests of both buyer and seller, documentary letters of credit are often used. In this case, documents are required to be presented before payment is made. The letters of credit may be paid immediately, at sight, or at a later date. L/C may be revocable, irrevocable, unconfirmed or confirmed. The irrevocable L/C cannot be canceled or altered in any way by the banks or the buyer, without the permission of the exporter. A revocable L/C can be changed or canceled by the opening (buyer’s) bank at any time without notifying the exporter. In a confirmed L/C, the confirmed bank accepts responsibility to pay. If the L/C is unconfirmed, the exporter is relying on the foreign bank to make payment.

35

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

Here is what typically happens when payment is made by an irrevocable letter of credit confirmed by a U.S. bank (this method is defined as Confirmed Irrevocable Letter of Credit):5 1. After the exporter and customer agree on the terms of a sale, the customer arranges for their bank to open a letter of credit. 2. The buyer's bank prepares an irrevocable letter of credit, including all instructions to the seller concerning the shipment. 3. The buyer's bank sends the irrevocable letter of credit to a U.S. bank, requesting confirmation. The exporter may request that a particular U.S. bank be the confirming bank, or the foreign bank selects one of its U.S. correspondent banks. 4. The U.S. bank prepares a letter of confirmation to forward to the exporter along with the irrevocable letter of credit. 5. The exporter reviews carefully all conditions in the letter of credit. The exporter's freight forwarder should be contacted to make sure that the shipping date can be met. If the exporter cannot comply with any conditions, the customer should be alerted at once. 6. The exporter delivers the goods to the right port or airport. 7. When the goods are loaded, the exporter completes the necessary documents. 8. The exporter presents to the U.S. bank documents indicating full compliance. 9. The bank reviews the documents. If they are in order, the documents are airmailed to the buyer's bank for review and transmitted to the buyer. 10. The buyer (or agent) gets the documents that may be needed to claim the goods. 11. A draft, which may accompany the letter of credit, is paid by the exporter's bank at the time specified or may be discounted at an earlier date. Upon receiving a letter of credit, you should carefully compare the letter's terms with the terms indicated in your pro forma quotation. This is extremely important, as the terms must be precisely met or the letter of credit may be invalid and the exporter may not be paid. If meeting the terms of the letter of credit is impossible or any of the information is incorrect or misspelled, the exporter should get in touch with the customer immediately and ask for an amendment to the letter of credit to correct the problem. You must also provide documentation showing that the goods were shipped by the date specified in the letter of credit or the exporter may not be paid. You should check with their freight forwarders to make sure that no unusual conditions may arise that would delay shipment. Similarly, documents must be presented by the date specified for the letter of credit to be paid. Documentary Collection (D/A and D/P): This payment mechanism is the collection by a 5

Refer to “A basic guide to exporting”, published by US Department of Commerce

36

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

bank of funds due from a buyer against the delivery of documents. The bank, acting as agent for the seller (exporter), presents documents to the buyer (importer) through that party's bank and in exchange receives payment of the amount owed, or obtains acceptance of a time draft for payment at a future date. The liability of the bank under a documentary collection is primarily restricted to following the seller's instructions in forwarding and releasing documents against payment or acceptance. Unlike a letter of credit, the bank does not assume any liability to pay if the buyer does not want or is unable to pay. Compared with open account sales, the documentary collection offers a higher more security to the seller, but less than a letter of credit. The steps in a documentary collection are as follows: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

The buyer (importer) and seller (exporter) agree on the terms of sale, shipping dates, etc., and that payment will be made on a documentary collection basis. The exporter arranges for the delivery of goods to the port/airport of departure. The exporter delivers the goods to the point of departure and prepares the necessary documentation. Export documents and instructions are delivered to the exporter's bank by the exporter Following the instructions of the exporter, the bank processes the documents and forwards them to the buyer's bank. The buyer's bank, on receipt of documents, contacts the buyer and requests payment or acceptance of the trade draft. After payment or acceptance of the draft, documents are released to the buyer, who uses them to pick up the merchandise. The buyer's bank remits funds to the seller's bank or advises that the draft has been accepted. On receipt of good funds, seller's bank credits the account of the exporter.

Open account: Under an open account, the exporter simply bills the customer, who is expected to pay under agreed terms at a future date. This method of payment is convenient and may be satisfactory if the buyer is well established, has demonstrated a long and favorable payment record, or has been thoroughly checked for creditworthiness. Open account sales do pose risks, however. The absence of documents and banking channels may make legal enforcement of claims difficult to pursue. As an exporter, you may have to pursue collection abroad, which can be difficult and costly. Also, receivables may be harder to finance, since drafts or other evidence of indebtedness are unavailable. Note that, for all of the mentioned methods of payment, you should know and mention in the contract the party that will bear the bank charges for remittance. 37

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

The advantages and disadvantages of payment terms are summarized as follows: Method of payment Cash in advance Letter of Credit

Timing of payment Before shipment Presentation of documents after

Goods availability At destination arrival When L/C is paid

shipment D/A collection

D/P collection

When accepted Trade Draft matures When documents received at the

At time Trade Draft is accepted When payment is made

Seller’s risks

Buyer’s risk

None

100% reliance on seller

Minimal, Issuing/ confirming bank obligation to pay if documents conform to L/C Non-payment of draft, even though buyer has the merchandise

Assurance of shipment, but depends on seller to supply goods ordered

Non-payment of draft

Assurance of shipment,

Minimal, may refuse to pay draft at maturity

but depends on seller to Open Account

presenting bank Buyer's discretion

Upon arrival

100% reliance on buyer

supply goods ordered None

The term of payment to be applied is much dependent on your understanding and your relationship with your buyers. In general, a documentary collection and open account would be appropriate (1) where the seller and the buyer know each other to be reliable, (2) there is no doubt about the buyer's willingness or ability to pay, (3) the political and economic conditions of the buyer's country are stable and (4) the importer's country does not have restrictive foreign exchange controls. When dealing with new customers, you should better apply Cash in Advance or Letter of Credit (often, Confirmed Irrevocable Letter of Credit at sight) even L/C is often subject to a high bank charge. Below are payment services operating by some commercial bankers in Vietnam: Name Bank for Foreign Trade of Viet Nam

Website http://www.vietcombank.com.vn

Export service - Payment by L/C -D/A Collection - D/P Collection - D/OT Collection

Techcombank

http://www.techcombank.com.vn

- Telegraphic transfer – T/T - Payment by L/C -D/A Collection -

D/P Collection

38

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

Asia Commercial Bank

http://www.acb.com.vn

- Telegraphic transfer – T/T - Payment by L/C -D/A Collection -

Bank for Investment and Development of Viet Nam

http://www.bidv.com.vn

D/P Collection

- Telegraphic transfer – T/T - Payment by L/C -D/A Collection -

D/P Collection

- Telegraphic transfer – T/T

6

Trade Fair Participations

Trade fairs are an excellent way to find new customers, to get an update on the current situation in the sector, such as market trends and product developments. Hundreds of Vietnamese handicraft companies have participated in many trade fairs over the world, particularly in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, UK, Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, United States. Many of them participate twice or even three times per year. But you cannot take it for granted that you will actually reap success from participating in a trade fair unless you prepare your attendance carefully. If you appear on the market with products or services which fall short of market standards, e.g. because they are technically inferior, too expensive, or your product information is inadequate, you will face more drawbacks than simply making no sales and losing money. You will damage the image of your company and even the image of Vietnamese handicrafts in the world market. In order to plan and prepare for trade fair participations, there is a number of manuals that we recommend you to read thoroughly:    6.1

“Show master“ from CBI (www.cbi.nl) “Successful participation in Trade Fairs“ from AUMA (www.auma-fairs.com) “From Contacts to Contracts” (www.sippo.ch). Selecting the Right Trade Fair

Selecting the right trade fair plays an important role for your market entry and finding the right customers. Choose 1-2 trade fairs only to take part in, but then participate continuously, 39

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

in order to turn first contacts into real business and then stable partnerships. Do not expect too much from a first participation. In general, you will need to attend 2-3 fairs in a row before you can actually develop business. You may find information on trade fairs in databases such as www.tsnn.com, www.exhibitions-world.com, www.auma.de or www.fairlink.se. You can also find trade fairs through many Export Promotion Agencies and you can discuss with other companies who have participated in foreign trade fairs before. Every trade fair organizer has its own website, e.g. http://www.giftshow.co.jp for Tokyo Gift Show in Japan or http://www.ambiente-frankfurt.de for Ambiente in Frankfurt/Germany. Important international trade fairs for Vietnamese handicraft exporters are:     

Ambiente and Tendence (in Germany) – the world’s largest trade fairs for home accessories and gift articles Maison & Objet (France) – One of the leading trade fairs for international design trends Expohogar Regalo Otono (Spain), Macef Milano (Italy), Spring Fair Birmingham (UK) and Herning (Denmark) with more regional focus on EU markets New York International Gift Fair, (USA), the most important trade fair in the US For Asia: Hongkong Gift fair, Hongkong Houseware Fair; Bangkok International Gift Fair & Bangkok International Houseware Fair (Thailand), Canton Fair (China); Giftshow Tokyo and Giftshow Fukuoka, Japan.

A list of many other useful trade fairs is enclosed in Appendix No.7. It should be emphasized again that before deciding to attend a fair, you should thoroughly study the type of the trade fair. There are many trade fairs in the US that are dominated by U.S. importers and less suitable for exporters to exhibit. The exhibitors there are your potential clients and they would not like to see you there at your exporter’s price. 6.2

Trade Fair Preparations

It is recommended that before attending the fair as an exhibitor, you should once attend the fair as a visitor. You can talk to exhibitors and other visitors, identify ideal locations and seize the opportunity to establish contacts with potential buyers. The purpose of the pre-visit is to learn and to understand:

40

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

    



What is the overall character of the show: design, quality, price level? What kinds of products are being shown? What kinds of businesses are exhibiting? Product and design trends What kinds of booths are heavily frequented? How are products displayed, how are booths arranged? What networking services are provided by the show management (buyers contacts, sales reps), what services are provided for exhibiting: storage, lighting, carpeting, booth displays, exhibitor directory? Costs and logistics, which become an important issue once you have decided to actually participate in the show (visit the show management office).

The following table from CBI provides some guidance on a detailed trade fair planning schedule. No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29

Activity Fair information and application form Decision on budget Decision to participate Reservation of stand space First staff planning meeting Confirmation by fair organizer Request for stand quotations Draw-up detailed budget Book hotel accommodation Final selection of products Decide on promotional campaign Start preparing mailing list Organizer approval for special design stand Quotations from forwarding agent Catalogue entry to organizer Preparation of sales literature Order forms (from the Manual) to organizer Appointment of stand staff Book travel arrangements Arrange hostesses, local staff, interpreters Order workmen and exhibitors’ passes Finalize mailing list Press releases to organizer and trade press First visitors’ mailing Deliver exhibits to shipping agent Second visitor mailing Telemarketing short list Arrival of exhibits at the fair Arrival of stand staff at the fair

Deadline 12 – 8 m 12 – 8 m 11 – 7 m 11 – 6 m 10 – 6 m 8–5m 7–5m 7–5m 5m 5m 5m 5m 4m 4m 4m 4m 4m 4m 4m 3m 3m 3m 3m 2m 1m 1m 2w 10 d 2d

Note: m: months; w: weeks; d: days

Before attending the fair, you should have the necessary company documentation ready (order sheets, price lists, catalog, website, leaflets, name cards, etc.) for dissemination to importers at 41

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

the fair. We advise that you always have a catalogue on hand because it will save time for visitors to understand your range of products at a glance. It is important that you invite potential buyers to visit your trade fair booth. Particularly at large international trade fairs, it is difficult for new exhibitors to get recognized. Therefore, it is recommended that you launch an invitation mailing to prospective buyers prior to the fair in order to effectively inform them of your presence at the fair and motivate them to visit your stand.

