Wilderness technology sleeping bag

Although it might sound exciting to work with designer goods, the craftsmen who restore and repair luxury items face a difficult balance.

Designer bags, shoes, and backpacks are customers’ means of showing their social status in Vietnam.

However, how can these assets which might cost hundreds of millions, even billions of Vietnamese dong be repaired as they get older?

“I have a deep passion for handbags, even mangled ones,” said Pham Ngoc Hieu, founder of Auth Spa in Ho Chi Minh City’s Phu Nhuan District, about the motivation behind his luxurious bag ‘spa.’

The handbag savior

Hieu started trading high-end bags ten years ago after quitting his previous desk job.

He realized that no matter how well-made they were, sooner or later, handbags would be damaged.

Meanwhile, it was hard to find a person able to repair them.

Handbag touching up, at the time, was still a strange service in Vietnam.

Hieu went abroad to learn techniques of handbag restoration before opening his own spa, becoming the pioneer in the country.

He and his partners offer cleaning and repair services on premium handbags, shoes, and accessories made by world-renowned luxury goods manufacturers including Hermes, Gucci, Chanel, Dior, Louis Vuitton or Burberry, which are stained, scratched or deformed.

Nguyen Thi Thanh Truc, Hieu’s wife, is a professional in restoring products’ original colors and changing leather hues.

“Bags which are severely stained or discolored need restoring with electromagnetic shielding paint and setting spray,” said Truc.

“For changing an original color into another, it depends on which shade it is.

“The success rate for basic colors is about 90 percent while for limited ones it’s only 80 percent.”

Their first account was to restore a handbag valued at VND70 million (US$3,000).

“I was scared at first because the bag was too expensive,” she recalled.

“Not clear about its leather’s characteristics, I tinted it wrongly.

“It took me a week to realize that for absorbing leathers, I needed to use a lighter shade of colors.”

Upper-class services

Most valuable products repaired by Auth Spa are from Hermes, ranging from thousands to dozens of thousands of U.S. dollars for each item.

“We have processed dozens of Hermes handbags under VND500 million [$21,600],” said Truc.

“Their owners take good care of them as they are too expensive.

“Most of the orders are to restore straps and decolored parts, which required both meticulousness and skills.

“Otherwise, we would have to pay considerable compensation.”

According to her, fixers learn by doing. Through time, she has gained a lot of experience and created her own techniques of repairing handbags.

“Once we love the products and treat them as our own, we will be confident and give the best shot to take care of them,” Truc shared her philosophy.

In 2015, Hieu and Truc opened their first bricks-and-mortar workshop and got flooded with orders from Ho Chi Minh City and other localities.

Upper-class customers are the targets of ICUS – a luxury goods spa by Tran Huy Hoang, 29, in Ho Chi Minh City.

“A person who pays VND20 million [$867] for an item can definitely afford the repairing fee of VND3-4 million [$130-173]. It makes no sense to restore a bag that costs some VND500,000 [$21] at the same expenses,” Hoang said, adding the cost would be determined based on a bag’s damage levels and customer orders.

A bag valued at VND40 million ($1,700), for example, will be restored to be like-new at VND7 million ($303). The harder it is to be fixed, the higher the cost will pile up.

“I think for valuable, premium goods, the restoring expense of some million dong is not too high,” he added.

“We used to ‘revive’ a heavily damaged Gucci bag valued at VND140 million [$6,000] at several million dong. It might have been resold at VND50 million [$2,160] at least,” he added.

Some 10 percent of his frequent customers are celebrities.

“They are picky and strict when it comes to leather finishes and deadlines,” he told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

“However, as authorized accessories need importing from abroad, late appointment is unavoidable.”

A risky job

There are many invisible risks posed to people working in the industry, according to Hoang, since they have to deal with high-value products on a daily basis.

He recalled the compensation of VND20 million for a VND26 million ($1,126) Burberry bag for accidentally staining it when cleaning.

“The bag was constructed by different materials so staining and decoloring some parts were inevitable. The chance of making mistakes is about two to three of every 3,000 orders,” said Hoang.

Another risk is to deliver wrong items. He said a couple days ago, his staff carelessly put a VND30 million ($1,300) Chanel wallet into a wrong package for delivery.

“Luckily, my customer called saying she received a wallet that was not hers and asked us to take it back,” he said.

The most dangerous situation, according to Hoang, is to lose customers’ goods because it is not only about compensation but also trust issues. He has a budget to handle incidents.

“God blesses us, we barely need to use it,” he said.

