Xin Chao, Vietnam!

Feb. 7 (Wednesday) HOME SWEET HOME

I woke up at 6 am, heard the 7am mass as thanksgiving for my 19 days stay. At around 9:30, I delivered the stocks to SATO's office and got some documents. At 10:30, I was on my way to the airport. I checked-in at exactly 12:00pm for my 1:30 flight to Singapore. As I see people moving around, I can only reminisce my experiences in this "unfamiliar territory" -- good or bad, they are worthwhile experiences.

And to my host country...."XIN CHAO!!!",,,''til we meet again!

Deal Or No Deal?! :)

Feb. 6 THE MOMENT

I was already on line as early as 8am. I have a 2pm meeting with Ms. My Thanh. I was talking to mamu for some details of the MOA before I discuss it with Ms. Thanh. The objective of my meeting with her is to "close the deal" as distributor or if not, "start things with her, on the positive note". Deal or No Deal? And this is the moment! Seems easy huh? That's was my feeling too after our first meeting 2 weeks ago,but in a sudden twist, we're back to square-one. A disappointing feat?

But my efforts were not put into waste, though. Everything is still positive. I am positive, management is positive. SATO is positive. As we always say, "konting hilot na lang..." My personal thought and feeling about SATO is very positive. She's so easy to deal with and knows her business, like anybody else. I, myself do not want all these things to be "a thing in the past" but rather "something to look forward to". It was not a defeat after all, as my boss puts it... "uwi ka na...I'd rather sit down with you and the team and let's discuss our next move. Anyway, the ball is in our hands na naman, let's not rush things muna....good job, pahinga ka na!" Thank you.

After taking dinner at around 7pm, I hurried back to my room and started to pack my things. This is my last night here in Vietnam. Despite the excitement of going home, I can still feel the "frustration", that I was not able to seal the contract with SATO. But more than the frustration, I'm happy that I became part of the "adventures"..and fond memories here in Vietnam. At around 9pm, I was all set...and a sound sleep.

Vira Channel Marketing

Feb. 5 (Monday) VIRA....cious!!!

With two (2) more days to go and "balik-Pinas" na ko, I am finishing a few more assignments here which I hope will have positive results. At 10 am today, I had a meeting with another distributor in VIRA CHANNEL MARKETING. This is part of my itinerary here in Vietnam, to look for another distributor (fall-back ba). VCM is Vietnam's one of the most credible Marketing Services and Channel Marketing provider. It has a wide array of clients -- from local products (Vinamilk, Vedan, Mobifone) to multinational companies (Nestle, Pepsi, Coca Cola, Nokia,Castrol, Unilever, etc.)

The meeting was attended by Messrs. Le Minh Hieu (Operations Manager), Nguyen Duc Huan (Business Dev't Manager) and Ms. La Kim Thanh (Project Manager) and myself. VCM started the meeting with a powerpoint presentation of their companies by Mr. Nguyen. It was brief but complete, I would say. My preentation was also brief but I made sure that they captured each product's identity and "marketability".

In the evening, I was treated to a sumptuous dinner and drinks by my hosts in one of HCM's busiest "restaurant-inuman" daw (pero parang Grand Inihaw sa Welcome ang dating...hehehe). True enough, it was full (as in WAIT TO BE SEATED when we arrived there at 7: 30p.m, and it was a Monday...whew! Luckily we were able to get a seat in just about 5mins. A little chit-chat with them...again, with matching sign-language, I was able to pull that one through...hehehe. The rest is history.

Unusual Sunday..

Today, Feb. 4 is an "unusual" Sunday for me. I my three Sundays here, it's only now that I got the chance to move around, and well...have my pictures taken with the landmarks. hehehehe...

Pool bar

A favorite hang-out of many tourists here in Pham Ngu Lao. It serves European dishes. You must see it at night, esp. on weekends....it's like the United Nations at fun. Hehehehe


Notre Dame Cathedral

At last I have a picture at this famous lanmark here in Ho Chi Minh. This is also my first time to hear mass here...many foreigners go here to hear mass, although it's in Vietnamese.

