COMPETING WITH GIANTS: Book Review By Polly Guerin

The dynamic Phuong Uyen Tran, a spokeswoman who not only represents her family's business, Tan Hiep Phat (THP) as its world ambassador, she represents the new Vietnamese woman making her mark with an innate focus on modern Vietnam. 
       Phuong recently arrived in New York City and invited friends, family and press to an extravagant book launch party for COMPETING WITH GIANTS at her publisher, Forbes Books Center on lower Fifth Avenue. I was there, and to my delight her mother and father (the founders of THP) happened to sit on a sofa at the presentation right next to me, and through an interpreter I had the most delightful opportunity to learn more about the company.
      Phuong's debut monograph, COMPETING WITH GIANTS, is a riveting story of how her family launched a business against a devastating backdrop of war, crippling trade sanctions and record hyperinflation. "It is never easy to compete with giants," says Phuong, "let alone face them down. For families that lived through the early post American years in Vietnam, it was one crisis after another.  Yet our family not only survived and thrived, it built one of the largest businesses in Southeast Asia from scratch."
     Proficient in English and never at a loss for words, Phuong recalls how her father, Tran Qui
Thanh, started out with nothing but two rice bowls and four chopsticks. Eventually the company grew so large with market share that Coca Cola wanted to buy it for more than $2 billion. 
 

Guest and right Phuong Uyen Tran

  FATHER KNOWS BEST Her father, Tran Qui Thanh, founder, chairman and CEO of the beverage company, Tan Hiep Phat (THP) turned down the offer from Coca Cola and with good reason. 
      A visionary businessman Thanh's THP company was ahead of its time and with close ties to local culture it was on the wavelength of people's preference for healthy drinks. The company now supplies beverages, including herbal and green teas, sports and energy drinks, soya milk and purified waters across Vietnam plus 16 countries, including China and Australia.
     Today, THP is Vietnam's largest family-owned manufacturer in the "fast moving consumer goods category, employing more than 5,000 staff members nationwide."  Phuong's family legacy is a story that proves that David can indeed compete with (and even outperform) Goliath.
WHAT PHUONG LEARNED FROM HER FATHER ALWAYS APPLIES IN ANY FAMILY BUSINESS is revealed in detail in the book. Herewith is an abbreviated  summary of three of the five values:
CreateAuthentic Products  Authentic local products are heard to beat because they can beat the big guys in product, price, promotion and place.
Govern Growth The best companies prepare for the inevitable ups and downs of business by by growing slowly and methodically.
Motivate Employees As companies get bigger, they must focus on how employees work with each other, as well as senior management and customers. 
      COMPETING WITH GIANTS is a consuming book of interest narrated by the author who watched her parents overcome numerous obstacles to achieve success.  The book shows that small companies , which take advantage of their local knowledge and marry it to the best of international standards, can hold their own and even outflank giant global corporations. Phuong says, "Whether you start with rice bowls or owning the entire rice factory, scaling a business requires discipline and good old fashioned family values."    

Tran Qui Thanh and author/daughter Phuong Uyen Tran 

PHUONG UYEN TRAN CEO of the THP Group is a powerful woman representing modern Vietnam with an entreprenural spirit filled with the fire of multi-faceted optimism . She is responsible for the company's marketing, public relations, and CSR programs nationally and across Vietnam's 63 provinces. She also leads THP's international marketing programs across 16 countries where HTP's products are distributed including Canada and China.  (http://www.thp.com.vn/en/.
       Her book,COMPETING WITH GIANTS was realized wtih Jackie Horne and John Kador. Forward by Brian Tracy. www.ForbesBooks.com.
    Ta Ta Darlings!!! As reviewer John Murphy, Founder of Interbrand said, "A seriously valuable contribution. If you aspire to build a major international brand on foundations rooted in an emerging economy, this is the book for you."  Fan mail welcome at pollytalknyc@gmail.com.
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