For The Chairman of Rita Võ, the biggest haunting memory is the dormitory toilet during his student days. When experiencing the luxurious bathroom fixtures from Kohler, he decided to propose a collaboration, gradually asserting the company's position in the construction materials and furniture market.
On a day in mid-August, Mr. Vo Mau Quoc Trien - The Chairman of Rita Võ Group, sat down to reminisce about his 24-year entrepreneurial journey. Mr. Trien recounted the story of initially failing the entrance exam for Ho Chi Minh City University ofTechnology in his first year and then pursuing a major in Finance at the University of Economics in Ho Chi Minh City.
However, that was also the turning point led Mr. Trien to the path of entrepreneurship, founding Rita Võ - a large distribution network of construction materials and furniture in Vietnam.
Convincing American partners with just a business plan
16 years ago, Rita Võ, while still a young and inexperienced company, successfully persuaded Kohler to become the official distributor of the leading American bathroom and kitchen brand
Mr. Trien recalled that at that time, some furniture businesses in Vietnam already had showrooms and certain experience working with foreign brands also wanted to cooperate with Kohler. Rita Võ was just a small name in the market at that time.
"They asked me if I had a showroom, and I said no. They asked if I had a lot of money, and I honestly said I only had a little. During college, I studied Russian, and I only studied English by myself, so my proficiency was limited to basic understanding. I presented myself candidly to them, emphasizing my knowledge and providing them with a market research report on Vietnam that I had written myself," Mr. Trien recounted.
For Mr. Trien, the biggest haunting memory is indeed the dormitory toilet from his student days. During his tenure managing state-owned enterprises after graduation, on a business trip abroad, he personally paid to stay at a 5-star hotel for the experience. It was during this time that he discovered the premium bathroom fixture brand Kohler.
"At that time, I found Kohler products to be exceptionally beautiful and high-quality, so I decided to send a fax to propose the cooperation with them. During the presentation to the partners, I talked about their brand development plan in Vietnam. In the end, Rita Võ was chosen by Kohler to be the exclusive distributor in Vietnam," reminisced Mr. Trien.
Collaborating with Kohler became a significant milestone in Mr. Trien's entrepreneurial journey. After 24 years since its establishment, Rita Võ's system has expanded to over 30 centers with 8 different business sectors.
"Vietnam's market is so promising that many foreign businesses want to jump in. Every Vietnamese wants to set aside land for their children and build their dream home," Mr. Trien assesses the potential of the construction materials and furniture market in Vietnam.
The Chairman of Rita Võ confidently believes that they have built a well-established system and workforce over the past 20 years, along with the exclusive distribution of many global major brands. This is Rita Võ's competitive advantage that foreign businesses find difficult to replicate, even when penetrating the Vietnamese market.
One thing that Mr. Trien is proud of is that despite Kohler having thousands of distribution partners worldwide, many of them still learn from Rita Võ. Mr. Trien stated that he always develops the business with two guiding principles: "Integrity" and "Quality", rather than imitating anyone else's model.
According to him, the secret to Rita Võ's particular success is persuading manufacturing partners to produce products that are suitable for Vietnamese consumers. "Being a distributor is like setting up a dining table, to succeed, you need to have dishes that are suitable for Vietnamese people," Mr. Trien emphasized.
New ambitions
As the highest leader of a conglomerate with over 1,500 employees, Mr. Trien mentioned that he only visits the company twice a month. "The staff I have trained now are even better than me. I have absolute trust in my management team and delegate decision-making to them. As a result, I have time to think of new things, strategize for the company, and seek out more talented individuals," The Chairman stated.
Mr. Trien enthusiastically shared his plans to enter the real estate sector this year with pristine land reservation already prepared in prime locations in the center of Ho Chi Minh City. "Rita Võ will redefine the concept of luxury apartments. A true luxury apartment means that every brick, every material must be of high quality," Mr. Trien revealed. Meanwhile, Rita Võ is also preparing to commence a 5-star hotel project in Phu Quoc.
Amidst the challenges facing the real estate market, Mr. Trien is confident that his projects will still succeed because Rita Võ consistently adheres to the principles of "Integrity" and "Quality" in everything they do. With nearly 20 years of experience in the furniture and construction materials business, ranging from mid-range to high-end, Mr. Trien mentioned that the company has millions of high-income customers who are loyal to the brand. This is an advantage that many businesses dream of.
"I have harbored the dream of venturing into real estate business for a long time, not something that just occurred overnight. Twenty years ago, I told the company's CEO that when Rita Võ establishes a robust system for high-end construction materials and furniture, we will delve into real estate," Mr. Trien revealed.
Acknowledging his passion for real estate, the founder of Rita Võ emphasized that this sector is merely a supplementary business to the core activities of high-end construction materials and furniture. He affirmed his unwavering focus on the primary field, ensuring that other business segments serve as supportive roles and do not detract or dilute resources when expanding horizontally.
Not only in distribution, Rita Võ is also exploring opportunities to expand its manufacturing business into other sectors. Mr. Trien revealed that the company recently acquired a factory producing aluminum and plastic doors under the brand Life Window, renaming to Rita Võ Life Window, with ambitions to expand the company beyond the borders of Vietnam. "We will evolve from retail to manufacturing," Mr. Trien affirmed.