6.3

Participation Costs

The budget is an important point to be considered before you decide on participating in a fair. If you are a first time exhibitor at a fair, budgeting will be a challenge. The following table will give you an indication of the total expenses that were to be incurred by a Vietnamese exhibitor with 2 participants for a stand of 12 square meters at the 2005 Tendence fair: Description No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7 8 9 10 11

Visa fee Cost of products/exhibits Stand rental Stand construction Catalogue entry Marketing documents Sea freight Air-ticket Hotel Food Travelling in Germany Communication Total

Unit

Quan-

Unit price

Total Amount

tity 2 1 12 12 1 1 1 2 8 8 8 8

EUR 48 1,500 160 100 170 500 300 750 150

(EUR)

person lot m2 m2 Comp. lot lot person nights days days days

96.00 1,500.00 1,920.00 1,200.00 170,00 500.00 300.00 1,500.00 1,200.00 700.00 500.00 200.00 9,786.00

Note:  The cost of sea freight rate is very low in the above example, since the exhibitors were able to get a very good rate for consolidated container shipment door-to-door with other exhibitors for Frankfurt. In general, transport costs are higher (particularly regarding delivery of the goods to the trade fair booth)  Make sure that you book your hotel early, as hotels can be very expensive at trade fair times.  Space and stand rental can be offered by not only the trade fair organizers but also its 42

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters



 

representatives or many other local trade fair companies. Carefully check all components of the total costs including delivery of your exhibits to your stand with the organizer or his representative. Many Vietnamese exhibitors were confronted with very high costs for the delivery of exhibits from the Exhibition Center gate to their stand (especially for trade fairs in US). In many cases, you may have to pay even for cleaning your stand after the fair. You can agree with other Vietnamese exhibitors to share a large stand, which improves your negotiation power towards the trade fair organizers. Before or at the early stages of the fair, think of possibilities to sell and leave your exhibits with buyers (mind though that the trade fair organizers will not always allow you to do so).

An appropriate booth decoration requires particular attention: 





6.4

Get concrete measurements and prepare a stand sketch in order to develop an attractive stand design prior to the trade fair. Think about how best to present your products (tables, shelves or else). Select product samples and present a few collections of your best products. Do not try to present all your products, instead arrange the exhibits by topic/collection using specific colors and shapes. Avoid creating a warehouse character on your stand. Display some larger products in a prominent position to attract customers’ attention. Visitors pass by quickly, see hundreds of booths in a hall. Help your customers’ eye to focus on a few particular outstanding products. At the Trade Fair

Not only does your success at a trade fair depend on the quality of your presentation and preparatory efforts before the fair, but also, and to a considerably extent, on the performance of your staff during the fair. Make sure that senior sales management staff is available at the stand to answer questions and to establish personal contacts. We also recommend that you: 

Train staff with regard to product information and communication: Sales staff should be qualified to be able to answer all questions 43

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters



    

 6.5

asked by customers (understand production processes, what adaptations and alterations would be possible, price...) and should be open and friendly. Staff should pro-actively approach all customers who show a first interest. They should ask customers about the nature of their interest, the type of their company, and their function or area of responsibility within the firm (see: visitor contact form). Obtaining this information from stand visitors will help the exhibitor later on to decide what direction the discussion should take. Be honest and realistic. Never give an untrue answer; do not promise what you cannot keep afterwards. Carefully take note of the information given by the visitors on the visitor contact form, which you should always have at hand. There should not be too many exhibitors on a stand (their number depends on the available space but 2 exhibitors seem to be best for 18-30 m²). Wear your exhibitor’s badge. “Ao dai” can be a good selection for female Vietnamese exhibitors. Speak English or another language slowly and clearly. For many European persons, the Asian accent is difficult to understand. In order to make yourself understood properly by foreign visitors, it would be advisable for you to hire Vietnamese students who study overseas to assist you as translators during the fair. Always keep the stand neat and tidy. After the Trade Fair

The contacts you make during the trade fair are just the beginning of your efforts to build up business relationships. In many cases a prospective customer has to be approached several times before a business deal is concluded. A well-planned follow-up of the contacts made at the fair will help you achieve your desired trade fair results. Right from the beginning you should decide on how, when (how soon) and by whom (sales, sales force, representatives) your initial trade fair contacts can be consolidated. When you follow up with actual or potential customers who visited your booth, you should:     

Send a note of thanks for their visit Send all documents or quotations which were promised Provide further information on the points in the customer record form Arrange further appointments Designate members of staff or the sales force to consolidate the initial contacts

Participating in a foreign trade fair is rather expensive; therefore exhibitors should optimize 44

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

their time by visiting some stores or importers immediately after the fair. Store visits are useful to see what the current consumer trends are, what products are selling, and what trends are declining. Visiting stores or importers will also be helpful for you to identify whether the firm is a retail store or chain you can profitably sell your products to, whether they would be interested in buying what you make and consequently whether it would be worth your time to ask for an appointment with the firm’s purchasing department to show your products. Note the differences between stores, and what each store claims as its competitive advantage and how it tries to attract consumers. Look for the “feel” of the store, its personality, which highlights its competitive advantage: the latest designs, “snob appeal”, low price, top quality customer service; the store floor plan and product layout; how are products displayed; what is the price level etc.

7

Export Documentation and Shipping

In order to ship your goods, you need to prepare your Export Documents for Customs Declaration. According to the latest regulation from the Ministry of Finance, Vietnam, the documents for exportation of handicrafts include:  

Customs Declaration Form: 2 originals Packing List: 1 original and 1 copy.

Depending on the contract with your buyers, you may be also requested to present a Commercial Invoice, Phytosanitary Certificate and Inspection Certificate The Customs Declaration Form includes a listing of the products shipped according to the Harmonized System or HS codes. It includes complete particulars of the shipment. You can buy it easily at the Customs Office in your area. The Packing List and Commercial Invoice are to be prepared by the exporter. The Phytosanitary Certificate will be issued by the Department of Plant Protection of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. When determining the best Way of International Shipment, you should check out with forwarders and shipping companies in Vietnam (Appendix No.8) to find the best ones in terms of the cost of shipment, delivery schedule, and preferences of the foreign buyer. You should reserve space on the carrier well before the actual shipment date (this reservation is called the booking contract). For inland transportation (from you factory to the port of 45

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

loading), you can ask your selected carrier/forwarder for help. They can arrange this inland service or you can contract some trucking companies who are used to dealing with export shipments. Export shipments usually need to be insured against loss, damage, and delay in transit by cargo insurance. For international shipments, the carrier's liability is frequently limited by international agreements and the coverage is substantially different from domestic coverage. Arrangements for cargo insurance may be made by either the buyer or the seller, depending on the terms of sale. You are advised to consult with international insurance carriers or freight forwarders for more information. The Shipping Documents will be prepared by you and sent to your bank or your customer for settlement depending on the terms of payment. The following shipping documents are commonly used: 







Bill of lading: Bills of lading are contracts between the owner of the goods and the carrier. The customer usually needs the original or a copy as proof of ownership to take possession of the goods. You should get a Clean Bill of Lading. In case of urgent delivery, where you cannot send your original shipping document to your foreign customer on time, you can request your shipping company to issue a Surrendered Bill of Lading for releasing the cargo. Commercial invoice: A commercial invoice should include basic information about the transaction, including a description of the goods, the address of the shipper and seller, and the delivery and payment terms. Packing list: An export packing list itemizes the material in each individual package and indicates the type of package: box, crate, drum, carton, and so on. It shows the individual net, legal, tare, and gross weights and measurements for each package. Certificate of origin (C/O): Certain nations require a signed statement as to the origin of the export item - such certificates are obtained in Vietnam through the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI). However, in many cases, the buyer request a Certificate of Origin issued by your company. By showing the C/O to the Customs upon arrival in the importing country, your customer may be subject to tax exemption or tax reduction depending on the Agreements between Vietnam and importing countries.

In some cases, you may need Inspection, Insurance, Fumigation and Phytosanitary Certificates: 

Inspection certification: Some purchasers and countries may require a certificate of inspection attesting to the specifications of the goods shipped, usually performed by a 46

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

 

8

third party. Inspection certificates are often obtained from independent testing organizations. Insurance certificate: If the seller provides insurance, the insurance certificate states the type and amount of coverage. Phytosanitary Certificate/Fumigation Certificate: The document certifies that the product is free from quarantine pests and significantly free from injurious pests. In addition, treatments such as fumigation or cold storage, required by the importing country, or those treatments which are necessary to meet pest free standards, are supervised by the certifying official and document on the certificate.

Dealing with Claims

In some cases, you and your customers may fail to meet specific contract obligations leading to losses for one of the parties and may not be able to settle that problem in a friendly way. In such cases, arbitration should be considered. Arbitration is an out-of-court method to settle commercial disputes through a binding decision. It is a private, highly flexible method of dispute resolution, where the parties select arbitrators, the place where the hearings will be held, the rules, language and type of procedure. All this has a price, which is paid by the parties. In return they receive a decision that can be enforced practically anywhere in the world. The arbitration is different from a court case in four aspects: First, the arbitration agreement. Courts are generally open to all parties that have a dispute. Arbitration is only open to parties that have agreed (usually in a contract) to arbitrate. Second, the selection of arbitrators. Parties in court cases do not select their own judges, but in arbitration, they select their own arbitrators. Third, neutrality and flexibility. Imagine a dispute between a Vietnamese exporter and an importer from Japan. A court dispute will probably be resolved before the courts of Vietnam if the Japanese company is the claimant, and before the courts of Japan, if the Vietnamese exporter initiates the proceedings. In arbitration, the parties can select, say, an Egyptian or a Swiss arbitrator, and the arbitration can take place somewhere in between, Italy, for example. Last, arbitration is international enforcement. The Vietnamese Exporter will not easily be able to enforce a Vietnamese decision in Japan, and vice versa for the Japanese party. In contrast, an arbitration award can be recognized by judges in most countries of the world. It should be noted that, for clause of claim, the applicable law should be always mentioned clearly. For example, in an export contract, it is stipulated as follows: “If any dispute arises 47

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

under a contract that is not settled amicably between the two sides, the matter will be settled by Vietnam International Arbitration Center in accordance with the International Commercial Arbitration Rules whose awards shall be final and biding for both sides. The fee for Arbitration and charges shall be born by the losing side unless otherwise agreed“ In Vietnam, the Vietnam International Arbitration Centre shall be responsible for the hearing of the disputes arising from international economic relations, such as foreign trade contracts and those concerning investment, tourism, international transport and insurance, transfer of technology, services, international credits and payments, etc. For more information, assess its website http://www.viac.org.vn/.

9

Appendices Appendix No.1 Appendix No.2 Appendix No.3 Appendix No.4

H.S. Codes of selected Handicraft Articles Major International Markets for Vietnamese Handicrafts Trade Associations National Statistic Offices in the EU, Japan and USA

Appendix No.5

Trade Journals and Trade Press

Appendix No.6

Chambers of Commerce & Trade Agencies

Appendix No.7

Trade Fairs

Appendix No.8

Major Freight Forwarders and Shipping Companies in Vietnam

Appendix No. 9

Large Stores in the US, EU and Japan

Appendix No.10

Cultural Factors

Appendix No.11

Information Sources about Market Entry Requirements

Appendix No.12

List of Supporting Policies for Handicraft Exporters

48

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

Appendix No.13

References

Appendix No.1

H.S. Codes of selected Handicraft Articles No.

Category

H.S. Codes

1

Bamboo, rattan,

4601.20

rush and leaf

Description Mats, matting and screens of vegetable plaiting materials. Basket ware, wickerwork and other articles made directly to shape from plaiting materials or made up from goods of heading No 46.01; articles of loofah

4602.10

Of vegetable material

4602.90

Made up from other plaited materials

6504.00

Hats and other headgear, plaited or made by assembling strips of any material whether or not lined or trimmed.

2

Pottery

9401.50

Seats of cane, osier, bamboo, or similar materials

9403.80

Furniture of other materials (including bamboo)

6912.00

Ceramic tableware, kitchenware, other household articles and toilet articles (other than porcelain or china).

6913.90

Statuettes and other ornamental ceramic articles (other than porcelain or china).

3

Wood

6914.90

Other articles of ceramics

4414.00

Picture frame, photo frame, mirror frame and other similar ones

4419.00

Tableware and kitchenware, of wood. Wood marquetry and inlaid wood; caskets and cases for jewellery or cutlery, and similar articles, of wood; statuettes and other ornaments, of wood, wooden articles of furniture not falling within the division 82:

4420.10

Statuettes and other ornaments of wood

4420.90

Wood marquetry and inlaid wood; caskets and cases for jewellery etc

4421.10

Clothes hangers of wood

4421.90

Other wooden products: beads, accessories for curtain, toothpicks...

9401.69

Seats with wooden frames

9403.60

Furniture, wooden, n.e.s.

49

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

4

Embroidery

580430

Lace, hand-made, in the piece, in strips or in motifs.

