Hien DangMore than just becoming a leading retail group in the region, the presence of LUXASIA in Vietnam represents a team of aspiring individuals who possess an endless passion for beauty with the mission of building a sustainable luxury retail market.
Today, we are speaking to Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Phong Dinh – LUXASIA Vietnam Country Manager to have a deeper look into how the group has been building bridges between premium international brands and millions of consumers across the APAC region.
Greetings Mr. Dinh, can you share more about LUXASIA Vietnam’s role in bringing new brands to local consumers as a distributor?
First and foremost, as an exclusive distributor of many fragrance brands including Gucci, Burberry, Chloé, Marc Jacobs, etc., LUXASIA imports and distributes authentic products through our omni-channels network, most significantly through department stores. In addition, we also act as a supplier for large beauty chain stores across the country such as Nam Perfume, Perfume World, AB Beauty World, Hasaki, and Beauty Box.
In recent years, in order to adapt to the changes in shopping behavior of consumers in the region, LUXASIA established a new entity, LEAP Commerce, focusing on building and optimizing brands’ performance on e-commerce platforms. Particularly in Vietnam, we have launched Calvin Klein Official Flagship Store on LazMall in August, bringing the iconic brand to more fans nationwide.
More than that, LUXASIA is proud to be a brand builder for our partners, bringing best-of-class practices to Vietnamese consumers. Each and everyone at LUXASIA dedicate our time and effort to study and understand each brand, each fragrance line, each note, to become the master ourselves before introducing the products in order to bring satisfaction and meaningful consumer experiences.
In my opinon, this is one of the key factors that help build our partnering brands’ trust with LUXASIA Group for more than 35 years of business.
With many years of work experience in the beauty industry, how do you assess the potential of the high-end segment in Vietnam at the moment?
After the pandemic, the lifestyle and beauty landscape in Vietnam seemingly transforms more significantly than ever. To sum up in one word, it is ‘booming’. We have attracted many luxury brands who all want to expose to the elite and upper middle class in Vietnam. This is evident through the launch of many new luxury boutiques, exclusive events, as well as social media presence when high-end names collaborate with local celebrities and influencers.
For instance, this September, LUXASIA Vietnam just unveiled three new counters from Gucci, Burberry, and Chloé at Crescent Mall. This is the first ever three-in-one model in the world, clearly proving our market’s attractiveness and premium brands’ desire to enter the market. Especially, the new counters feature each brand’s niche collections, introducing consumers to the world of haute perfumery. At the same time, Guerlain, which operates under LBeauty – LUXASIA and LVMH Group’s joint venture, also opened a new door in Crescent Mall. These are just a few examples of how high-end brands are particularly paying attention to Vietnam’s beauty scene and are willing to invest to earn the leading position here. This healthy competitive environment is bringing to Vietnamese shoppers more options and more top-notch experiences.
In such a dynamic market, what is LUXASIA Vietnam’s business strategy for growth in upcoming years?
We set out specific goals every 3 years as guideline for all business activities. After successfully accomplished the LX21 strategy in 2021, LUXASIA Vietnam has built its position as the market’s key fragrance player. Leading up to LX24, I’m confident in conquering other beauty and lifestyle categories with the core support and investment from the Group.
Executives have set an ambitious expectation for LUXASIA Vietnam to grow 4-5x in the coming period, even faster than the Group’s growth rate. Accordingly, in 2023, we are expanding our business to other categories including skincare, makeup, and haircare. With the team’s experience and spirit, we are very confident in the success of high-end brands coming soon to Vietnamese consumers.
Besides distribution, we are also elevating on brand building with new formats of events, marketing and PR tactics to bring unique and unrivaled experiences to shoppers compared to neighboring markets.
Humans play an important role in retail business. Can you share more about the culture and core values of LUXASIA Vietnam in human management?
We highly value the importance of talent development. In August, we proudly unveiled our new office that doubles the size of the old one with more modern and open design. This improvement in work environment has made a clear impact on the team’s spirit and productivity. With it, we also welcome many more members joining LUXASIA Vietnam, especially young and energetic talents with a high sense of market trends and passion for beauty.
At LUXASIA, our core values revolve around “RESPECT”:
As the leader of the team, I always use this phrase as the motto in every action and decision. However, an organization’s culture cannot be made by just one individual. Hence, in the recruitment process, we strive to find suitable talents who share similar vision, mission, and core values to create synergy at work. Members at LUXASIA Vietnam almost have no hierarchy among them but consider each other teammate, sharing challenges and conquering opportunities together.
How has your personal lifestyle changed after all these years working in beauty?
Prior to joining LUXASIA, I had worked in the industry for almost 2 decades, so I have had a lot of exposure to ‘beauty’ for sure. Beauty is not just about the outer appearance but also lies in the core of the products, the story and message that brands try to convey, and the emotions evoked in customers. They all open my eyes to have a more multi-dimensional look at what is considered ‘beauty’. Working in beauty, every detail needs to be carefully curated with subtlety and meaningful intention, and I have incorporated this principle into other aspects of life.
Read more: