As a mobile phone retailer expanding into the pharmaceutical industry, FPT Retail (FRT) had a period of continuous decline in business results. At that time, Ms. Nguyen Bach Diep - Chairwoman of the Board of Directors - said: " The Company's difficulties are only temporary, the Board of Directors clearly determined that it must stay calm to overcome them." In 2021, taking advantage of the opportunity in the midst of the pandemic, FRT had a strong breakthrough after the 2019-2020 crisis. "We are truly blessed because during the most challenging period, the Company was still stable, and in 2022, we continued to maintain the growth momentum," Ms. Diep excitedly shared in a recent conversation. 
After the business fluctuations in the past 3 years, what do you think? As the leader, of course I am the one responsible for the "ups and downs" of the Company. In 2020, the epidemic broke out and especially at its peak in 2021, FPT Retail had a very difficult time closing a series of points of sale. But at that time, the concentration of people was very large, which helped the team to be more united. Perhaps each member was very aware that they had to go through that survival period together. As a result, in 2021, the company recorded impressive indicators. Personally, I feel very happy, because for society, the epidemic has been pushed back and Vietnam is considered to have done very well. For the company, I am proud to have regained its previous growth rate. Above all, the employees after the pandemic seem to be more united, this will be a solid foundation to support FRT's growth in the coming time. Although FRT's revenue and profit in the second quarter of 2022 still grew compared to the same period last year, they have slowed down significantly compared to the previous two quarters. What is the company's plan to deal with this decline? The second quarter is a low point in business, so a decline is normal. In the third quarter, FRT will enter the "back to school" season and the fourth quarter is the period when Apple launches the new iPhone line, so the results will be more positive. If compared to the quarters in the same year, it can be said that the annual picture is always the same, so the low profit in the second quarter of 2022 is not too worrying. Compared to the same period last year, the decline is obvious because the demand for laptops and health care products has decreased when the epidemic is well controlled in Vietnam. Last year, the company benefited well from the increased demand for laptops, because due to the epidemic, everyone had to "work from home". In 2022, the heat is no longer there, thereby slowing down the business speed of laptops. However, realizing this early, FRT has had directions to support growth. We have added a group of household products to existing stores to serve the increasing needs of customers. Up to now, this new product group has contributed relatively good revenue and profit to FPT Shop stores. The company has also expanded FPT Shop stores to districts. At the same time, FPT Shop has also expanded its chain of Laptop Centers (specialized stores, focusing on selling a variety of laptop products and many related accessories). The measurement results so far have also been recorded as very good, contributing significantly to the overall growth of the ICT segment. In addition, compared to the market as well as some other brands, the number of FPT Shop stores is still quite small. Therefore, the Company still has a lot of room to expand the chain, and FRT's strategy is to open more. However, with the ICT segment, we clearly identify that there will be growth but it will not be sudden anymore, so Long Chau will be the spearhead leading the main growth for FRT in the following years. Our newly published consolidated financial statements for the third quarter of 2022 have proven what I said when revenue reached VND 7,736 billion - an increase of more than 54% over the same period and net profit reached VND 84.5 billion, an increase of 78% over the same period. A recent analysis report commented: In the same location, Long Chau has better sales; however, the new An Khang points of sale attract more customers thanks to more convenient and eye-catching product displays. What do you think about these comments? And is there any pressure from the rise of the An Khang chain? When it comes to competition in the pharmaceutical market, I have said it many times at the General Meeting of Shareholders. Currently, the pharmaceutical market has up to 40,000 small pharmacies, Long Chau plans to open 2,000 - 3,000 pharmacies. There is still a lot of room, so the opening of many other pharmacies is just a contribution to the current very large playing field. Long Chau is not under too much pressure from current competition, nor does it pay too much attention to what its competitors are doing. 
Long Chau's mission is to focus on improving customer experience: How to make customer experience the best so that customers will choose us. Long Chau has the advantage of being first, and now needs to improve the best experience, then it will be successful. For reasons of business confidentiality, I am not convenient to share specifically what Long Chau does to improve customer experience. What I can promise is that in the near future, everyone will see Long Chau offering many new and pioneering services. 
From an electronics retail business, FRT moved to the pharmaceutical industry and is now arguably the most successful business in this field. In your opinion, what makes FRT successful? In short, I think there are four reasons that help Long Chau achieve its current position. First, it is the determination of the leadership and the consensus of employees. Second, the experience in building and maintaining the FPT Shop retail chain, which brings many advantages to FRT in the pharmaceutical sector. Third, the available resources from FRT Shop. When expanding the Long Chau chain, FRT transferred resources from FPT Shop. In addition, FRT is also supported with additional financial and technological resources from FPT Corporation. Finally, it is the clear assignment of tasks for each person. At FRT, who is in charge of the battle and who is in charge of the frontier are clearly defined, which helps the Company maintain and grow in the old sector as well as expand into new sectors. I am a “pioneer”, I personally find myself suitable for this role because I am a quick learner. At the same time, to be a leader and make decisions, I always remind myself to continuously learn from successful models. Not only that, I also have to learn from each of my employees at each stage and each department. Only then can I understand the work most clearly and make the most appropriate decisions. For a successful business, people often “ask” about social responsibility. What is your perspective on social service? When it comes to social service, I think there is no need to say anything flowery, just think simply that whatever society gives you, you should respond to society in the same way. Because there must be a stable society, a convenient mechanism, an open market, along with the support of agencies, departments, and customers for a business to be successful. So society gives us many conditions, we have to serve society, from there we can create a sustainable business. 
