4.0 Revolution

Things start with difficulties. Giovanni must follow that rule?

 That’s right. At that time, everything is just a start when I worked in fashion business 3-4 years and gained some experiences, especially in Thailand market. But thinking about building my own high-end brand was almost impossible. Luckily, I met a young lawyer whose English was excellent and had passion for fashion, especially international fashion. I told the young lawyer: “I want to build up my own fashion brand, and could you please help me find a fashion brand name connecting to Italia to satisfy my dream of building an Italian style fashion brand owned by the Vietnamese”. With his kind heart and inspiration, just over one night, he gave me an A4 paper with hundreds of brand names. I like Italia, love Italian football, respect Italian culture, and after skimming through, I chose “GIOVANNI”. I spoke it out and loved it.
When I announced to my family, friends, brothers that I would build up my own high-end fashion brand competing with foreign ones, all opposed. They thought I was crazy and day dreamed. Even I myself thought it would face many difficulties, like breaking a mountain.
However, when the first Giovanni shirts arrived Vietnam, I was moved to tears. 

Giovanni at the edge of bankruptcy

After 12 years building the brand, apart from difficulties, have you ever failed?

 Giovanni was once or twice at the edge of bankcruptcy. End of 2000, with global economic crisis, trade centers in Ho Chi Minh City was deserted, Parkson system was almost bankrupted and that was the time I inaugurated the most shops in Ho Chi Minh city including Parkson, Vincom, Zen Plaza, etc. with nearly 30. However, I had to close almost all after that.

I lost tens of billion dong in Ho Chi Minh City. It was a huge amount while bank loans at that time were extremely difficult.

Running loss in Ho Chi Minh City, my company almost went bankrupted. Banks rejected loans and I had to rely on non-bank support. I was riding on a horse, if I jumped down, it would be a suicidal way. I had no choice but borrowed from family and close friends to offset the company financial imbalance. However, in comparison with the other companies, I was luckier as I had products and fund to maintain the company. And more than that, customers still love Giovanni. Giovanni still reached annual 30-40% sales growth rate. I gained good revenues, sold out products. I had money to pay interests, salary and develop the system.

Nearly 10 years around the world to search for fashion materials 

Did Giovanni have luckier pathway afterwards?

 After that I had a difficult time to search for materials and accessories for the production. I spent 8 years to search for the sources of materials that Giovanni has today.

8 years to find suitable suppliers for cloths, leather, processing, etc. I had to go to luxury brands to see which source of cloths and leather they used. I connected with Italian brokerage companies to have information about the suppliers which Louis Vuitton and Gucci used, and for Prada, etc. 

Every year, I participated in Paris fashion show (in France), Shanghai (in China), etc. but I could not find a suitable suppliers for materials. Then as a fate, when I was tired and took a stop right at the stall of a material supplier for Hugo Boss. And in Paris where I searched for material providers for Prada, I entered exactly a shop which belonged to a material supplier for Prada. Before that, it took me 4 years to search for that supplier. It was difficult because famous brands never mentioned about the sources of their materials. But with Giovanni, we list all the source of materials on the additional tag of each product.

Why Giovanni wants to public while they conceal?

 Because we want to prove the origin of the product, the way I want my products transparent and customers in Vietnam and all over the world can trust us more.

Build the largest leather processing factory in South East Asia

Giovanni has built the factory in Vietnam. Are you concerned that the relocation to Vietnam can hurt the brand’s image?

 I had to outsource the production overseas for years, and now Giovanni has raw material suppliers as a part of the global supply chain in the high end fashion industry. I see Vietnam as a center for garment production. So why don’t we relocate the production to Vietnam?

I had a determination to develop the first high end fashion factory in Vietnam. Such as factory was born 3 years ago. We now can produce shirts, polos, etc. which are of better quality than from Thailand before. In terms of leather garment, although Giovani’s is not too large with about 300 well-trained workers, but it might be the best in South East Asia, outperforms the factory in Thailand that I always liked. 

We plan to IPO our company in 2021. In 2019, we intend to cooperate with an Italian partner to build a leading high-end leather garment factory in Asia. We want to prove that Vietnam can produce high quality garments.

Intelligent consumers will not care where the garments are made in. In Japan or EU, they are where the materials are from, production technology and process. For example, they would care the leather is from New Zealand, Australia or America and is it tanned with clean or dirty technology? Or they care where the cotton is from since Egypt, American or Chinese cottons are different. Giovanni is using the Made-in-Italy mako cotton (filo di scozia) for the Polo collection. I can confirm that the core value of Giovanni is products – products are made closest to Italian quality. We use Italian style materials, technology and process. In South East Asia, only Giovanni satisfies all criteria of a high-end garment brand.

Control the “game”

How did you prove those in reality?

 Building the factory is my strong fighting with ‘the others’. No one wants to build any factory because they are all worried! In the past, Giovanni was made overseas, but now who would like to buy ‘Made in Vietnam’ products? But I prove the opposite. I have been making the best quality products and customers have been buying our products, not the origin. Everyone thinks that can ‘destroy’ our brand. But they do not understand that I have been running around overseas for years, overseas order implies huge risk since we cannot control 100% the quality.

We now can master the ‘game’, control the raw material suppliers, and the rest is the production part, which is on the hand of the Vietnamese skilled labour. If they are well trained and well paid in good and professional working environment, they are as good as Italians. Therefore, there is no reason why we should not relocate our production to control 100% the quality.

And now when things are on the right track and we are successful, my relocation plan and determination is proved!

Conquer Vietnamese consumers 

Are you satisfied with the current Giovanni after 12 years searching and building the brand?

 After 12 hard-working years, Giovanni is now representative of the best quintessence of the high-end garment industry. I fully agree with the saying of PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc: This is not the right stage to persuade the Vietnamese to buy local products, the market economy will decide. It means Vietnamese brands and enterprises need to strive to conquer Vietnamese clients, fight for the market share – it is the rule – and how Giovanni is going forward.

Giovanni just got 12 year experience, but when we take advantage the global value chain, it is 100 year experience. If it is the matter of just one country, it might take ages to do it!

What is the goal of Giovanni in the next 5 years?

 We need to present ourselves in Singapore, Hong Kong, Shenzhen as the targets. I think Shenzhen is the most exciting in Asia out of the emerging cities, and the shopping center of China.

Tokyo is our admiring city where Giovanni also targets since our products really fit the Japanese. It we can present ourselves in Japan, it is a great success, since this market is even bigger than the rest of South East Asia.