580500

Hand-woven tapestries, of the type Gobelins, Flanders, Aubusson, Beauvais and the like, and needle-worked tapestries (e.g. petit point, cross stitch), whether or not made up.

581010

Embroidery in the piece, in strips or in motifs: Without visible ground

581091

Other embroidery: Of cotton

581099

Other embroidery: Of other textile materials

50

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

5

Textile

4202.22

Handbags with outer surface of sheet of plastics or of textile materials

4202.32

Articles carried in pocket or handbag with outer surface sheet of plastic or other textile Carpets and other textile floor coverings, knotted, whether or not made up:

5701.10

Of wool or fine animal hair

5701.90

Of other textile materials Carpets and other textile floor coverings, woven, not tufted or flocked, whether or not made up:

5702.10

"Kelem", "Schumacks", "Karamanie" and similar hand-woven rugs.

5702.20

Floor coverings of coconut fibers (coir)

5702.31

Carpets of wool or fine animal hair, of woven pile construction, not made up, n.e.s Other, of pile construction, made up:

5702.41

Of wool or fine animal hair

5702.49

Of other textile materials Other, not of pile construction, made up:

5702.91

Of wool or fine animal hair

5702.99

Of other textile materials

5811.00

Quilted textile products in the piece, composed of one or more layers of textile materials assembled with padding by stitching or otherwise, other than embroidery of No. 58.10 Handkerchiefs

6213.10

Of silk or silk waste

6213.20

Of cotton

6213.90

Of other textile materials Shawls, scarves, mufflers, mantillas, veils and the like

6214.10

Of silk or silk waste

6214.20

Of wool or fine animal hair

6214.90

Of other textile materials Ties, bow ties and cravats

6215.10

Of silk or silk waste

6215.90

Of other textile materials Bed linen, table linen, toilet linen and kitchen linen

51

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

6

7

Metal

Handmade

7326.11

Articles of iron or steel, forged or stamped, but not further worked, n.e.s.

8306.10

Bells, gongs and the like, non-electric, and parts thereof, of base metal

8306.21

Statuettes and other ornaments plated with precious metal

8306.29

Other statuettes and other ornaments

8306.30

Photograph, picture or similar frames and mirrors of base metal

9401.79

Seats with metal frames, n.e.s., other than those of heading No 94.02

9403.20

Furniture, metal

9606.22

Button of base metal, not covered with textile material

4802.10

Hand-made paper and paper board

paper 8

Various animal, mineral

Worked monumental and building stone: 6802.91

materials (Stone, glass, bone, horn,

Marble, travertine and alabaster and articles thereof, molded, turned, polished, decorated, carved or otherwise worked.

6802.92

Calcareous stones

6802.93

Granite

6802.99

Other

shells, etc., or combination)

Glass beads, imitation pearls, imitation precious or semi-precious stones and similar glass small wares, and articles thereof (other than imitation jewellery); glass eyes (other than prosthetic articles); ornaments and other fancy articles of lamp-worked glass (other than imitation jewellery); glass micro spheres not exceeding 1 mm in diameter: 7018.10

Glass beads, imitation pearls, imitation precious or semi-precious stones and similar glass small wares

7018.90

Other Worked ivory, bone, tortoise-shell, horn, antlers, coral, mother-of-pearl and other animal carving material, and articles of these materials (including articles obtained by moulding):

9601.10

Worked ivory and articles of ivory

9601.90

Other

9606.29

Buttons, n.e.s.

9614.20

Smoking pipes and pipe bowls

9615.19

Combs, hair-slides and the like of materials other than hard rubber or plastics

9615.90

Hairpins, curling pins, hair-curlers and the like, n.e.s.

52

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

9

Extra

9307.00

Categories

Side-arms (e.g. swords, cutlasses and bayonets) and parts thereof and scabbards and sheaths thereof.

3406.00

Candles, tapers and the like Festive, carnival or other entertainment articles (including conjuring tricks and novelty jokes)

9505.10

Articles for Christmas festivities

9505.90

Other Artificial flowers, foliage, fruit and parts thereof; articles made of artificial flowers, foliage or fruit:

6702.90

Of material other than plastics Jewellery and gold/silversmith wares Articles of jewellery and parts thereof, of precious metal or of metal clad with precious metal:

7113.11

Of silver whether or not plated or clad with other precious metal

7113.19

Of other precious metal whether or not plated or clad with precious metal

7113.20

Of base metal clad with precious metal Articles of goldsmiths' or silversmiths' wares and parts thereof, of precious metal or of metal clad with precious metal:

7114.11

Of silver, whether or not plated or clad with other precious metal

7114.19

Of other precious metal, whether or not plated of clad with precious metal

7114.20

Of base metal clad with precious metal

7115.90

Articles of precious metal or of metal clad with precious metal, n.e.s. Articles of natural or cultured pearls, precious or semi-precious stones (natural, synthetic or reconstructed):

7116.10

Of natural or cultured pearls

7116.20

Of precious or semi-precious stones (natural, synthetic or reconstructed) Imitation jewellery:

7117.11

Cuff links and stud of base metal whether or not plated with precious metal

7117.19

Other imitation jewellery of base metal whether or not plated with precious metal

7117.90

Other imitation jewellery Musical instruments

9206.00

Percussion musical instruments (e.g. drums, xylophones, cymbals,

53

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

10

Works of Art

9706.00

Antiques of an age exceeding one hundred years

9704.00

Postage or revenue stamps, stamp-postmarks, first-day covers, postal stationary (stamped paper), and the like, used, or if unused not of current or new issue in the country to which they are destined

9705.00

Collections and collectors’ pieces of zoological, botanical, mineralogical, botanical, historical, archaeological, palaentological, ethnographic or numismatic interest Painting and Prints Paintings, drawings and pastels, executed entirely by hand, other than hand-painted or hand-decorated manufactured articles; collages and similar decorative plaques:

9701.10

Paintings, drawings and pastels

9701.90

Other

9702.00

Original engravings, prints and lithographs Photography Other printed matter, including printed pictures and photographs:

4911.91

Pictures, designs and photographs Sculpture

9703.00

Original sculptures and statuary, in any material.

54

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

Appendix No.2

Major International Markets for Vietnamese Handicrafts Total exports of Vietnamese handicrafts articles to major international markets (in 1,000 US$) No

Country

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

Total

(5 years) 1

Japan

109,355

122,850

137,837

133,118

150,945

654,106

2

France

43,089

59,703

71,483

79,773

96,943

350,990

3

Germany

38,081

58,791

67,385

67,512

95,698

327,466

4

United Kingdom

35,586

49,502

62,518

73,339

83,021

303,966

5

Taiwan

57,470

53,829

65,309

48,998

42,945

268,551

6

United States

6,507

14,870

24,293

50,444

124,252

220,366

7

Korea, Republic of

18,535

23,589

25,349

29,999

33,182

130,653

8

Netherlands

20,316

23,493

22,955

27,238

39,989

133,991

9

Italy

11,695

13,265

16,371

22,789

36,735

100,856

10

Australia

8,018

9,793

13,706

21,965

34,812

88,295

Export markets for wooden handicrafts (in 1,000 US$) No. Country

Year

Total

Change

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003 (5 years)

(%)

Total

152,152

157,527

213,703

209,711

384,140 1,117,233

152%

1 Japan

48,279

40,143

50,095

47,341

62,102

247,960

29%

2 Taiwan

28,304

26,350

35,565

26,617

21,547

138,383

-24%

3,048

8,821

14,891

23,091

69,258

119,109

2172%

12,405

14,370

17,594

23,489

41,631

109,489

236%

5 France

5,650

8,233

13,809

13,425

30,753

71,870

444%

6 Korea, Republic of

8,747

10,325

11,583

15,898

17,066

63,619

95%

7 Germany

4,651

6,261

6,384

5,054

21,448

43,798

361%

8 Netherlands

3,747

4,635

6,190

4,831

15,354

34,757

310%

9 Australia

2,689

3,566

4,829

7,821

14,169

33,074

427%

10 Spain

1,405

3,551

3,883

3,213

17,504

29,556

1146%

3 United States 4 United Kingdom

55

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

56

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

Export markets for handicrafts made of bamboo, rattan, sea-grass, leafs... (in 1,000 US$) No Country

Year

Total

1999

2000

2001

2002

Total

62,499

78,730

95,878

113,379

142,673

493,159

128%

1 Japan

9,337

13,159

17,568

24,078

23,952

88,094

157%

14,443

12,720

13,377

10,631

10,462

61,633

-28%

3 Germany

2,881

4,488

5,129

7,890

13,241

33,629

360%

4 France

3,552

5,166

6,151

6,603

8,105

29,577

128%

5 Korea, Republic of

4,427

5,906

5,691

4,252

4,380

24,656

-1%

6 Spain

2,721

3,625

4,813

5,081

6,074

22,314

123%

7 United States

572

1,686

2,596

5,014

10,366

20,234

1712%

8 United Kingdom

987

2,736

3,228

4,372

7,449

18,772

655%

9 Italy

1,898

1,917

2,988

3,944

5,023

15,770

165%

10 Netherlands

1,791

1,415

2,058

3,390

5,536

14,190

209%

817

2,375

3,087

3,047

4,440

13,766

443%

2,016

2,584

2,086

2,693

2,655

12,034

32%

391

637

962

1,959

2,843

6,792

627%

1,161

1,030

611

1,509

1,312

5,623

13%

145

462

841

2,177

1,810

5,435

1148%

15,360

18,824

24,692

26,738

35,025

120,639

128%

2 Taiwan

11 Belgium 12 Singapore 13 Australia 14 China 15 Canada 16 Others

2003 (5 years)

Change (%)

Export markets for ceramics (in 1,000 US$) No. Country

Year 1999

2000

2001

2002

Total

Change

5 years

(%)

2003

Total

67,414

108,393

116,715

120,002

132,829

545,353

97%

1 Germany

9,836

20,631

24,035

19,752

25,943

100,197

164%

2 United Kingdom

5,605

12,667

14,112

12,186

13,850

58,420

147%

3 France

6,330

10,030

11,129

12,172

12,228

51,889

93%

4 Netherlands

7,345

13,708

10,465

10,391

9,068

50,977

23%

57

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

5 United States

2,246

3,744

5,488

10,318

14,796

36,592

559%

6 Japan

3,436

5,255

5,764

8,526

9,312

32,293

171%

7 Australia

4,019

3,722

4,569

6,940

10,141

29,391

152%

8 Korea, Republic

3,660

5,909

5,729

3,812

2,169

21,279

-41%

9 Belgium

2,414

4,081

4,241

3,149

3,329

17,214

38%

10 Singapore

2,266

2,453

3,670

4,104

1,259

13,752

-44%

11 Canada

1,192

2,497

2,835

2,833

3,605

12,962

202%

12 Italy

1,293

1,817

2,039

2,203

2,446

9,798

89%

13 Taiwan

2,121

2,108

1,968

1,648

1,385

9,230

-35%

14 Spain

413

738

884

1,782

2,483

6,300

501%

15 China

15

-

40

53

112

220

647%

16 Others

15,223

19,749

20,132

20,701

94,838

36%

of

19,033

Export markets for embroidery and lace (in 1,000 US$) No. Country

Total 1 Korea, Republic of

Year

Total

Change

2003 (5 years)

(%)

1999

2000

2001

2002

1,066

69

824

2,765

974

5,698

-9%

23

821

422

1,403

208%

0

679

7

686

137

-

2 United Kingdom 3 Italy

251

-

254

76

38

619

-85%

4 Japan

75

-

68

127

123

393

64%

5 France

38

-

74

60

142

314

274%

6 Spain

50

51

73

174

7 China

33

39

-

6

28

4

65

9 Singapore

2

53

55

10 United States

5

7

12

8 Taiwan

11 Germany 12 Australia 13 Netherlands

27

-

3

8 1

-

2 5

72

11 5

-

-85%

8 5

58

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

14 Belgium

0

15 Canada

0

16 Other

535

69

315

863

101

1,883

-81%

59

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

Export markets for textile products (in 1,000 US$) No. Country

Year

Total

Change

2003 (5 years)

(%)

