All products bearing luxury brands come to Vietnam through two big distributors – DAFC and Tam Son.
In Vietnam, Jonathan Hanh Nguyen is a well known businessman, known as the ‘branded goods King’, because he owns IPP Group, the distributors of many famous brands in the world.
The distribution activities of IPP Group are carried out through its two subsidiaries –DAFC and ACFC. The former holds the right to distribute the most luxurious brands in the world.
Established in 2005, DAFC was the official partner and distributor of Salvatore Ferragamo and Bally. The company then ran two shops with 20 workers in HCMC.
DAFC became the distributor of Burberry in 2007 and a series of other brands such as Rolex, Bvlgari, Cartier and Tudor four years later. Dolce & Gabbana was the first shop located in Rex Arcade shopping center. DAFC holds the right to distribute more than 40 brands.
Targeting the upper class, the company does not focus on expanding networks, but on improving the low number of shops in Hanoi and HCMC.
According to VIRAC, a consultancy firm, DAFC’s revenue in 2017 reached VND970 billion. Prior to that, in 2015 and 2016, the company earned VND800 billion and VND862 billion, respectively, with the average growth rate of 10 percent per annum.
In late March 2018, the company increased its capital by twofold from VND100 billion to VND200 billion. DAFC’s two big shareholders – IPP Group and Le Hong Thuy Tien, CEO of IPP Group – hold 90 percent and 10 percent shares, respectively.
The only rival of IPP Group in the luxury product distribution market is OpenAsia Group, which is associated with Doan Viet Dai Tu, also a well known businessman.
OpenAsia Group distributes luxury branded goods via Tam Son International.
Established in 2005, Tam Son is the distributor of the most luxurious fashion brands in Europe, from Hermes, Bottega Veneta, Saint Laurent to Hugo Boss and Kenzo.
The company is also the partner of Swiss watch manufacturers such as Vacheron Constantin, Piaget and Chopard. In 2017, the company joined a new business field when setting up Tam Son Yachting, which has become the partner of Bénéteau Group.
The number of brands distributed by Tam Son is lower than DAFC, but Tam Son’s business results are not inferior to DAFC.
In 2017, Tam Son reported revenue of VND1.337 trillion. The figures were VND948 billion and VND1.117 trillion in 2015 and 2016, which mean the growth rate of 18 percent per annum.
The Wealth-X report about super-rich people in the world showed that Vietnam is among 10 economies with the highest growth rate of super-rich people in 2012-2017.
According to a report on Vietnamnet
