‘Brands can be loud, but people must be quiet’,
That is the philosophy of the person who created it
Marketing fever in 2011.
In an interview with VnExpress, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Phuong, Chairman of Kangaroo Group, shared about the group’s development journey and the strategy to redraw the clean water map in Southeast Asia in the future.
15 years ago Vietnamese people did not pay much attention to clean water. What was the fate that led you to decide to choose water as the starting point for all business activities?
I don’t like anything associated with the word fate because it is often an excuse for what people are afraid to say or share. To me, everything is linked to cause and effect.
Born and raised by the Nhue River, when I was a child, I witnessed my mother every day having to buy sand to filter the water and use her hands to scoop out dirty water scum. At that time, distinguishing between clean and dirty water was only possible with the naked eye, without high-tech analysis like today. All the people around where I live have intestinal problems. That was the first awareness of the importance of clean water.
Later, when I graduated, I determined that if I had the conditions and opportunity to establish a company, my business products would be clean water supply equipment.
At first I thought about selling purified water, but when I thought about it, using plastic bottles was too wasteful and using bottles of purified water for eating, bathing, and washing was very expensive. Stemming from childhood obsessions and practical experiences, I gradually developed the water purifier product and expanded the Kangaroo scale as it is now.
Kangaroo once emerged as a marketing phenomenon during the C1 Final in 2011 with the message “Crack! Leading water purifier Vietnam”. What impact did that mark have on the company?
A bad product that focuses too much on communication is like showing people its weakness. But on the contrary, if a good product is not communicated and is little known to the people, it also means a sin against consumers.
The development life cycle of a business is like a human being. There are times when you can beat your chest to prove your position. At that time, we were mature and confident about the product, so we needed to communicate to let consumers know.
The communication method we apply is a new type and it brings mixed opinions, some people like it and some people don’t like it. But overall, it all had an emotional impact, leaving an impression on viewers at that time. New things often cause controversy, but if everyone is afraid of confrontation and debate, it will be difficult for consumers to update new products.
I think brands can be loud, but people must be quiet. The effect achieved in 2011 was a challenge because the pressure to prove a pioneering position was so great. We have calmly built and developed products, applied scientific and technological advances and new management methods to gradually retain a good impression in the minds of consumers.
In the past 15 years, what moment do you consider decisive for the development of the business?
Kangaroo’s development journey also went through many ups and downs. For me, when I was first established, it was the most difficult time, and also a decisive period.
From the beginning, Kangaroo was fortunate to determine that the “heart” product of the business was equipment for domestic water. We developed in 3 stages, first was clean water for daily use, then upgraded to pure water for drinking and now healthy water, water with minerals to supplement and nourish the body. . Since its establishment, clean water equipment has always been the leading product for us to penetrate and expand the market, affirming our position in the country and the region.
Over the past 15 years, the first 10 years were accumulation and the next 5 years were investment. In the first phase, we mainly ODM (original design manufacturing), product design, then see the advantages of other countries, whichever country is strong will send processing requests. This is the accumulation phase because the cost for facilities is very little.
After a period of accumulation, we are currently investing to open a third factory, gradually increasing the product localization rate from 10% to 70%. Kangaroo invests in factories for auxiliary component manufacturers to assemble into its equipment. Of course, the most important core components are still produced by the company using its own technology.
What do you define as Kangaroo’s business philosophy and corporate culture philosophy?
Regarding products, we persevere with the goal of differentiating designs and differentiating technical characteristics of products. When businesses sell water heaters, we develop antibacterial water heaters. In particular, the most recent is a hydrogen water purifier. If it weren’t for Kangaroo, there wouldn’t be a Hydrogen water purifier in Vietnam.
When other businesses focus on scale, we focus on IoT technology. Kangaroo will make IoT freezers and refrigerators, and notify via phone so consumers know what’s inside the refrigerator instead of having to open the door to check.
In management work, we take a minimalist approach, no explanations, no criticism, the important thing is to come up with solutions. A manifesto that applies to the entire system including partners, employees and customers is “Growing together”, when Kangaroo develops, the entire system also develops.
We determine that product research and development is a decisive factor in the sustainable development of the business. The company has a research institute for technology development. In 2017, there were 12 research projects and 30 designs registered for copyright. 2018 will be the time to take these innovations and bring them to market.
In your opinion, what is the challenge of businesses when developing both in breadth, expanding products and markets, and in depth, promoting research?
In business activities, there are many old ideas that are no longer applicable. In the past, people used to say slow but steady, but in a flat world like today, fast but steady is not okay. Or another concept is that you should focus on doing just one thing well. But with the competition and development of the market today, doing everything well is still uncertain.
With Kangaroo, investing together to develop both breadth and depth is what we must do to survive and develop sustainably. Challenging is just a gentle word to talk about this parallel investment process full of sweat and tears.
In expanding our market to Southeast Asia, we encountered many obstacles, especially in terms of culture. For example, unlike Vietnamese people, they cook rice at each meal, but in Indonesia people cook rice once for all 3 meals of the day. Therefore, the rice cooker sold to them must have a 3D warming mode, keeping heat well all day long.
In terms of research, the company believes that we must destroy the old to be able to develop the new. This research also requires investment and sacrifice to be able to produce new features.
How do you assess the risks and challenges when expanding into the regional market? What will be the main product at that time?
Southeast Asia with about 700 million people is a potential market. The need for clean water in Vietnam, in the region and around the world is the same, it is an urgent problem that cannot be denied. Therefore, the challenge here is not to prove the importance of using clean, healthy water but to develop products suitable for each region.
We are drawing a healthy water map in Southeast Asia, distinguishing the needs of each region in a country, of each country in a region. Kangaroo’s Applied Science Research Institute will have to research and develop techniques and products suitable for each location. We will initially universalize the use of clean water in Southeast Asia, and move beyond Asia and the World.
Equipment related to clean water and domestic water will be the leading products for us to develop our business. Kangaroo’s goal is divided into 2 phases. Phase 1 targets every Southeast Asian family using a Kangaroo product. Phase 2 is when each family uses many products. With 700 million people in Southeast Asia, each product increasing by just one dollar brings in 700 million USD.
Currently we only account for a few percent of the regional market share. If the goal is 50%, there will be many challenges. In Indonesia, the Jakarta market is the first target. When consumers here get used to Kangaroo, the company will begin to expand to other provinces. Kangaroo implements the strategy of sticking to short-term goals, working and enjoying the results instead of setting too big goals that can easily make you exhausted or depressed.
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