1999

2000

2001

2002

Total

113,460

126,766

141,021

168,970

162,862

713,079

44%

1 Japan

32,601

53,536

52,594

38,291

37,550

214,572

15%

2 Germany

13,170

9,860

16,549

25,851

24,392

89,822

85%

8,970

13,238

13,876

22,366

12,770

71,220

42%

4 France

11,929

10,659

11,000

13,514

12,302

59,404

3%

5 Taiwan

10,255

11,416

12,218

8,381

6,958

49,228

-32%

6,435

3,439

5,025

8,952

15,090

38,941

134%

414

7,921

19,606

27,988

41615%

3 United Kingdom

6 Italy 7 United States

47

-

8 Netherlands

6,347

2,999

3,580

7,499

6,844

27,269

8%

9 Belgium

3,942

2,801

4,148

4,360

3,511

18,762

-11%

964

803

1,497

2,971

3,427

9,662

255%

11 Spain

1,648

1,292

1,956

2,362

2,250

9,508

37%

12 Canada

2,083

1,229

979

1,888

1,980

8,159

-5%

475

489

725

696

939

3,324

98%

1,097

-

314

284

574

2,269

-48%

15 China

66

-

25

81

70

242

6%

16 Other

13,431

16,122

23,553

14,598

82,709

9%

Total

Change

2003 (5 years)

(%)

10 Korea, Republic of

13 Australia 14 Singapore

15,005

Export markets for metal arts (in 1,000 US$) No. Country

Year 1999

2000

2001

2002

Total

2,723

1,020

4,850

8,836

19,029

36,458

599%

1 France

27

-

843

1,171

4,565

6,606

16807%

2 United States

30

-

105

1,349

3,544

5,028

11713%

3 United Kingdom

796

606

1,007

843

670

3,922

-16%

4 China

817

-

742

1,118

1,022

3,699

25%

60

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

5 Netherlands

24

-

195

625

2,281

3,125

9404%

4

-

626

488

1,890

3,008

47150%

856

240

405

407

503

2,411

-41%

-

174

335

391

1,341

2,241

6 Belgium 7 Taiwan 8 Germany 9 Japan

5

-

53

555

116

729

2220%

10 Italy

8

-

136

232

339

715

4138%

50

281

331

11 Spain 12 Australia 13 Singapore

112

-

90

36

23

261

-79%

3

-

82

97

69

251

2200%

9

48

140

197

16

52

113

181

206

1,375

2,133

3,755

5102%

Total

Change (%)

14 Korea, Republic of 15 Canada 16 Others

41

-

Export markets for stone arts, horn and other products (in 1,000 US$) No. Countries

Year 1999

2000

2001

2002

2003 (5 years)

Total

3,901

1,140

2,378

5,893

9,453

22,765

142%

1 Japan

1,565

451

1,110

1,480

2,604

7,210

66%

340

2,196

2,113

4,677

7446%

2 Italy

28

3 Taiwan

570

282

247

523

1,053

2,675

85%

4 Korea, Republic of

314

190

109

303

883

1,799

181%

46

304

234

612

736%

3

17

474

504

4640%

27

159

242

462

612%

16

34

289

366

970%

33

72

110

320

5%

11

57

148

225

1544%

5 Belgium

28

6 Australia

10

7 United States

34

8 Germany

27

9 Singapore

105

10 United Kingdom

9

-

-

-

11 Netherlands

46

16

62

98

222

113%

12 France

74

2

22

71

169

-4%

13 Canada

13

9

6

18

46

38%

13

15

8

36

14 China

61

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

15 Spain 16 Others

1,078

217

396

17

17

34

625

1,090

3,406

1%

62

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

Appendix No.3

Trade Associations JAPAN

IDAFIJ (Furniture Industry) http://idafij.com/IDAFIJ/index.html JHI (Housewares Importers) http://www.jhi.co.jp/english/english.htm Japan Jewelry Association http://www.jja.ne.jp/english/index.htm Japan DIY Industry Association http://www.diy.or.jp/english/index.html Association for the Promotion of Traditional Craft Industries.

GERMANY

http://www.kougei.or.jp/english/ National Association of Gifts Articles and Home Accessories: www.bkg.org Association of German Ceramic Manufacturers: www.keramverband.de

UNITED KINGDOM

National association of Candle Makers: www.kerzenverband.de Giftware Association: www.ga-uk.org

FRANCE

Crafts Council England: www.craftscouncil.org.uk Confederation of Ceramic Industries of France: [email protected] French Federation of Jewelry, Silverwares, Diamonds, Gems & Pearls: www.bjofrance.com Business Gifts Professional Union: www.syprocaf.fr

ITALY

THE NETHERLANDS

National Wood Federation: www.fnbois.com National Confederation for the Craft Sector and Small and Medium Enterprises: www.cna.itAssociation of candle makers: www.assocandele.it Association of Glass & Ceramic Dealers: ww.assoceramvetro.it Vereniging GEBRA: www.gebra.nl Stichting Max Havelaar: www.maxhavelaar.nl

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Fair Trade Organisation: www.fairtrade.nl National Craft Association: www.craftassoc.com American Craft Council: www.craftcouncil.org

CANADA

Crafts Center at CHF International: www.craftscenter.org Ontario Crafts Council: www.craft.on.ca

INDIA AUSTRALIA ASEAN TAIWAN THAILAND VIETNAM

Canadian Gift and Tableware Association: www.cgta.org Export Promotion Council For Handicraft: www.epch.com Craft Australia: www.craftaus.com.au ASEAN Handicraft Promotion and Development Association: www.ahpada.com Taiwan Gift and Houseware Exporters' Association (TGHEA): www.gift.com.tw Northern Handicrafts Manufacturers and Exporters' Association: www.nohmex.com Vietnam Handicraft Research and Promotion Center: www.hrpc.com.vn

63

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

Appendix No.4

National Statistic Offices in the EU, Japan and USA AUSTRIA BELGIUM DENMARK FINLAND FRANCE GERMANY GREECE IRELAND ITALY JAPAN NETHERLANDS NORWAY PORTUGAL SPAIN SWEDEN SWITZERLAND UNITED KINGDOM USA

Osterreichisches Statistisches Zentralamt: www.statistik.at Institut National de Statistique: www.statbel.fgov.be Danmarks Statistik: www.dst.dk Tilastokeskus - Statistics Finland: www.stat.fi Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economique: www.insee.fr Statistisches Bundesamt: www-ec.statistik-bund.de NSSG - National Statistical Service of Greece: www.statistics.gr Central Statistics Office: www.cso.ie ISTAT - Instituto Nazionale di Statistica: www.istat.it Japan Statistics Bureau & Statistics Center www.stat.go.jp/english/index.htm CBS - Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek: www.statline.cbs.nl Statistisk Sentralbyra: www.ssb.no INE - Instituto National de Estatistica: www.ine.pt INE - Instituto National de Estadistica: www.ine.es Statistiska Centralbyran: www.scb.se Bundesamt fur Statistik: www.statistik.admin.ch ONS - Office for National Statistics: www.statistics.gov.uk STAT-USA, U.S. Department of Commerce: www.stat-usa.gov

64

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

Appendix No.5

Trade Journals and Trade Press http://www.homeaccentstoday.com/ http://www.accessorymerchandising.net/ http://www.furniturestyle.com/ http://www.hfnmag.com/ http://www.hometextilestoday.com/ http://www.furnituretoday.com/ http://ldbinteriortextiles.com/topnav_test.htm

US market The information source for the home accent industry The retailer’s choice for fashion, trends and product news (for accessory) The retailer’s choice for fashion, trends and product news (for furniture) The news weekly of home products retailing (for all kinds of home products) The online fashion and business news source for the home textiles industry The weekly business newspaper of the furniture industry News and trends in the industry EU market

GERMANY

UNITED KINGDOM

FRANCE

Schöner Wohnen

www.livingathome.de

Living and interior decoration Stil & Markt

ww.meisenbach.de

Gifts, table- and houseware, lifestyle Das Haus

www.haus.de

Interior decoration, garden Wohnidee - Wohnen und Leben

www.wohnidee.de

Interior decoration, gifts Elle Decoration

www.elle.de

Fashion, culture Tableware International

www.dmgworldmedia.com

Houseware, tableware, gifts English Homes

www.international-homes.com

Home and lifestyle The English home

www.theenglishhome.co.uk

Interior design and decoration Art & Decoration

www.art-decoration.fr

Decoration, hobby and art Cuisines & Bains

www.cuisinebain.com

Kitchen and bathing Elle Decoration France

www.elle.fr

Fashion, beauty, interior decoration, home

65

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters ITALY

Elle decor

www.elle.it

Fashion, beauty, interior decoration,

THE NETHERLANDS

SPAIN

home Spazio Casa

www.spazio-casa.it

Style, interior decoration, home Eigen huis & interieur

www.vtwonen.nl

Living, home decoration Ariadne at home

www.ariadneathome.nl/

Living, home decoration Home & garden

www.homeandgarden.nl

Garden and home decoration Casa diez

www.casadiez.wanadoo.es/

Home decoration

AUSTRALIA

TAIWAN

Asian market Australian Country Craft & Decorating Pottery in Australia Australian Giftguide Magazine House of Living Art

www.expresspublications.com.au www.ozemail.com.au/~potinaus www.intermedia.com.au www.hola.com.tw/

You can refer to many other useful magazines like: Cosmopolitan, Home Décor, Australian Home Beautiful, Luxury Home Design, House & Garden, Ethan Allen, Mark & Spencer Home, Vogue Living, Wallpaper, Architect, Sunset Magazine, Country Home, Furniture Style, Residential Lighting, East Bay Home & Design... Other websites with information on market trends: Reference for furniture and accessories designs Modern designs, a wide range of products, European

www.habitat.net/uk/main_uk.htm

taste www.gloster.com/home.php www.chaplins.co.uk www.homedepot.com www.global-furniture.uk.com Suppliers and importers of home furniture and

www.ibolili.com

accessories www.viamotif.com

66

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

www.furniture-cni.com www.palecek.com Japanese style in home decoration

www.tatamiroom.com

Useful magazines and materials for understanding lifestyle in America Name Information ELLE DECORATION Life style decoration magazine which has been sold in 18 countries, understanding market trend in the world MARTHA STEWART Living Home living magazine edited by Martha Stewart who is a charismatic designer, simple and functional sense REAL SIMPLE Life style magazine which has been targeted "Simple design", supported by ordinal American people HOME

Life style magazine which can provide various useful information / idea, useful for analyzing life style

Domino

Magazine for shopping, showing inquiry address by each products, useful for analyzing strong seller products

INSIDE OUT

Home decoration magazine for people who living in city area, for understanding of interior design trend

THE WORLD OF INTERIORS WILLIAM-SONOMA

Interior magazine which has been targeted classical design, targeted to old generation Famous kitchenware store, available catalogue sales, useful for analyzing general life style in USA

POTTERYBARN

Famous Home interior design shop, management by William Sonoma, useful for analyzing interior design trend

West elm

Sense oriented home interior shop, supported by all generations, useful for analyzing life style in city area

RESTORATION HARDWARE BO concept

Famous Home interior design shop, useful for analyzing contemporary life style Europe taste Interior furniture shop, useful for analyzing life style of younger elite people.