To prevent any fault, craftsmen have to be able to shoulder pressure and pay attention to details. The reward is high earnings.

“They are all painstakingly selected and trained to both clean and repair handbags,” said Hoang.

“Staff in charge of tinting and restoring have to be arts and architecture students.

“We have our own team of delivery workers.

“Customers can review final products before deciding to receive or send them back to our workshop for further fixes.”

Although it has just been introduced for six months, ICUS has developed its list of frequent customers.

“I will soon launch laundry services for handbags, shoes, and backpacks. The market still has room to grow,” he shared his vision.

Besides two branches in Thu Duc City’s Thao Dien Ward and Ho Chi Minh City’s District 10, Hoang said he planned to open two other shops in District 3 and Phu Nhuan District.

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Prospects are bright for Vietnam’s labour market this year

The report also reveals that 58 per cent of those employed anticipate looking for new job opportunities, while another 34 per cent are passively open to new roles. Around 10 per cent expect a zero pay increase from their current salary for new job offers.

The insights in this report are derived from a regional survey that covers 12 Asia-Pacific markets. The responses came from over 5,500 businesses and 21,000 employees, of which 3,500-plus are directors or CXOs.

Mark Donnelly, director of Michael Page Vietnam says, “By all accounts, Vietnam has weathered the COVID-19 pandemic better than many of its neighbours in the region. Its tight and swift control of the situation not only kept the number of cases low by comparison, Vietnam’s economy, too, remained in a relatively good shape over 2020. While multinational companies based there were cautious on the recruitment front, domestic companies took the opportunity to ramp up their hiring activities and secure the best available talent.”

“Our Talent Trends 2021 report reflects vital market insights for the next 12 months ahead of us. Acquiring and retaining high potential talent will be crucial for future growth. We saw many businesses looking to prevent employee cuts and redundancies as much as possible during the pandemic. And several industries are already showing signs of a healthy recovery,” he said.

This was evident especially among Vietnam’s burgeoning technology sector. Startups and e-commerce, for example, operated unabated throughout the year, and hiring demands within those sectors were healthy.

In recent times, Vietnam’s efforts to position itself as a hub for software development also paid off in 2020, with markets like Japan, Hong Kong, China, and South Korea investing heavily into the country’s technology sector. Despite a slow year for manufacturing, Vietnam still saw a record year in terms of export surplus – a positive indicator for the road ahead.

Looking ahead, Vietnam is well-positioned to bounce back from the impact of COVID-19. In the meantime, businesses are well-advised to focus on employee engagement and well-being, ensuring that the entire organisation is poised for the recovery phase and beyond, according to Donnelly.

By Thanh Van

“After six miscarriages, my mother gave birth to me, her only child. That’s why I was pampered from a young age. It was part of the reason I fell into drug addiction when I began attending college in Hanoi,” the 45-year-old said, recalling his darkest days.

Knowing his parents would never dare reprimand him, the boy from northern Ha Nam Province publicly admitted his dependency on drugs.

Many times, Tuan told his mother: “Give me the money just this last time.”

Seeing her son struggle, Luong Thi Van swallowed her tears and shoved money in her child’s hand. After using up all of his mother’s money, Tuan turned to tricking his sister. When there was nothing left in the house for him to take, Tuan “drifted” to Hanoi to take on the role of killer-for-hire and bouncer, among others to satisfy his increasing addiction.

Due to her son’s reputation, Tuan’s mother returned home from the market on multiple occasions without being served.

Le Van Thuy, Tuan’s father, had to resign from his position as the commune’s vice chairman of Vietnam Veterans Association after other members criticized him for not being “reputable enough.”

The first time Tuan tried quitting, he asked his father to lock him in a room, chain his feet to the floor and throw the key into the pond. But after only three days, his body raked with withdrawal symptoms, he broke down the doors, pulled the concrete plate attached to the chain from the floor and rushed off to feed his addiction. That day, after returning home more subdued, Tuan knelt in front his mother’s feet and said: “This time, I promise to quit drugs.”

A determined Tuan asked his mother to shave his head before digging an impassably deep trench around his 200-square-meter home.

Thuy told his wife: “Tuan’s digging like during wartime.”

About a month after uttering his promise, Tuan felt his craving for drugs recede, even gaining a few kilograms and appearing healthier. Everyone admired Tuan’s determination.

Seeing him “transformed”, one of his drug-addict friends came to seek his advice on how to quit. But after sharing a few stories, a sudden urge saw Tuan delve back into the abyss.

This time, he was taken to a rehab center where he fought with his caregivers and became the “leader” of gang.

