Family-run companies struggle to continue business line
The first generation of entrepreneurs who appeared after doi moi (renovation) in 1986 is now getting older and beginning to worry about the transfer of business to the next generation.
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Do Long, general director of Bita’s, a well-known shoe brand, said that after finishing university education in the US, his daughter returned to Vietnam and worked for another company instead of Long’s Bita’s.
She went to the office on motorbike every day instead of car. Only after two years did she return to work for her father.
Long has three children who all studied in the US and now work for Bita’s. Each of them is in charge of a separate field in the company. Daughters-in-law and sons-in-law also work for Bita’s and are assigned different responsibilities.
“The principle has been applied for the last 10 years, and it works well,” he said.
Long’s Bita’s company is 26 years old, while Biti’s, from which Long split, is 35 years old. Both are well-known family-run businesses. His products are available in nearly all provinces in Vietnam and one-third of provinces in China.
He said all the family members must have meals together at least once a day though they are very busy.
“We attach much importance to the family’s culture,” he said.
Hoang Hai Au, president and CEO of Hoang Gia Media Group, said the most difficult thing that all family-run businesses seek is sustainable development.
“It is difficult for family-run businesses to attract talented people from outside,” he commented.
CIEM’s (the Central Institute of Economic Management) deputy head Phan Duc Hieu commented that bad corporate governance and interior conflicts are the problems of many family-run businesses.
Dinh Thi Quynh Van, CEO of PricewaterhouseCoopers Vietnam, an auditing firm, noted that family-run businesses in Vietnam often do not distinguish clearly between family and business affairs.
Mai Thanh, CEO of Mai Thanh Company, said both she and her husband are running a family business.
Pham Dinh Doan, president of Phu Thai Group, a retail chain, believing that husband and wife should not work together, advised Thanh to employ another person to undertake her work or her husband’s work in the company.
Long said there is a gap between the first and the second generations. While the first generation focuses on boosting production, the second generation deserves credit for making products more popular in the market.