IKEA

Home related products chain store, useful for analyzing life style of ordinal people in USA. Specialty chain store selling all container products, useful for analyzing ordinal life style in USA

The Container Store

Crate & Barrel Not Neutral NATUZZI

Interior product store which is selling low price products, useful for analyzing general interior products trend Catalogue published by product design company in LA, can see design trend in USA Leather sofa products manufactured by Italian company, very popular in USA

67

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

The land of Nod

Interior catalogue for Kids, useful for analyzing general design trend

FRONTGATE Grandinroad Splash Accessory Merchandising

Catalogue sales for garden interior products, classical design Catalogue sales for garden interior products, classical design Catalogue sales for pool, garden related products Material which was delivered in Gift show, can get information of exhibitors

Home fashion & FURNITURE TREND

Materials which was delivered in Gift show

Food & Mood ELLE Harper's BAZAR In Style Lucky

Trendy restaurant information magazine Readers are fashion oriented women, urban trend fashion magazine This magazine is showing fashion trend, designer's trend Fashion sense is not so high, but for general customers Magazine for shopping, showing inquiry address by each products, useful for analyzing strong seller products Catalogue sales of high prestige department store, for fashion oriented rich women Catalogue sales of department store which is targeted customer satisfaction No1, Bag catalogue for working women, useful for analyzing price point of leather products Proposal type life style store for 20-30 years old generation, useful for analyzing product trend for young Catalogue sales chain store for Mrs generation, not so high grade but increasing demands The most famous jewellery shop in US, simple design Sports wear company, can see trend of sport wear Catalogue sales for targeting Mrs generation, can see overall product trend Traditional American fashion wear store, useful for fabric analyzing Casual wear chain store in USA, is supported by younger generation in USA

Neiman Marcus NORDSTROM COACH ANTHROPOLOGIE CHICO'S TIFFANY & CO. NIKE BOSTON PROPER Brooks Brothers J.CREW

WOOLRICH PAUL FREDRICK

Casual wear catalogue sales of American country wear, not so fashionable. Catalogue sales of men's ware, not so related fashion, but useful for analyzing price point

Dickies LAND'S END

Catalogue sales of working wear, popular in Japan as a casual wear Catalogue sales of casual wear, not so fashionable but can see general life style in USA

L.L.Bean

The biggest catalogue sales of outdoor products, can see outdoor style in USA

REI Pataginia

Catalogue sales of specialty outdoor products Specialty outdoor products store, famous for protection of natural environment policy

Baby style TEXTILE report

Catalogue sales of baby wear and maternity wear Magazine for future article of colour trend and textile trend in 2006

68

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters COLLEZIONI TRENDS PREMIERE VISION

Trend forecast magazine in 2006 Colour trend forecast include colour sample in 2006

69

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

Appendix No.6

Chambers of Commerce & Trade Agencies INTERNATIONAL

International Chamber of Commerce: www.iccwbo.org International Trade Centre UNCTAD/ WTO: www.intracen.org

AUSTRIA

Austria Federal Economic Chamber: www.wko.at

BELGIUM

Belgian Chambers of Commerce: www.fedcci.be

DENMARK

The Danish Import Promotion Office for products: www.commerce.dk

FINLAND

The Central Chamber of Commerce of Finland: www.keskukauppakamari.fi

FRANCE

Federation of French Chambers of Commerce: www.cci.fr Coleacp: www.coleacp.org

GERMANY

Federal Office of Foreign Trade Information, Germany: www.bfai.de

German Chambers of Industry and Commerce: www.diht.de GREECE

Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI): www.acci.gr

IRELAND

Chambers of Commerce of Ireland: www.chambersireland.ie

ITALY

Italian Union of Chambers of Commerce: www.unioncamere.it ICE - National Institute for Foreign Trade: www.ice.it

JAPAN

Japan External Trade Organization: www.jetro.go.jp/

NETHERLANDS

CBI: www.cbi.nl

Netherlands Chamber of Commerce: www.kvk.nl NORWAY

Chamber of Commerce: www.chamber.no

PORTUGAL

Portuguese Chamber of Commerce: www.port-chambers.com

SPAIN

Spanish Chamber of Commerce: www.camerdata.es

SWEDEN

Chamber of Commerce: www.chamber.se

SWITZERLAND

SIPPO (Swiss Office for Trade Promotion): www.sippo.ch

U. KINGDOM

www.britishchambers.org.uk

USA

U.S. Department of Commerce: www.usatrade.gov

Vietnam’s Trade Agencies in Foreign Countries No

Country

Address

Contact

70

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

1

Argentina

11 De Septiembre 1442 Capital

Tel:5411- 4783 1802

Federal Argentina Fax:5411- 4899 1819 2

Australia

797 Bourke St. Redfern

Tel:612- 93101872

Sydney, NSW 2016 Australia

Fax:612- 93101929 [email protected]

3

Belgium

Av. Bel Air, 29

Tel:32-2 343 62 95

1180 Bruxelles

Fax:32-2 347 03 35 canh.cô[email protected]

4

Bulgaria

Sofia 1113, Iuri Gagarin Str.,

Tel:359-2 963 31 82/ 971 45 97

Block 154A, Ap.3 – Bungaria

Fax:359-2 963 31 73 (1) [email protected] (2) [email protected]

5

Canada

153 Gilmour street, Ottawa, Ontario,

Tel:1613- 2373816

K2P 0N8-Canada Fax:1613- 2373858 [email protected] 6

Cambodia

67, Samdech Pan (ex. 214 st.) Phnom

Tel:85512- 852 533

Penh, Cambodia Fax:85523- 362 682 [email protected] 7

8

China

Cuba

32 Guang Hua Lu

Tel:8610- 65325415

Jian Guo Men Wai-Beijing

Fax:8610- 65325415/65325720

Post Code : 100600

[email protected]

Cable16 # 514 E/S ta, 7mn Miramar

Tel:537- 241525

– Lahabana Fax:537- 2453333 [email protected] 9

Czech-Slovakia

Step¸nsk¸ 4/534, 12 00 Praha 2

Tel:4202. 24942135

Fax:4202. 24942132 [email protected]

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Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

10

Egypt

23, Kambez street

Tel:202- 3485721

Dokki - Giza – Cairo. A.R.E

Fax:202- 3485721 [email protected]

11

France

44,

Avenue

de

Madrid

92.200

Tel:331- 46248577/46248078

Neuilly Sur Seine Fax:331 -46241258 [email protected] 12

Germany

Burohaus Storkower Str. 158/109

Tel:49-30-2298198/2292374

10407 BERLIN

Fax:49-30-2291812/2292374 [email protected]

13

14

15

Hongkong

Hungary

India

17/F., Golden Star Building

852- 2529 3721

20, Lockhart Road, Hongkong

Fax:852- 2865 7573

Cable : VINACOR HONGKONG

[email protected]

1068 Budapest VI

Tel:36-1 352 7956

Benczór utca 18.

Fax:36-1 343 3836

Hunggary

[email protected]

17, Kautilya Marg, Chanakyapuri

Tel:9111-3012123

New Delhi - 110 021

Fax:9111-3017714 [email protected]

16

17

Indonesia

Iraq

25, JL. Teuku Umar Jakarta

Tel:62- 21 3100359

Indonesia

Fax:62- 21 3100359

AL Mansour-

Tel:9641- 5439510

71/7/17 Dauodi Str., Baghdad – Iraq

Fax:9641- 5411388

18

Iran

180 Lavasani str., Tehran – Iran

Tel:9821- 2293530

19

Italia

Via, Po, 22, 00 198 Roma

Fax:9821- 2830876 Tel:390- 684 13913 Fax:390- 684 140 72 [email protected]

20

Korea Rep.

Rm 401, Byuksong Bldg. 13/3/4

Tel:822- 322 3660

72

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

Changchon-dong Fax:822- 322 3770 21

22

Kuwait

Japan

Mapo-gu, Seoul, Korea

[email protected]

P.O. Box 425. Saimiya

Tel:965- 5615977 Fax:965- 5645305

Kuwait

[email protected]

50-11, Motoyoyogi-cho

Tel:813-3466-3315/3436

Shibuya-ku Tokyo 151-0062

Fax:813-3466-3360 [email protected]

23

Malaysia

No 4 Pesiaran stonor

Tel:603- 2414692

50450 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Fax:603- 2414696 [email protected]

24

Myanmar

15 (F), Thantaman Str., Dagon

Tel/Fax:95-1-228376

Township, Yangon, Myanmar 25

26

Laos

Philippines

76-Sisangvone Road

Tel:856- 21 413410

Bane Naxay, Vientiane-Laos

Fax:856- 21 413115

Unit 3B, LPL Center, 130 Alfaro st,,

Tel:632- 813 4048

Salcedo

Village,

Makati

City,

Philippines

Fax:632- 750 0161 [email protected]

27

Poland

Ul, Polna 48 M. 21

Tel:48-22 825 81 63

00-644 Warszawa

Fax:48-22 825 81 06 [email protected]

28

Romania

B-dul lancu de Hunedoara nr.66 Bl.

Mobil:094577710

12B, Sc. B, Et. 4, Ap.46-49 Sector 1, Bucuresti 29

Russia

No

Fax:401 -2113738 st

30-1

TVERSKAYA

Tel:7095- 251 22 85/250 08 48

YAMSKAYA Str, Moscow 125047 Fax:7095- 250 05 34 [email protected] 30

Singapore

No.10, Leedon Park

Tel:65 4683747

Singapore 267887

Fax:65 4670458 [email protected]

31

Sweden

Upplandsgatan 38 5

th

Floor 11328

Tel:468 - 322666

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Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

Stockholm Sweden Fax:468- 321580 [email protected] 32

Switzerland

18A, ch. Francois-Lehmann

Tel:4122- 7982485

1218-Le Grand Saconnex

Fax:4122- 7980724

Geneva (Suisse)

[email protected]

7, ch, Taverney

Tel:4122- 7887023

128-Le Grand Saconnex

Fax:4122- 7887024

Geneva (Suisse) 33

South Africa

479 Lukas Str., Lukasrand Pretoria

Rep.

0181, The Republic of South Africa

Tel:27-12 343 7673

Fax:27-12 343 2110 [email protected] 34

Taiwan

3F., No. 65, SUNG CHIANG Road,

Tel:8862- 25166626

TAIPEI, TAIWAN Fax:8862- 2504 1761/2516 6625 35

Thailand

83/1 Wireless Road Bangkok

Tel:662-6508 454

10330, Thai Lan

Fax: 662- 2526 950 [email protected]

36

Turkey

Istanbul Turkey

Tel:90212-2748 009

Gayrettepe Besiktas, Hattat Halim

Mobile 090 5357 687 094

Sok 17.D3

Fax:90212-2747881 [email protected]

37

U.K

12-14 Victoria Road London W8

Tel:44-020 793 731 74

5RD Fax:44- 020 793 846 25 38

Ukraine

Ukraine, 01011, Kiev

Tel:380-44 294 8116

Leskova Str. 5

Fax:380-44 294 8116 [email protected]

39

U.S.A

1730 M ST, Suite 501, NW. Wahing

Tel:202-463-9425

ton DC. 20036 Fax:202-463-9439 [email protected]

74

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

40

Uzbekistan

Tashkent, 700060

Tel:371- 1339673/1338817

Nukus str., 16-7

Fax:371- 1339673 [email protected]

75

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

Appendix No.7

Trade Fairs A) Databases of International Trade Fairs AUMA – Association of German trade fair organizers www.auma.de Comprehensive database with search-engine for trade fairs worldwide, including trade fair calendar, detailed search filter and basic information on each trade fair. Free of charge. Trade Show News Network www.tsnn.com Database with listings of trade fairs world-wide. Search filters include product group, country, trade fair name and keyword. Free of charge. Exhibitions-World www.exhibitions-world.com Database with listings of trade fairs worldwide, including trade fair news. Registration is free of charge. Eventsource www.eventsource.com Contains a database of 55,000 trade shows, events and seminars. Expo Base www.expobase.com Offers a multilingual directory of 15,000 trade fairs and over 25,000 service providers Trade Show Centre www.tscentral.com Covers 20,000 trade shows, 35,000 conferences and seminar and 500 vendors.

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Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

B) Handicraft Trade Fairs EU market GERMANY

Ambiente (February)

www.ambiente-frankfurt.de

Table art, kitchen and housewares, gourmet shop, table decoration and accessories, interior design, giftware, jewelry, accessories. Tendency (August)

www.tendence-frankfurt.de

Table art, kitchen and housewares, gourmet shop, table decoration and accessories, interior design, giftware,

UNITED KINGDOM

jewelry, paper ware, perfume, accessories. Heimtextil (January)

www.heimtextil-frankfurt.de

Specialised trade fair for home textiles Spring Fair Birmingham (February)

www.springfair.com

General giftware, jewelry, watches, china and glass, fashion accessories, leather, FRANCE

frames and fine art. Maison & Objet (January and September)

www.maison-objet.com

International home decoration, and textiles,

www.decoplauet.com

fragrances, arts and crafts, ITALY

games, and stationery. MACEF (September and January/February)

www.macefautunno.biz

Tableware, kitchenware, glass, artificial flowers and plants, wickerwork, candles, gifts, home decoration, ceramics, porcelain, THE NETHERLANDS

pictures, frames and home textiles Huishoudbeurs (March)

www.huishoudbeurs.rai.nl

Home decoration, mode and accessories, SPAIN

table- and kitchenware Expohogar Regalo otoño (September)

www.expohogar.com

International trade fair for gifts, house and home: gifts, arts, crafts, crystal, glass, china, pottery, tableware, furnishings, lighting and household appliances.

