Meet Magento Vietnam 2015: Responsible Contribution to the Community

For many years we witness the new steps of Magento on the path of its own development and expansion. The platform provides the community with strong incentives, while the community perfects the platform and gladly uses its advantages.

This symbiosis allows Magento to constantly rich new countries and proselytize multiple users, including Vietnam now. In less than one month the first Vietnamese Meet Magento conference will take place in Hanoi.

And, in anticipation of Meet Magento Vietnam 2015 we asked ourselves: “What do we know about this country?” Vietnam is one of a few single-party socialist states, one of the most opened and growing Asian economies, and an exotic tourist destination.



These common facts mostly form our picture of Vietnam, but seem to be too poor to describe it properly. So, we asked the organizers of the conference (SmartOSC) and particularly Nguyen Hieu, SmartOSC co-founder and chairman, to share main news about the event and their expertise of modern Vietnam and its ecommerce.

In addition to the first-hand information the organizers provide us with a great chance to visit Meet Magento Vietnam 2015 and save. Below we feature a discount code, which guarantees a 20% discount applicable to 10 foreign ticket requests. So, keep reading.

 

Interview

 

SmartOSC

SmartOSC is a leading company in ecommerce solutions helping businesses boost their online profit. They offer simple yet effective solutions, from designing e-store to creating online strategies and operation management. With a variety of large customers from North America and Europe, SmartOSC has proved its expertise in guiding companies to take advantage of the revenue opportunities in the online market. SmartOSC is also the home of 300+ talented people.

SmartOSC’s key services include: consulting, UI Design, web development & custom module development, performance tuning, on-going maintenance & support, AWS management.

NGUYEN HIEU
SmartOSC, CO-FOUNDER AND CHAIRMAN

Graduated from the University of Sydney Hieu started his career just there as an assistant lecturer and then lectured at Hanoi University.

Hieu is the co-founder and chairman of SmartOSC since 2006. He has vast experience in corporate finances and investments and currently is also the founder of Non San Ngon, a famous online retailer of agricultural products in Vietnam.

aW: Vietnam is the one of booming Asian countries. What are the most successful sectors of ecommerce in Vietnam?

Hieu: They are fashion, home appliances and books. The most popular model in Vietnam is a marketplace with some big brands like Vatgia, VinEcom and Chodientu.

aW: Do Vietnamese retailers mostly sell domestically or they have substantial international sales?

Hieu: They mostly sell domestically. There is a small number of retailers who have their stores on international channels like eBay, Alibaba etc. We believe the main reasons are the differences in the language and commercial rules.

About 90% of Vietnamese customers like COD rather than other payment methods

aW: Are there any specific features in the Vietnamese online business, which differentiate it from other countries?

Hieu: There are three "special" features of the Vietnamese e-market. Firstly, about 90% of customers like COD rather than other payment methods. Online payment via bank account is not used popularly. Secondly, Vietnam ecommerce is significantly driven by the O2O (Online to Offline) model. Customers want to go shopping online, but still need to come to physical stores for "real feelings". On the other hand, after seeing goods or service online, many people complete the order by making a call for home deliver and, as I said, paying buy cash. Finally, third-party suppliers are not fully developed in Vietnam. Most of merchants have to work on their own delivery services and platforms.

Above all, Vietnam ecommerce is among the world's fastest growing that is attracting more and more investment from in and out of the country. Google Vietnam starts seeing good returns for their investment in the country. They expect to earn $30 million this year from the Vietnamese market.

aW: Is Magento really popular in Vietnam?

Hieu: In fact, Magento is not so popular in Vietnam from the retailers' point of view. However, Vietnam is a good hub for Magento service with the large and active Magento community. Thanks to the rapid development of ecommerce in the recent years in Vietnam, we are experiencing significant changes, where Magento is getting more popular among serious ecommerce players.

We aim at building a stronger ecommerce and Magento community not only in Vietnam but also in the whole Asia

aW: What is the main goal of the conference?

Hieu: We aim at building a stronger ecommerce and Magento community not only in Vietnam but also in the whole Asia. We hope that Meet Magento Vietnam will be the place, where ecommerce merchants, agencies and service providers, including Magento partners, can be gathered to share their experience, to spread new ideas and to have more valuable business opportunities. It is also a significant forum of idea-sharing and knowledge-giving for all Magento enthusiasts around the world.

aW: What made you to organize a Meet Magento event in Vietnam just now?

Hieu: SmartOSC is Silver Solution Partner of Magento, particularly one of the biggest partners which have more than 300 passionate workers on the platform. We do believe in our responsibility for creating a community of ecommerce and Magento in Vietnam as well as in Asia. Thus, we were glad, when Thomas Goletz contacted and asked us for organizing Meet Magento in Vietnam.

aW: Do you suppose MM Vietnam 2015 to be a purely domestic conference or you hope to draw some participants from neighboring Thailand or Malaysia, for example?

Hieu: As mentioned above, Meet Magento Vietnam will not only be a national event but also an international one. As the first Meet Magento in Asia, it is expected to welcome 500 to 700 participants all over the world, mostly from Eastern Asia and the Southeast of Asia.

aW: What are the topics to be discussed during the conference?

Hieu: The presentation topics are divided into two tracks, namely Business and Technical. Inside the tracks, the Technical part will focus on Magento technology, especially Mageneto 2, which will be officially released at the end of this year. On the other hand, ecommerce case-studies and market trends will be presented in the Business room by Chris Wells (Nexcess), Guido Jansen (Duchento), Dzung Dang (Uber), Christopher Beselin (Fram^), Thai Son (SmartOSC), and others.

Вo not forget to visit SmartOSC office, because we love to have guests

aW: That’s great, and sounds really promising, but we also know Vietnam as a popular tourist destination. What are the most famous sights you would recommend for those, who visit Hanoi for the first time?

Hieu: Fortunately, the venue of Meet Magento Vietnam is located near West Lake, one of the most beautiful and largest lakes in Hanoi. Besides, you can visit a few other famous attractions such as Long BiênBridge, Sword Lake, One-pillar Pagoda, Literature Temple, Imperial Citadel of Thăng Long, Four Sacred Temples of ancient Hanoi or the Old Quarter area. And do not forget visiting SmartOSC office, because we love to have guests. You should spend a few more days in Hanoi after the event discovering the inner beauty of the city’s “hidden charm”.

When you visit Hanoi Old Quarter Area, you can try some street foods and enjoy some traditional and modern performances. Feel free to ask us about traveling tips when visiting Hanoi.

aW: What would you like to add at the end of our talk?

Hieu: Vietnam is waiting for you. Come to Vietnam and this Meet Magento Event is a great chance to meet the community here as well as discovering new opportunities.

Conclusion

We thank Nguyen Hieu for his pithy answers that really brought us a lot of information about Vietnam and its ecommerce peculiarities. We wish the conference to be a great success and traditionally crowded.

And now comes the discount we announced several minutes before. Hurry up as the offer is limited.

Discount

Code: SMARTOSCVN;

Value: 20% discount on both Conference and Full-event Tickets;

Conditions:

• Only available for 10 tickets purchased before August 10;

 

• Payments have to be made outside of Vietnam.

Ticket link: http://vn.meet-magento.com/meet-magento-2015/tickets/.

If you have something to add to this post, please share your ideas in comments below.