Ho Chi Minh (with the City Hall behind)

I love to visit this place, it's so cool.

Italy - Who said I'm in Vietnam?

This shop is just beside the Opera House...there are a lot of designers' shops in this area, and besides you will find here most of the Five-star Hotels in Saigon.

The Opera House

La lang...I just took a rest. hEHEHEHE

The Behn Thanh Market

If you want to buy "pasalubong" or other stuffs, you'll find thenm all here....It's a one-stop-shop night market, right at the center of the city.

SATO Inc

Jan. 31, 2007

Today, I had a meeting with Ms Huynh Thanh, our potential distributor for Vietnam. The objectives of our meeting were: to established our pricing, and to "brainstorm" on our possible business here in Vietnam. The meeting was somewhat an overshoot of what we had discussed during our initial meeting, a week ago --expectations, market potential, supports, etc. The meeting which lasted for about 1 1/2 hours was not a surprise to me, since I was prepared to her answer her queries about our products...and I did! But it was a one damn productive one.

My Elusive Dream in HCMC

My continuous search for that "elusive" amier here in Vietnam has brought me to various places ---by cab, xo em (motorbike), or by just walking. Each day here in Ho Chi Minh, I travel on the average of 12kms by vehicle, and about 4kms by foot...do you think that's far? You'll never get lost here in Ho Chi Minh City as long as you know where you're going and tell the xo em guys to bring you there. And in my many "travels" so far here in Ho Chi Minh City, I've come to see the historic Reunification Palace, Saigon's Central Post Office, The Cathedral...and yes The City Hall, just right at the heart of the city. Beautiful. That's why many tourists visit these places. But be careful in negotiating the rate with the xe om, it may cost you your day's meal....hehehe.

Photos in Saigon

With Ms. Huynh My Thanh, Chairman of SATO CO., LTD.

Matthew Fabian after 7 days and COOP Mart

Today, Jan 27,2007 is my first week here in Vietnam. In that 7 days,
I have somehow "understand" how things are done here. And in just 7
days I have gone places, I never imagined I can go...in an unfamiliar
territory. But that how it goes and how it should be. Eleven days to
go...and more adventures....ah yes, and misadventures, perhaps?

One of the busiest bars here in downtown Ho Chi Minh. Many foreigners
frequent this place, day in and day out...but expensive, too, I guess.

One of the many places I've come across to...a frequent place to
conduct price surveys and product checks. It has 4 branches in Ho Chi Minh.

"Our Day Will Come"- This time my version and not by Spiral Staircase!:)

Jan. 24-- My Savior has arrived!

Hoping to have a positive results on my "potential distributor", I went to the address ---just about 20mins walk from my place....good exercise, huh? hehehehe. To my dismay, the address is a boutique/shop of DNKY clothes and accessories. 2 down? Nah! Showing the papaya soap to the saleslady (never mind the sign language), she dialled a number on her cellphone and gave it to me. After a brief introduction of my purpose, she asked me to come back at 1:00pm. 1:00pm? It's only 10:45am! Patience.... I went back to my room and formulated my next strategy.

When I arrived at 12:30pm, Behold and Alas! A lady welcomed me and introduced herself...she is Ms. Huynh My Thanh, Chairman of Sato Co., Ltd. What happened after our meeting? Well, it's for me to find out....maybe history? Let's see.

Distributor, Distributor, Where Are You? :)

Jan. 23 -- Distributor, Distributor....where are you?

First order of the day is to locate the address of the distributor I found on the internet. I found the place, but unluckily the office had closed down. ONE DOWN! More frustrations? I released my frustration at Diamond Department Store. It's lke Rustan's in Manila. All the designers' clothes and stuff are found here. Prices here range from 700,000-30,000,000VDN....Whew! Cool, huh?

Late afternoon on my way back to my room, I passed-by Citimart Supermart at Nguyen Trai St. and it is here where I got the prices we needed. And it is here where I found my "prescious discovery" here in Ho Chi Minh --- Hiyas Papaya Soap!