Illustrative image (Photo: Amazon) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Domestic wood processing enterprises are urged touse more online commercial channels to find new markets and customers,especially during the COVID-19 epidemic.
Tran Viet Tien, a leader of the Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of HoChi Minh City (HAWA), said: “With lots of new designs and models for theirproducts, many local furniture firms still cannot find orders due to thecurrent epidemic.”
Dzung Nguyen, CEO of HMD Information Technology, a member of California-basedYes4All firm said: “Vietnamese furniture shipments will be available onYes4all’s sale channels in May at the latest."
The CEO, who said Yes4All is active on Amazon and Ebay, declared that suchshipments result from a long journey of negotiation and preparation betweenYes4all and NCT, a local furniture brand specialising in exporting to Europeanmarkets.
With more than 10 years of experience in selling sporting goods online, Yes4Allsaw an opportunity in selling Southeast Asian furniture products to UScustomers.
The CEO said: "Like kitchen utensils, furniture items can be sold online,”adding it was time for furniture firms to join online distribution channels.
Dzung said furniture chains has begun to list products on e-commerce sites likeEtsy, Amazon and Wayfair.
At the same time, Nguyen Ngoc Dung, Vice President of Vietnam E-CommerceAssociation (Vecom), said that e-commerce is the best solution for the woodprocessing industry, as the COVID-19 epidemic is "blocking" theindustry to customers in China and also halting a lot of trade fairs around theworld. Concerned about infection, many shoppers are avoiding traditionalfurniture showrooms.
As a result, Dung said: "Going O2O (online to offline) will be thefastest way to adapt to current fluctuations."
Access to cross-border shoppers
O2O was a retail business model that combines both online marketing andintroduction of products to attract customers to buy them at the stores(offline).
According to the experts, IKEA's "interior tycoon" is a good exampleof the O2O model when it has applied virtual reality to the sale of furnitureproducts.
Acknowledging the benefits of O2O, HAWA’s Tien mentioned one difficulty:“Applying the O2O model is not simple, as it requires firms to spend more onhuman resources and technology.”
For example, Tien said: “The 3D and VR technology that helps buyers see andexperience the products is costly.”
More importantly, Tien said: “No matter how much they spent on online channels,the businesses must never forget their offline systems, like showrooms andworkshops.”
“At the end of the day, the most important factor is the quality of theproducts and the real experience of the users,” said Tien.
Wood chips are Vietnam’s main export products to China, with a turnover of morethan 972 million USD in 2019, or 79.2 percent of total export turnover of woodand timber products. Meanwhile, Vietnam imported wooden planks worth 400million USD.
The Government has set a target of 20 billion USD in wood exports by 2025 –nearly double the current turnover. To achieve this goal, it will requirefundamental changes in both business strategies in each enterprise and thedevelopment strategy of the whole industry.
The industry meanwhile is also calling on the Government’s support ininstitutional and policy environment to create the most favourable conditionsfor their business activities. In addition, the Government also needs to createa channel to promote Vietnam’s clean wood and timber brand./.
Tran Viet Tien, a leader of the Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of HoChi Minh City (HAWA), said: “With lots of new designs and models for theirproducts, many local furniture firms still cannot find orders due to thecurrent epidemic.”
Dzung Nguyen, CEO of HMD Information Technology, a member of California-basedYes4All firm said: “Vietnamese furniture shipments will be available onYes4all’s sale channels in May at the latest."
The CEO, who said Yes4All is active on Amazon and Ebay, declared that suchshipments result from a long journey of negotiation and preparation betweenYes4all and NCT, a local furniture brand specialising in exporting to Europeanmarkets.
With more than 10 years of experience in selling sporting goods online, Yes4Allsaw an opportunity in selling Southeast Asian furniture products to UScustomers.
The CEO said: "Like kitchen utensils, furniture items can be sold online,”adding it was time for furniture firms to join online distribution channels.
Dzung said furniture chains has begun to list products on e-commerce sites likeEtsy, Amazon and Wayfair.
At the same time, Nguyen Ngoc Dung, Vice President of Vietnam E-CommerceAssociation (Vecom), said that e-commerce is the best solution for the woodprocessing industry, as the COVID-19 epidemic is "blocking" theindustry to customers in China and also halting a lot of trade fairs around theworld. Concerned about infection, many shoppers are avoiding traditionalfurniture showrooms.
As a result, Dung said: "Going O2O (online to offline) will be thefastest way to adapt to current fluctuations."
Access to cross-border shoppers
O2O was a retail business model that combines both online marketing andintroduction of products to attract customers to buy them at the stores(offline).
According to the experts, IKEA's "interior tycoon" is a good exampleof the O2O model when it has applied virtual reality to the sale of furnitureproducts.
Acknowledging the benefits of O2O, HAWA’s Tien mentioned one difficulty:“Applying the O2O model is not simple, as it requires firms to spend more onhuman resources and technology.”
For example, Tien said: “The 3D and VR technology that helps buyers see andexperience the products is costly.”
More importantly, Tien said: “No matter how much they spent on online channels,the businesses must never forget their offline systems, like showrooms andworkshops.”
“At the end of the day, the most important factor is the quality of theproducts and the real experience of the users,” said Tien.
Wood chips are Vietnam’s main export products to China, with a turnover of morethan 972 million USD in 2019, or 79.2 percent of total export turnover of woodand timber products. Meanwhile, Vietnam imported wooden planks worth 400million USD.
The Government has set a target of 20 billion USD in wood exports by 2025 –nearly double the current turnover. To achieve this goal, it will requirefundamental changes in both business strategies in each enterprise and thedevelopment strategy of the whole industry.
The industry meanwhile is also calling on the Government’s support ininstitutional and policy environment to create the most favourable conditionsfor their business activities. In addition, the Government also needs to createa channel to promote Vietnam’s clean wood and timber brand./.
VNA