77

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters DENMARK

Formland

www.formland.dk

International home accessories and gift articles trade fair with focus on the Scandinavian market

New York

US market New York international gift fair

www.nyigf.com

General giftware, tabletop and decorative, home and personal accessories, traditional North Carolina

and contemporary crafts International home furnishing center, USA

www.ihfc.com

The largest wholesale home furnishings show in the world. Traditional to contemporary furniture, international furnishings, home and decorative accessories, upholstery, lighting, wall Chicago Atlanta

decor, bedding, rugs, and home textiles International home and Housewares show Atlanta International Gift & Home Funishing

www.housewares.org/ihshow/about_ chicago.asp www.americansmart.com

Garden and home decorative accessories. Other products include giftware, jewellery and fashion accessories, collectibles and seasonal. Atlanta International Area Rug Market

www.americasmart.com

The largest area rug show in the US. International and US manufactured and hand-women rugs, in all price points and

Mississippi

categories. Holidome and Roadway Show

www.tucsonshow.com

Wholesale jewellery, gemtones, silver and

California

gold jewellery The California Gift Show

www.carliforniagiftshow.com

Contemporary and traditional giftware, accessories, tabletop, home accents.

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Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

Strong in multicultural products and San Francisco

handicrafts of all categories San Francisco International Gift Fair

www.sfig.com

General giftware, tabletop, decorative, home decor, jewellery and personal accessories, ethnic, traditional, and contemporary crafts, contemporary Dallas

design, garden, and casual furniture. Dallas International Lighting and Accessories market Only trade show of lighting and lighting accessories category in the US Lamps, chandeliers, wall, table, contemporary, kitchen and bath, showroom and landscape lighting

Hong kong Thailand

Asian market Hongkong gift fair Hongkong Housewares fair Bangkok International Gift Fair & Bangkok International Housewares Fair

India

Indian Handicrafts & Gifts Fair

China Australia Japan

Canton Fair Australian Gift Fair Giftshow Tokyo, Japan

Giftshow Fukuoka, Japan All Japan Gift Festival in Tokyo

Japan DIY (do-it-yourself)Show in Tokyo / Osaka International Housewares Show (HIS) Ambiente Japan

Tokyo International Gift Show Osaka International Gift Show Fukuoka International Trade Fair International Furniture Fair Tokyo (IFFT)

www.hkgiftspremiumfair.com www.hkhousewarefair.com www.thaitradefair.com/fairin/big06 India Expo Centre, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. www.cantonfair.org.cn/en/index.asp www.giftfair.com.au www.giftshow.co.jp/english/58tigs/fr amepage1.html www.giftshow.co.jp Tel: (03)3847-0691 Fax: (03)3847-06 www.diy.or.jp www.gmc.or.jp/housewares Tel: (03)3262-8441 Fax: (03)3262-8442 www.giftshow.co.jp www.giftshow.co.jp www.fukuokafair.com www.idafij.or.jp

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Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

Appendix No.8

Major Freight Forwarders and Shipping Companies in Vietnam 1

3

5

7

9

11

13

15

17

APL Shipping Agency Co. Ltd. Địa chỉ: 802, Diamond Plaza Bldg., 34 Le Duan St., Dist.1, Ho Chi Minh City Tel: 84-8-8221199 Fax: 84-8-8239677 E-mail: [email protected] APM-Saigon Shipping Co., Ltd. Địa chỉ: 17 Ton Duc Thang St., Dist. 1, Ho Chi Minh City Tel: 84-8-8230015 / 8230173 Fax: 84-8-8230013 E-mail: [email protected] APM-Saigon Shipping Co., Ltd, Haiphong branch Địa chỉ: 4 Tran Phu St., Ngo Quyen Dist., Hai Phong Tel: 84-31-841717 Fax: 84-31-841718 Baikal Shipping Co. Địa chỉ: 2E Tran quang Khai St., Hong Bang Dist., Hai Phong City Tel: 84-31-821087 Fax: 84-31-842975 Bien Dong Ocean Shipping Co. Địa chỉ: 28 Tran Hung Dao, Hoan Kiem Dist., Hanoi Tel: 84-4-9346079, 9342448 Fax: 84-4-8240577 E-mail: [email protected] Bien Dong Shipping Co. Địa chỉ: 52 Nguyen Truong To St., Dist. 4, Ho Chi Minh City Tel: 84-8-8255239 Fax: 84-8-8261887

2

Binh Thuan Shipping Co. Địa chỉ: 5 Tu Van Tu St., Phu Trinh Ward, Phan Thiet City, Binh Thuan Tel: 84-62-8223361 Fax: 84-62-827124

4

Bonex Shipping Corp. Địa chỉ: Fl. 6, OSIC Bldg., 8 Nguyen Hue St., Dist. 1, Ho Chi Minh City Tel: 84-8-8245142, 8245144 Fax: 84-8-8245143

6

China Ocean Shipping Co. Địa chỉ: 47 Pho Duc Chinh St., Nguyen Thai Binh Ward, Dist.1, HoChi Minh City Tel: 84-8-8215688 Fax: 84-8-8217125

8

Danang Ocean Shipping and Trading Co. Địa chỉ: 156 Bach Danh St., Hai Chau 1 Ward, Hai Chau Dist., Da nang City Tel: 84-511-827316, 822068 Fax: 84-511-834796 Dong Nam A Shipping Co. Địa chỉ: 3 Nguyen Tat Thanh St., Dist.4, Ho Chi Minh City Tel: 84-8-8253559, 8253608 Fax: 84-8-8253629 E-mail: [email protected] Eastern Dragon Shipping Co., Ltd. Địa chỉ: 338 Lach tray St., Ngo Quyen Dist., Hai Phong Tel: 84-31-728107, 728503 Fax: 84-31-728117, 728055 E-mail: [email protected]

Flight Dragon Shipping Co. Địa chỉ: 338 Lach tray St., Ngo Quyen Dist., Hai Phong Tel: 84-31-728284, 728189, 829013 Fax: 84-31-728285 E-mail: [email protected] Hai phong Shipping Agent Địa chỉ: 25 Dien Bien Phu St., /5 To Ward, Ngo Quyen Dist., Hai Phong Tel: 84-31-551231 Fax: 84-31-551279

14

Quang Ninh Shipping Agent Địa chỉ: 70 Le Thanh Tong St., Hon Gai Ward, Ha Long City, Quang Ninh Tel: 84-33-826425 Fax: 84-33-827264

16

Heung-A shipping Co., Địa chỉ: 74 Nguyen Du St., Hai Ba Trung Dist., Hanoi Tel: 84-4-9424487, 8229484 Fax: 84-4-8220599 E-mail: [email protected]

18

Saigon Ocean Shipping Co. Địa chỉ: 9 Nguyen Cong Tru St., Dist. 1, Ho Chi Minh City Tel: 84-8-8296320 Fax: 84-8-8225067 E-mail: [email protected] Southern Vietnam Container Shipping JSC. Địa chỉ: 11 Nguyen Hue St., Dist.1, Ho Chi Minh City Tel: 84-8-8263991 Fax: 84-8-9140571 E-mail: [email protected]

10

12

80

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters 19

Khanh Hoa Ocean Shipping Co. Địa chỉ: 40/1 Tran Phu St., Vinh Nguyen Ward, Nha Trang City Tel: 84-58-881073 Fax: 84-58-881074

20

21

MOL (Vietnam) Shipping Agent. Địa chỉ: Room 1003, Fl. 10, 115 Nguyen hue St., Dist. 1, Ho Chi Minh City Tel: 84-8-8219121 Fax: 84-8-8219123

22

23

North Container Shipping Co. Địa chỉ: 11 Vo Thi Sau St., /5 To Ward, Ngo Quyen Dist., Hai Phong City Tel: 84-31-836705, 836706 Fax: 84-31-836104 E-mail: [email protected] Vietnam Shipping Agent Địa chỉ: 7 nguyen Hue St., Dist. 1 Tel: 84-8-8294162, 8290138 Fax: 84-8-8293626 E-mail: [email protected] Vung Tau Shipping and Service Co., Ho Chi Minh Địa chỉ: 43 Pasteur St., Ben Nghe Ward, Dist. 1, Ho Chi Minh City Tel: 84-8-8211857 Fax: 84-8-8211874 E-mail: [email protected] Wallem Shipping Vietnam Địa chỉ: Lf.6, #3 nguyen Tat Thanh St., Ward 12, Dist. 1 Tel: 84-8-8265161 Fax: 84-8-8265167 E-mail: [email protected] Vinatrans Địa chỉ: Số 2 Bích Câu, Quận Đống Đa, Hà Nội Tel: 84-4-7321090, 4-7321970 Fax: 84-4-7322635 E-mail: [email protected] Thami Shipping & Airfreight Co.,Ltd. Địa chỉ: 161 Khánh Hội, Quận 4, T.P. Hồ Chí Minh Tel: 84-8-8263662 Fax: 84-8-8263581 E-mail: [email protected]

24

34

Hyundai Merchant Marine Co.,Ltd. Địa chỉ: 201 Khâm Thiên, Đống Đa, Hà Nội Tel: 84-4-8510360, 4-8519524 Fax: 84-4-8519329

CMA-CGM Group Địa chỉ: 201 Khâm Thiên, Đống Đa, Hà Nội Tel: 84-4-8519217, 4-8518313 Fax: 84-4-8519162 Germatrans (Vietnam) Ltd. Địa chỉ: 201 Khâm Thiên, Đống Đa, Hà Nội Tel: 84-4-8519217, 4-88519014 Fax: 84-4-8519162

36

SIMBA Logistics Địa chỉ: Tầng 7, 142 Lê Duẩn, Hà Nội Tel: 84-45185161, 4-5183496 Fax: 84-4-5183496 E-mai: [email protected]

38

Wanhai Lines Ltd. Địa chỉ: 53 Quang Trung, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội Tel: 84-4-6225602 Fax: 84-4-8228384

25

27

29

31

33

35

37

26

28

30

32

Southern Vietnam Container Shipping JSC, Hanoi Địa chỉ: 97 Tran Quoc Toan St., Hoan Kiem Dist., Hanoi Tel: 84-4-8223996 Fax: 84-4-8223998 E-mail: [email protected] Vietnam National Shipping Lines Địa chỉ: 201 Kham Thien St., Dong Da Dist., Hanoi Tel: 84-4-8517750 Fax: 84-4-8517746 E-mail: [email protected] Vietnam Ocean Shipping Co. Địa chỉ: 215 Tran Quoc Toan St., Dang Giang, Ngo Quyen Dist., Hai Phong City Tel: 84-31-731090, 731033 Fax: 84-31-731007 E-mail: [email protected] Vung Tau Shipping and Service Co. Địa chỉ: 87 Ly Thuong Kiet St., Ward 1, Vung Tau City Tel: 84-64-852185, 859003 Fax: 84-64-858919 Nghe An Ocean Shipping and Trading Co. Địa chỉ: 26 Nguyen Van Troi St., Ben Thuy Ward, Vinh City, Nghe An Tel: 84-38-855528/855670 Fax: 84-38-855364 An Giang Shipping Co., Ltd. Địa chỉ: 65 Pho Duc Chinh St., Nguyen Thai Binh Ward, Dist.1, HoChiMinh City Tel: 84-8-8210651, 8-9140520 Fax: 84-8-8217708 E-mail: [email protected] Orient Overseas Container Line Địa chỉ: 201 Khâm Thiên, Đống Đa, Hà Nội Tel: 84-4-8519017, 4-8517750 Fax: 844-8518551 TLX: 411294 GMTHN VT

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Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

39

Mitsui O.S.K Line Địa chỉ: 23 Phan Chu Trinh, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội Tel: 84-4-9332359 Fax: 84-4-9332358 Vosa Group of Companies Địa chỉ: 65 Nguyễn Trường Tộ, Ba Đình, Hà Nội Tel: 84-4-8434042, 4-8468171 Fax: 84-4-8237379 Dai Viet Foreign Trade Forwarding Địa chỉ: 1W Living Quarter 30-4, Dien Bien Phu St., Ward 25, Binh Thanh, HCM Tel: 84-8-8991444 Fax: 84-8-8991273 Atlantic Forwarding Ltd. Địa chỉ: Room 2A2, Fl.1, Han Nam Office center, 65 Nguyen Du St., Dist. 1, HCM Tel: 84-8-8224372 Fax: 84-8-88224390

40

Maersk – Sealand Địa chỉ: 17 Ngô Quyền, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội Tel: 84-4-9363695 Fax: 84-4-9363694

42

K’Line Địa chỉ: 74 Bà Triệu, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội Tel: 84-4-9437709 Fax: 844-9437706

44

47

Berkman Forwarding Co. Địa chỉ: 345E Tran Hung Dao St., Dist.1 Tel: 84-8-8365640 Fax: 84-8-8352768 E-mail: [email protected]