Once, spotting his mother carrying a bag en route to visit him, a tormented Tuan asked his “juniors” to tattoo the word “happiness” below the soles of his feet. “Me and all other addicts at this center have stepped on and crushed our families’ happiness,” he explained.

However, the first thing Tuan did after exiting rehab was get lit.

This vicious cycle continued until Tuan’s wife requested a divorce, prompting him to overdose since he felt he had “nothing else to lose.” For seven hours, Tuan failed to regain consciousness, with villagers deliberating whether to place him in a coffin or not.

At 6 a.m., he opened his eyes, found himself dressed in new clothes, with his hands and feet bound in preparation for a funeral ceremony. Terrified and praying, Tuan’s mother watched him rise from the coffin.

“If I can’t die, I must live with dignity and be a better human,” a teary Tuan stated.

In front of everyone, he once again promised to quit his addiction. Overhearing his words, a neighbor joked: “I would get beheaded if you fulfilled your promise.”

For three days in a row, Tuan soaked himself in a water tank to endure his withdrawal symptoms, his worried father keeping him company all the while, even rubbing his head for encouragement.

After staying home for half a month, Tuan again felt his craving recede. In 2001, Pham Thi Bang, a woman seven years his junior living in the next village, dared to accompany him on a date despite her parents’ objections.

The couple borrowed money to start a business by raising ducks. Once, attending a wedding in the next village, Tuan was lured into a cemetery by an old acquaintance who persuaded him to get high. Recalling the faces of his wife and newborn daughter, he jabbed a needle into his thigh, hoping the pain would drown out his urge. That night, revealing his bloody leg to his wife, the couple rejoiced in Tuan’s ability to beat his addiction.

After his duck-raising business floundered, Tuan and his wife took on a series of jobs, including trading old motorbikes and real estate. He then used this savings to open a taxi firm in Hung Yen Province and a truck transportation company in Dak Nong Province.

With both ventures operating smoothly, Tuan was informed a former rehab friend had been executed for murder. “I think if he got help, maybe he wouldn’t have followed that path. So I decided to do something to help others like me rebuild their lives,” Tuan said.

Tuan (L) shows delegates at the Institute of Psychological Studies and Support for Drug Users the displayed pieces of equipment for drug usage in Hanoi, March 2021. Photo courtesy of PSD.

He subsequently sold all his property and relocated to Hanoi with his family. Here, with accumulated knowledge and support from experts, Tuan established a rehab center now known as the Institute of Psychological Studies and Support for Drug Users (PSD) in Hanoi. Addicts admitted here are typically supported with psychological treatment, physical rehabilitation and reintegration.

Tuan and the PSD staff were selected by Colombo Plan, a regional organization of 27 economies designed to strengthen economic and social development of members in the Asia-Pacific region, to receive support in drug use prevention training.

Kim Tuan, a 31 years old patient at PSD who suffered from a nine-year addiction, said here he is respected, unlike at other centers.

“In particular, I learned meaningful life lessons from Tuan. He and I have many things in common – like we were raised in a family of educated parents and had had the chance to go to school but later fell into addiction. If he can stand up and rebuild his life, I can do it too!” said Kim Tuan, now a psychiatrist at PSD.

PSD has helped more than 230 drug addicts to date. In addition to supporting drug addicts, Tuan has built a connection with multidisciplinary corporations in fisheries, real estate, media and other industries so people who complete their treatment can access career opportunities to restart their lives.

The information was announced at the opening ceremony of the Vietshrimp Aquaculture International Fair 2021held by the Directorate of Fisheries, the Vietnam Fisheries Society, Vietnam Fisheries Magazine, and the People’s Committee of Can Tho on April 14.

Entitled “Sustainable Destination”, the three-day fair is anopportunity for managers, scientists, enterprises and farmers to share and introduce to one another new technology products, advanced models as well as connect shrimp production with consumption to enhance the productivity and sales value of Vietnamese shrimp products.

Chairman of the Vietnam Fisheries Society and head of the fair’s organising board Nguyen Viet Thang said that Vietnam is set to become the world’s leading producer of shrimp, accounting for 25% of the global shrimp segment as the country is expected to produce 4 million tonnes of raw shrimp, worth US$20 billion, by 2045.

General Director of the Directorate of Fisheries Tran DinhLuan said the fair is a chance for managers and enterprises in the field to exchange new technologies, approaches and models towards more sustainable shrimp production.

The fair features nearly 200 pavilions and the participation of nearly 150 domestic and foreign enterprises and organisations.