Ho Chi Minh City, August 2002 — Vietnam is the world's second biggest coffee exporter, and has a strong coffee drinking culture. Capitalizing on the emerging affluent middle class and the attraction of Vietnam’s aromatic coffee, 31-year old entrepreneur Dang Le Nguyen Vu founded Trung Nguyen in 1996. The company produces and sells coffee, and operates retail coffee shops. In 1998, the company started franchising the business to sell top quality coffee in bright and trendy premises. Trung Nguyen Coffee has expanded internationally and now has 420 outlets throughout the country and five overseas franchise outlets in Japan, Singapore, and Thailand.
Trung Nguyen is the first local company in Vietnam to enter the franchising business with the aim of creating a national coffee brand. As franchising is a fairly new business concept in Vietnam, MPDF provided the company with technical assistance to strengthen and further develop its franchising operations and brand name by improving operational procedures like establishing a proper management and support system for the franchising network.
MPDF retained the services of David McCullock, an international expert from Franchise Coach, to advise Trung Nguyen in the business and provide training to the company’s staff and franchisees. This aims to prepare for the second franchising generation of the company. MPDF’s assistance has contributed to stabilizing the existing 2,000 jobs in the franchising network of the company, securing and increasing annual foreign currency income from the overseas franchisees, and, all above, helping to develop franchising in Vietnam.