48

49

Foreign Trade Warehousing and Forwarding Địa chỉ: 5A Hoang Van Thu St., Minh Khai ward, Hong bang Dist., Hai Phong Tel: 84-31-842421 Fax: 84-31-842227

50

51

General Forwarding Agent JSC. Địa chỉ: 35 Nguyen Hue St., Dist.1 Tel: 84-8-8214440, 8214441 Fax: 84-8-8214435 E-mail: [email protected]

52

53

Jupiter Pacific Forwarding J.V.C. Địa chỉ: 112 Hong Ha St., Ward 2, Tan Binh Dist., Ho Chi Minh City Tel: 84-8-8450068 Fax: 84-8-8450085 E-mail: [email protected]

54

Haiphong Import-Export and Forwarding Co. Địa chỉ: 53 Luong Khanh Thien St., Ngo Quyen Dist., Hai Phong City Tel: 84-31-921232 Fax: 84-31-921902 Haiphong Joint-stock Commerce, Service and Warehouse Địa chỉ: 4 Tran Phu St., Ngo Quyen Dist. Hai Phong City Tel: 84-31-859881 Fax: 84-31-859802 E-mail: [email protected] International Freight Forwarding & Container Địa chỉ: Room 104, Kim Do Business Center, 123 Le Loi St., Dist. 1, HCM City Tel: 84-8-8218101, 8218179 Fax: 84-8-8210218 E-mail: [email protected] International Freight Forwarding & Container Địa chỉ: 47 Cua Dong St., Hoan Kiem Dist. Hanoi Tel: 84-4-8259185 Fax: 84-4-8454819 E-mail: [email protected] Jacky Maeder International Forwarding Ltd. Địa chỉ: 2 Ngo Duc Ke St., Dist. 1 Tel: 84-8-8299890, 8258733 Fax: 84-8-8299812 E-mail: [email protected] Raf International Forwarding Inc. Địa chỉ: 99 Nguyen Van Troi St., Phu Nhuan Dist. Tel: 84-8-8448368 Fax: 84-8-8447965 E-mail: [email protected]

55

Vietnam National Foreign Trade Forwarding Co., Địa chỉ: 13 Ly Nam De, Hoan Kiem Dist., Hanoi Tel: 84-4-8457417

56

41

43

45

46

Vietnam Transport and Freight Forwarding JSC. Địa chỉ: 31 Nguyen Cong Tru St., Nguyen Thai Binh Ward, Dist. 1, HCM City Tel: 84-8-8213084

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Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

57

59

Fax: 84-4-8455829 E-mail: [email protected] Vinako Forwarding JSC. Địa chỉ: 46 Truong Son St., Tan Binh Dist., Ho Chi Minh City Tel: 84-8-8485353 Fax: 84-8-8485355 M.T.L Co., Ltd. Địa chỉ: 5Fl, 62A Pham Ngoc Thach St., Dist. 03, Hochiminh City, Vietnam Tel: 84 8 8208093 Fax: 84 8 8208091 / 8209040

Fax: 84-8-8212902 58

60

Vinaforwarding Địa chỉ: 100-102 Dien Bien Phu , Dakao Ward, District 1, HCM City. Tel: 84.8.8207120 Fax: 84.8.8207121 Round-The-World Logistics Vietnam Địa chỉ: 15-01 Prime Centre Building 53 Quang Trung St, Hanoi Tel: (84.4) 9437830/9437398 Fax: (84.4) 9437397

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Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

Appendix No. 9

Large Stores in the US, EU and Japan EU Market Variety Stores

Department Stores

Furniture Outlets

Gift shops

Garden Centers

Name Woolworth (UK) Marks & Spencer (UK) Monoprix/Prisunic (F) Tati (F) Upim (I) Blokker (NL) KarstadtQuelle ((G)

Website http://www.woolworths.co.uk http://www.marksandspencer.com http://www.monoprix.fr/ http://www.tati.fr/ http://www.upim.it/upim/box.html http://www.blokker.nl/ http://www.karstadtquelle.com

Galeria Kaufthof (G) John Lewis (UK) Allders (UK) El Corte Ingles (SP) Vroom & Dreesman (NL) IKEA (S) Habitat (UK) Conforama (F) Divani & Divani (I) Merkamueble (SP) MFI Furniture (UK) The Gadget Shop (UK) Nanu Nana (G) Das Depot (G) Obi (G) Intratuin (UK)

http://www.galeria-kaufthof.de http://www.johnlewis.com/ http://www.allders.com/ http://www.elcorteingles.es/ http://www.vroomendreesmann.nl/ http://www.ikea.com http://www.habitat.net/ http://www.conforama.fr http://www.divaniedivani.it/ http://www.merkamueble.com/ http://www.mfi.co.uk/mfi/default.asp http://www.thegadgetshop.com www.nanu-nana.de www.das-depot.com http://www.obi.de/de/ http://www.intratuin.nl/

US Market Asia Society Gift Shop

Good example of high-end ethnic in a good marketing situation : www.asiastore.org

Crate & Barrel

Contemporary, youthful mid-priced housewares, furniture, accessories: www.crateandbarrel.com

West Elm

Division of Pottery Barn, lower priced, hip, young contemporary urban

TJ Maxx

www.westelm.com Off-price, closeouts, fashion knock offs

Container Store

www.tjx.com Storage: inexpensive to expensive, all types, natural materials. www.containerstore.com

Bed Bath & Beyond

The leading housewares chain

Hold Everything

www.bedbathandbeyond.com Storage: mid-priced to expensive, all types, natural

84

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters materials, has expanded into furniture and other categories, owned by Williams- Sonoma. www.holdeverything.com Low priced, ethnic inspired, factory production

7th Ave 16th Pier 1 Imports 71 5th Ave. at 15th Pottery Barn

www.pier1.com 40’s-60’s consumer, mid-priced, classic but more modern styling

600 Bdwy, Houston www.potterybarn.com Mid and higher priced, higher quality, well designed. www.zgallerie.com

Z Gallerie 443 Bdwy

The 50 leading US companies in retailing furniture and home décor Rank

Name of company

Head office/Website

Estimated turnover (billion in US$)

Change

Number

2003 5,840

4.5%

of shops 2004 2003 3,066 2,949

1

Wal-Mart

Bentonville-Ark

2004 6,100

2

Lowe’s

www.wal-mart.com Mooresville, N.C

1,855

1,650

12.4%

1,087

952

3

Home Depot

www.lowes.com Atlanta

1,475

1,350

9.3%

1,675

1,635

4

Target

www.homedepot.com Minneapolis

1,345

1,200

12.1%

1,308

1,225

5

Bed Bath & Beyond

www.target.com Union,N.J

1,105

940

17.6%

686

575

6

Pier 1 Imports

www.bedbath.com Forth Wirth, Texas

1,009

880

14.7%

1,122

1,062

www.pier1.com 7

Pottery Barn

www.pier1kids.com San Francisco

865

735

17.7%

263

245

8

Michaels Stories

www.potterybam.com Irving, Texas

800

757

5.7%

800

763

9

Federated Department

www.michaels.com Cincinati

778

750

3.7%

459

459

Oklahoma city

725

680

6.6%

335

315

www.hobbylobby.com Menomonee Fall,Wis

650

570

14.0%

637

542

www.federated-fds.com 10

Stories Hobby Lobby Stories

11

Kohl’s

85

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

12

Linens’N Things

www.kohls.com Clifton, N.J

650

577

12.7%

468

423

13

The Longaberger

www.linesnthings.com Newark, Ohio

612

645

-5.1%

NS

NS

14

Company Expo Design Center

www.longaberger.com Atlanta

590

630

-6.3%

54

54

www.homedepot.com St.Louis

582

600

-3.0%

430

428

www.maycompany.com Plymouth Metting, PA

580

512

13.3%

21

18

www.ikea.com West Chester,PA Framiingham, Mass

550 550

509 530

8.1% 3.8

8 1,468

8 1,418

15

May Department Stories

16

Ikea

17 18

QVC T.J.Maxx/Marshal ls

19

Big Lots

www.tjmaxx.com Columbus, Ohio

545

500

9.0%

1,459

1,385

20

JCPenney

www.biglots.com Plano, Texas

545

550

-0.9%

1,017

1,020

21

Tuesday Morning

www.jcpenney.com Dallas

530

495

7.1%

662

577

www.tuesdaymorning. 22

Homegoods

com Framing, Mass

498

425

17.2%

216

182

23

Ross Stories

www.homegoods.com Pleasanton, Calif

445

412

8.0%

649

568

24

Partylite

www.rosstores.com Plymouth, Mass

435

495

-12.1%

NS

NS

25

Crate & Barrel

www.partlite.com Northbrook, ILL

406

355

14.4%

136

123

26

Kirkland’s

www.crateandbarrel.com Jackson, Tenn

394

369

6.8%

320

280

27

Sam’s Club

www.kirklands.com Bentonville, Ark

390

375

4.0%

551

538

28

Restoration Hardware

www.samsclub.com Corte Madera, Calif

388

328

18.3%

100

100

348

348

0.0%

446

415

www.restorationhardwar 29

The Bombay Company

e.com Fort Worth, Texas

86

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

30

Costco

31

Home Interiors & Gift

32

Cost Plus World Market Sears

33 34

Berkshire Hathaway

www.bombayco.com Issaquah, Wash

345

315

9.5%

330

318

www.costco.com Carrollton, Texas

322

380

-15.3%

NS

NS

www.homeinteriors.com Oakland , Calif

314

277

13.4%

237

204

Hoffman Estates, ILL

310

325

-4.6%

873

871

www.sears.com Omaha, Neb

300

270

11.1%

31

30

295

285

3.5%

516

451

Houston

290

326

-11.0%

35

44

www.garenridge.com Burlington, NJ

285

275

3.6%

314

320

www.berkshirehathaway.

35

Furniture

com

Division Cracker Barrel Country

Lebanon, Tenn www.crackerbarrel.com

36

store Garden Ride

37

Burlington Coat Factory

38

Yankee Candle

www.coat.com Whately, Mass

284

267

6.3%

345

286

39

Ethan Allen

www.yankeecandle.com Danbury, Conn

280

278

0.7%

282

283

40

The Great Indoors

www.ethanallen.com Hoffman Estates, ILL

265

290

-8.6%

17

18

www.thegreatindoors.co 41

Kmart

m Troy, Mich

218

250

-12.8%

1,480

1,511

42

Rooms To Go

www.kmart.com Seffner, Fla

199

200

-0.5%

98

95

43

Jo-Ann Stories

www.roomstogo.com Hudson, Ohio

190

175

8.6%

851

892

44

Family Dollar

www.joann.com Mathews, N.C

189

175

8.0%

5,600

5,175

45

Dillard’s

www.familydollar.com Little Rock, Ark

185

190

-2.6%

329

328

46

Havertys

www.dillards.com Atlanta

158

158

0.0%

117

113

87

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

47

Anthropologie

48

A.C.Moore Arts & Crafts

49

Southern Living At Home

www.havertys.com Philadelphia

155

105

47.6%

65

52

www.anthropologie.com Berlin, N.J

152

148

2.7%

96

81

www.acmoore.com Birmingham, ALA

150

120

25.0%

NS

NS

139

148

-6.1%

26

261

www.southernlivinggath 50

Stein Mart

ome.com Jackson, FLA www.steinmart.com

Japanese market No

Company Name

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Cainz Co., Ltd. Konan Shoji Co., Ltd. Homac Corp. NAFCO Corporation Keiyo Co. Ltd. Komeri Co. Ltd. Kahma Co., Ltd. Shimachu Co., Ltd. Joyful Honda Tokyu Hands Inc.