When a businessman talks about serving society, it is usually when they go beyond making money for themselves, their families and their companies. Is it true that people can only serve society when they are well-fed? I don't think so, not necessarily. Because serving society is not something too big. Like Long Chau, when opening a store, the company could not think about profit, and of course, in the first years, there would be losses. However, opening a store has also created jobs for society, and at the same time helped take care of people's health, that is serving society. There were times when FRT was investing and Long Chau was still losing money, we were still serving society, through our daily business. The policy of selling essential goods at affordable prices to the sick is a form of serving society. In addition, the company also has CSR programs during the year. For example, during the epidemic season, FPT Shop had a program to give 3,000 computers to students. Or accompanying FPT Group's Hope Fund in the program of 10,000 F0 medicine packages for people during the peak of Covid-19. According to her, do entrepreneurs who serve society and the country become rich, or do entrepreneurs who are rich think about serving society and the country? I think both sides go hand in hand. In fact, the Government has seen that private enterprises are the main growth sector for the country, thereby creating jobs for the people. Therefore, the Government is increasingly "untying" policies, creating conditions for entrepreneurs to work, create and contribute. That is what entrepreneurs receive from the Government and from society. On the contrary, in the process of doing business, entrepreneurs also try to do their best. Business activities must be the best, healthiest, pay taxes fully, create jobs for employees as well as bring good products and services to the people. In general, the two sides support each other, work together, and the final result is that everyone becomes rich. 
Which social activity of the company impressed you the most and wanted to share? To call it the most impressive, I especially do not forget the peak period of the epidemic in Ho Chi Minh City. At that time, Long Chau quickly planned and implemented a program of 10,000 F0 medicine packages for people right in the life-and-death stage. At that time, everything was implemented extremely quickly and there was no specific plan in advance. FRT simply saw the situation of medicine shortage, patients were locked down and could not go out, the number of deaths increased, so they were very worried and sympathetic. Immediately after the Ministry of Health released information about what medicine packages for F0 included, FRT cooperated with the Hope Fund to quickly call on common donors and coordinate with some parties within the Group to carry out a campaign to provide medicine to people. Within just 2 weeks, all contributions went to the Hope Fund. FRT also mobilized all employees to gather at the warehouse to pack, paste instructions for use... It took several days and nights to finish, I remember some employees were so tired that they had to give IVs on the spot. FRT's army even "risked their lives" wearing protective gear to each house to deliver medicine. This program is something that I and the FRT team will never forget. This is also a historical period for the whole society, and FRT is a part of it. Is it possible that the company's meaningful and impactful social programs have been misunderstood or interpreted in a negative light? If we call it being "stoned", FRT has never been, but it is possible that such things will happen. Long Chau shared rice donations, many people also said that Long Chau did so to polish its name. 100 people have 10 opinions, so I don't think those things are too important. Not to mention, I do this regularly, every quarter and for many years, then people will understand my spirit of responsibility to share with the community. Because, if I want to polish my name, I will do it at most 1-2 times and then stop. As for the medicine day and rice distribution program, FRT has been doing it for 2 years. Besides, I still believe that serving society is not only doing charity work, giving gifts to people but also serving my own customers. With the modern pharmacy channel, Long Chau can take care of people's health in the fastest and most convenient way, that is serving society. In the future, when the modern retail model is increasingly perfected, people, especially in remote areas, will have more channels to buy medicine such as from the website, via chat, Zalo, app, or call directly and have the product delivered to their home... In April 2022, Long Chau and Sanofi Vietnam Joint Stock Company also signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Comprehensive Strategic Cooperation to develop the consumer health care industry in the pharmacy channel. Sanofi is a large enterprise, joining hands with FRT is considered to combine the strengths of the two companies to bring common health care activities to the community. In particular, Long Chau will create conditions for Sanofi's latest research products to reach customers as quickly as possible at affordable prices. In return, the two sides will also cooperate to implement training programs, update knowledge for pharmacists to improve their qualifications, and sell medicine accurately to customers. In general, the modern channel will help customers access medicine faster, cheaper and more fully. Long Chau will also cooperate with many other prestigious businesses in the future. 
Drug distributors always say their mission is to "care for and protect public health", while many people say that it sounds very empty and is just for their communication purposes. What do you think about this opinion? If we do it once or twice, people will think it is "empty", but if we do it regularly, it is no longer a matter of polishing. This only really comes from the social responsibility of each pharmacy, each unit. What are FRT's future development plans, and do they come with the company's social responsibility? In the coming time, in the ICT sector, the Company will continue to expand stores, reaching new customers in the district. Long Chau, as revealed, will introduce many new services. FRT also continues to apply technology to improve customer experience. Along with the spirit of serving in terms of business, community programs are of course maintained. Long Chau also plans to call on more large pharmaceutical companies to join in, thereby spreading the message further. Thank you!
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