Workers at Saigon Co.op put together meals to be delivered to households during HCM City's social restriction period during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo: VNA)The chamber stressed the importance of a strong brand thatinspires confidence and stability with business partners while stronglyassociated with social responsibility and the community.
According to the VCCI, nine out of ten businesses in the countrywere forced to cut back on hours or lay off a part of their workforce duringthe COVID-19 pandemic. However, a vast majority of them took measures tomaintain production and minimise workers' income loss including strongerimplementation of digitalisation and telecommunication technologies, as well asthe creation of new products and services, which has helped speed up recoverypost-pandemic.
Trinh Van Khanh, CEO of Van Khanh Investment and ConstructionGroup, said his company was able to maintain 100% of its workforce during thepandemic to help with the construction of some 14 field hospitals for COVID-19patients in HCM City.
Khanh said his company's strategies to support workers includingprofit-sharing schemes, high-quality company meals, housing and living expensesubsidies have played a key part in keeping workers from leaving, before,during and after the pandemic.
He believes it has been a win-win solution for both employersand workers as it helps boost productivity and loyalty, and promotes thecompany's brand and trust among business partners and customers.
Similarly, Luong Van Vinh, CEO of My Hao Cosmetics JSC., one ofthe most well-known brands of home products in Vietnam, said his company wentto great lengths to support workers while the city was under social restrictionperiods.
"For us, profit was not as important as our workers duringthe pandemic," Vinh said.
"Our most important objective was to protect theirlivelihood, to protect our brand and to maintain productioncapacity."
During the pandemic, they were quick to make the adjustment fromtraditional products such as office attire to more in-demand products includingprotective equipment, winter attire and in-house items for the domestic andinternational markets.
Saigon Co.op, a major retailer in the Mekong Delta, managed tomaintain growth and sales during the pandemic by implementing digitalisationand AI (artificial intelligence) technologies, streamlining logistics andpromoting digital commerce.
The retailer eyed a 4.5 per cent sale growth and had plans to openthree to five supermarkets and malls and 80-100 retail stores in theyear 2022, according to CEO Nguyen Anh Duc.
It takes years for businesses to build strong brands, whichrequires not only capable business management but also trust among the public,according to the HCM City Union of Business Associations.
The union considered building strong domestic brands as a keyobjective in the city's sustainable economic development and urged the city'sauthority to lend more support to help businesses in brand-buildingactivities.
Pham Chi Tam, Vice Chairman of the HCM City Federation of Labour,encouraged businesses to continue to improve management capacity, competitiveadvantage, product quality, business culture and most importantly worker livingconditions.
He added businesses must consider the workforce as among the mostvaluable resources at their disposal and workers' legitimate demands forhousing, child care and transportation must be addressed.
He said many businesses in recent years have spent a significantamount of money to build their own housing complexes, improve health care andsocial security to retain their workforce and help boost brandpopularity.
There has been a strong correlation between a socially popularbrand and a business' profit and growth as a socially popular brand helpamplify a company's reputation and product image among the public, according tomarket experts.
"A strong brand sends a message that business management iscapable, aware of social responsibility, environmentally conscious, and thatthe company has sustainable growth and fair treatment of workers," said VoVan Hoan, Vice Chairman of the HCM City People's Committee./.
VNA
