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It is now when businesses usually calculate their budgets for Tet presents to improve their public relations. But in the high inflation period, when businesses have to tighten their purse strings, choosing Tet presents for partners is far from easy.
How big should Tet presents be?
A lot of enterprises are considering narrowing their budgets for Tet presents this year.
Nguyen Thanh Hung, Marketing Director of Dai Dong Plastics Joint Stock Company, said that he needs to reconsider what the Tet presents will be this year and who will receive them.
“We will have to shorten the list of partners who will receive gifts from us. We will prioritise strategic partners, while also paying attention to establishing new relations,” Hung said.
Bui Quang Thinh, Deputy General Director of Tan Tien Plastics Packaging Company, said that most of the company’s partners are loyal clients so he cannot weed out groups from off the list.
“We have been trying to cut expenses for marketing and public relations on holidays and the mid autumn festival to focus on Tet presents,” Thinh said.
Tran Minh Toan, General Director of Sen Vang Securities Company, also said that though turnover has been decreasing due to the stock market’s falls, the company cannot reduce its budget for Tet presents as they play a very important role in attracting and retaining clients. Small Tet presents may make clients believe in the recovery of the stock market next year, he says.
“We will raise the budget for Tet presents. If necessary, we will cut bonuses for staffs,” Toan said.
Meanwhile, a lot of companies said that in the current difficult period, they are applying the policy of ‘no gifts for anyone and no gifts from anyone’. Nguyen Minh Hien, Director of Thien An Company, specialising in fine arts products, said that the company has sent a letter to its partners, saying that it will not receive presents from partners and has received positive response.
“We received thank-you letters from European and North American importers, who said that they do not have a policy of receiving Tet presents. I think that this is a good way for enterprises to share experiences, and shows good business culture,” Hien said.
The Tet present market
Producers and importers believe that Tet 2009 will not be record-setting as companies now all have to be frugal.
Nguyen Van Thang, Director of Minh Anh Company, specialising in importing foreign liquor, said that the company had to adjust the list of imports for Tet after the company’s business division made a preliminary survey of the market.
The company will only import a small volume of high-quality wine specially ordered by loyal clients and agents. Meanwhile, it will increase distribution of medium-level liquor, from several hundred thousand VND to less than VND1mil from Chile, Portugal, and Thailand.
Analysts, meanwhile, believe that the recent scare surrounding melamine-infected products from China will create a golden opportunity for domestic producers.
Hoang Nhan Nam, Marketing Deputy Director of Bibica confectionary, said that the company plans to market 5mil boxes of candies, chocolate and jams, while hoping to gain the turnover of VND180bil.
No official figure has been released to show the scale of the Tet present market, but a supermart said that the market accounts for 30% of total turnover of Tet sales.
Le Thi Duy Linh, Business Development manager of Goldmart online trading website, said that Goldmart is sending quotations of Tet presents to companies. Unlike previous years, Goldmart is now only offering presents from VND500-1mil.
Linh has estimated that the number of clients ordering Tet presents via the Internet will increase by 25% over last year (some 4,000 orders), while the main products will be drinks and processed food.
(Source: TBKTSG)
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