Location Gunma Osaka Sapporo Fukuoka Chiba Niigata Aichi Saitama Ibaragi Tokyo

Website www.cainz.co.jp/english_Site/e_index.html www.hc-kohnan.com/hc/foreign/engindex.html www.homac.co.jp www.nafco.tv/index.html www.keiyo.co.jp www.komeri.com www.kahma.co.jp www.shimachu.co.jp www.joyfulhonda.com/english/index.htm www.tokyu-hands.co.jp

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Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

Appendix No.10

Cultural Factors If you hope to profit from your travel abroad, you should learn about the history, culture, and customs of the countries to be visited. Flexibility and cultural adaptation should be the guiding principles for traveling abroad on business. Business manners and methods, religious customs, dietary practices, humor, and acceptable dress vary widely from country to country. Consider the following: •

•

•

•

• •

•

•

Never touch the head of a Thai or pass an object over it; the head is considered sacred in Thailand. Avoid using triangular shapes in Hong Kong, Korea, and Taiwan; the triangle is considered a negative shape. The number 7 is considered bad luck in Kenya and good luck in Czechoslovakia, and it has magical connotations in Benin. The number 10 is bad luck in Korea, and 4 means death in Japan. Red is a positive color in Denmark, but it represents witchcraft and death in many African countries. A nod means no in Bulgaria, and shaking the head from side to side means yes. The "okay" sign commonly used in the United States (thumb and index finger forming a circle and the other fingers raised) means zero in France, is a symbol for money in Japan, and carries a vulgar connotation in Brazil. The use of a palm-up hand and moving index finger signals "come here" in the United States and in some other countries, but it is considered vulgar in others. In Ethiopia, repeatedly opening and closing the palm-down hand means "come here."

Understanding and heeding cultural variables such as these is critical to success in international business travel and in international business itself. Lack of familiarity with the business practices, social customs, and etiquette of a country can weaken a company's position in the market, prevent it from accomplishing its objectives, and ultimately lead to failure. Some of the cultural distinctions that you should pay close attention to are the differences in business styles, attitudes toward development of business relationships, attitudes toward punctuality, negotiating styles, gift-giving customs, greetings, significance of gestures, meanings of colors and numbers, and customs regarding titles. In some countries, business people have a very direct style, while in others they are much more subtle in style. For example, in the Middle East, engaging in small talk before engaging 89

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

in business is standard practice. Attitudes toward punctuality vary greatly from one culture to another and, if misunderstood, can cause confusion and misunderstanding. Romanians, Japanese, and Germans are very punctual, whereas people in many of the Latin countries have a more relaxed attitude toward time. The Japanese consider it rude to be late for a business meeting, but acceptable, even fashionable, to be late for a social occasion. In Guatemala, on the other hand, one might arrive anytime from 10 minutes early to 45 minutes late for a luncheon appointment. When cultural lines are being crossed, something as simple as a greeting can be misunderstood. Traditional greetings may be a handshake, a hug, a nose rub, a kiss, placing the hands in praying position, or various other gestures. Lack of awareness concerning the country's accepted form of greeting can lead to awkward encounters. People around the world use body movements and gestures to convey specific messages. Sometimes the same gestures have very different meanings, however. Misunderstanding over gestures is a common occurrence in cross-cultural communication, and misinterpretation along these lines can lead to business complications and social embarrassment. Proper use of names and titles is often a source of confusion in international business relations. In the United Kingdom, France, and Denmark it is appropriate to use titles until use of first names is suggested. First names are seldom used when doing business in Germany. Visiting business people should use the surname preceded by the title. Titles such as "Herr Direktor" are sometimes used to indicate prestige, status, and rank. Thais, on the other hand, address each other by first names and reserve last names for very formal occasions and written communications. In Belgium it is important to address French-speaking business contacts as "Monsieur" or "Madame," while Dutch-speaking contacts should be addressed as "Mr." Or "Mrs." To confuse the two is a great insult. Customs concerning gift giving are extremely important to understand. In some cultures gifts are expected and failure to present them is considered an insult, whereas in other countries offering a gift is considered offensive. Business executives also need to know when to present gifts - on the initial visit or afterwards; where to present gifts - in public or private; what type of gift to present; what color it should be; and how many to present. Gift giving is an important part of doing business in Japan, where gifts are usually exchanged at the first meeting. In sharp contrast, gifts are rarely exchanged in Germany and are usually not appropriate. Gift giving is not a normal custom in Belgium or the United Kingdom either, although in both countries, flowers are a suitable gift when invited to someone's home.

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Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

Customs concerning the exchange of business cards vary, too. Although this point seems of minor importance, observing a country's customs for card giving is a key part of business protocol. In Japan, for example, the Western practice of accepting a business card and pocketing it immediately is considered rude. The proper approach is to carefully look at the card after accepting it, observe the title and organization, and acknowledge with a nod that the information has been digested, and perhaps make a relevant comment or ask a polite question. Negotiating - a complex process even between parties from the same nation - is even more complicated in international transactions because of the added chance of misunderstandings stemming from cultural differences. It is essential to understand the importance of rank in the other country; to know who the decision makers are; to be familiar with the business style of the foreign company; and to understand the nature of agreements in the country, the significance of gestures, and negotiating etiquette. It is important to acquire, through reading or training, a basic knowledge of the business culture, management attitudes, business methods, and consumer habits of the country being visited. This does not mean that the traveler must attempt to exercise all local customs when conducting business abroad. It does mean that the traveler should be sensitive to the customs and business procedures of the country being visited. Before traveling to a new market, you should learn as much about the culture as possible to avoid embarrassing situations. For example, in Mexico it is customary to inquire about a colleague's wife and family, whereas in many Middle Eastern countries it is taboo. Patting a U.S. colleague on the back for congratulations is a common practice, but in Japan it would be discourteous. Clothes, expressions, posture, and actions are all important considerations in conducting international business. Another important consideration is religious and national holidays. Trying to conduct business on the Fourth of July in the United States would be difficult, if not impossible. Likewise, different dates have special significance in various countries. Some countries have long holidays by U.S. standards, making business difficult. For example, doing business is difficult in Saudi Arabia during the month of fasting before the Ramadan religious festival. Try to obtain cultural information from business colleagues who have been abroad or have expertise in a particular market. A little research and observation in cultural behavior can go a long way in international commerce. Likewise, a lack of sensitivity to another's customs can stop a deal in its tracks.

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Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

Appendix No.11

Information Sources about Market Entry Requirements Japanese market Detailed customs procedure when exporting to Japan: http://www.customs.go.jp/index_e.htm Details for tariffs in Japan: http://www.apectariff.org/ (Asia Pacific Tariff Database-APEC) Japan Specifications for Apparatus and Containers/packages made of Glass, Ceramic, or Enamel: http://www.ffcr.or.jp/zaidan/FFCRHOME.nsf/7bd44c20b0dc562649256502001b65

e9/a8

67

f8867f281c6b49256f0f001ed0b9/$FILE/Appendix9.pdf

Standards on materials in general: http://www.ffcr.or.jp/zaidan/FFCRHOME.nsf/7bd44c20b0dc562649256502001b65e9/a867f8 867f281c6b49256f0f001ed0b9/$FILE/standards%20on%20materials.pdf and http://www.ffcr.or.jp/zaidan/FFCRHOME.nsf/pages/e-links-j Food Sanitation Law (for products in direct contact with food): http://www.mhlw.go.jp Electrical Appliance and Materials Safety Law (for lightings): www.ul.com US market U.S. Customs web site: www.customs.ustreas.gov U.S. customs regulations and USDA entry requirements: http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/import/ Exporting to the US: http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/import/communications_to_industry/diduknow.xml Vietnam tarrifs/duties/ etc. when exporting to States: http://dataweb.usitc.gov/scripts/user_set.asp U.S Regulations for ceramics: cadmium contamination: http://www.fda.gov/ora/compliance_ref/cpg/cpgfod/cpg545-400.html Regulations for ceramics: lead contamination: http://www.fda.gov/ora/compliance_ref/cpg/cpgfod/cpg545-450.html Import procedure for ceramics: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/import.html

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Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

EU market Legislative and market requirements for gifts, decorative articles and jewellery in EU http://www.cbi.nl/accessguide/?cbiRef=yes http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/food/chemicalsafety/foodcontact/leg_files/84_500_en.pdf http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/food/chemicalsafety/foodcontact/legisl_list_en.htm Information about regulations and export tariffs to EU can be found at http://export-help.cec.eu.int/ or http://europa.eu.int/comm/taxation_customs International quality standards ISO and the European Committee for Normalisation www.iso.ch www.cenorm.be Information about environment, social, health and safety issues: www.cbi.nl/accessguide www.europa.eu.int/eur-lex www.ilo.org (labour/health) www.octrooibureau.nl (patents) www.newapproach.org (product safety) www.foodnet.fic.ca (food safety) No specific regulations exist for gift and handicraft articles as this term covers a broad variety of very different products. However, some gift and handicraft articles could be subject to the EU product legislation concerning the content of hazardous substances, especially if the products are to be used in connection with provisions. According to the CBI market survey on gift and decorative articles, the most important dangerous substances that an exporter of gift and handicraft articles should be aware of are: • Azo dyes • Benzene used as stabilizers in plastic • Formaldehyde used as glazing or bonding agent • Pentachlorophenol (PCP) used to prevent fungal growth in wooden toys • Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) and terphenyl (PCT) used as softeners in plastic products • Phthalates added to PVC • Asbestos used as filling material in plastics • Cadmium used as pigment or stabilizer in paints, plastics, ceramics and glassware • Nickel • Mercury • CFCs and halons used as foaming agents

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Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

Appendix No.12

List of Supporting Policies for Handicraft Exporters Issue

Regional Development

Investment Promotion

Export Promotion

SME Promotion

Preservation of Traditional Crafts

Regulation and Decision

Decision No. 132/2000/QD/TTg of November 24, 2000 on a Number of Policies to Encourage the Development of Rural Trades Circular 84/2002/TT-BTC dated 26 September, 2002 Giving guidance on financial incentives to encourage the development of craft industries Official letter No.670/BNN– TCBC dated 26 March, 2003 Giving guidance on training and development of rural craft industries Decision No. 132/2001/QD-TTg of September 7, 2001 on Financial Mechanisms for the Implementation of the Programs on Developing Rural Traffic Roads, Infrastructure for Aquaculture and Infrastructure in Rural Craft Villages Decision No.3/1998/QH10 of May 20, 1998, The Law on Domestic Investment Promotion (amended) Decree No. 51/1999/ND-CP of July 8, 1999 Detailing the Implementation of Law No. 03/1998/QH10 on Domestic Investment Promotion (amended) Circular No 02/1999/TT-BKH dated 24 September, 1999 Instructing procedures for granting investment incentives in compliance with the Decree No 51/1999/ND-CP Circular No 22/2001/TT-BTC dated 3 April , 2001 on Instructing the implementation of tax exemption and deduction for the objects of these investment incentives in compliance with the Decree No 51/1999/ND-CP dated 8/7/1999 of the Government. Decision No. 195/1999/QD-TTg by the Prime Minister on Establishment of Export Promotion Fund Decision No. 46/2001/QD-TTg of April 4, 2001 on the Management of Export and Import Goods in the 2001-2005 Period Decision No.02/2001/QD-TTg dated 2 January, 2001 on Policies to support investment from Development Assistance Fund toward export processing projects Decree No. 90/2001/ND-CP of November 23, 2001 on Support for Development of Small and Medium Enterprises Decree No. 02/2000/ND-CP of February 3, 2000 on Business Registration Decision No. 124/2003/QD-TTg of June 17 2003 approving cultural preservation and development for minority groups in Vietnam to fully utilize traditional crafts

Agency

Government Ministry of Finance (MOF) Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) Ministry of Finance (MOF) Government MPI Ministry of Planning & Investment Ministry of Finance

Prime Minister Ministry of Trade (MoT) MPI MPI MPI Ministry of Culture and Information (MOCI)

94

Export Marketing Guidelines for Vietnamese Craft Exporters

Appendix No.13

References 1. EU Market survey 2005, Gifts and Decorative articles – CBI 2. Your Image Builder, SIPPO and CBI 3. Japanese Market report, Household products, JETRO 4. A Basic guide to exporting, US Department of Commerce 5. Your Show master, CBI 6. Product Costing and Pricing: Artisan as Entrepreneur Training Module (ITC 2000) 7. A Guide to Exporting Solid wood product, United States Department of Agriculture 8. Your Guide to market research, CBI 9. Market Research for Exporting handicrafts to USA, JETRO (in Japanese) 10. Promotion and Export development of Asian Artisanal Products in EU (ITC, 2001) 11. Promotion and Export development of Asian Artisanal Products in the United States, (ITC, 2001) 12. Handicrafts in Denmark, Denmark Import Promotion Office for products from developing countries (DIPPO) 13. Handicrafts in Canada, Trade Facilitation Office Canada (TFOC) 14. State of the Sector Report on Philippine in Housewares, 2004, Pearl2 15. Gift and Handicraft Articles in Swedish Market, 2004, Chamber of Commerce of East Sweden 16. Vietnam Handicrafts and Traditional Craft Villages, VIETRADE 17. The study on Artisan craft Development plan for Rural industrialization in Vietnam, JICA

95