The 18th ICA Asia-Pacific Regional Workshop on “Management of Consumer Co-operatives” was held in Vietnam from October 8-10, 2018. The workshop was organized under the aegis of the ICA-AP Consumer Committee and for the first time hosted by Saigon Union of Trading Co-operatives (Saigon Co.op), Vietnam. 40 co-operators and guests from Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, The Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam attended the three-day training workshop. The objectives of the workshop were to learn effective operations of the small- medium sized stores; study the experience of two organizations - [Saigon Co.op] and [Fairprice]; and establish an international network of Consumer Co-operative leaders and managers.
The program started with a welcome address by Mr. Haruyoshi Amano, Chair of ICA-AP Consumer Committee and Manager, International Department, Japanese Consumer Co-operative Union (JCCU). He spoke about ICA, Committees of ICA-AP and highlighted the consumer cooperative movement worldwide. Mr. Tran Lam Hong, the Deputy CEO of Saigon Co.op, in his opening remarks, said that the workshop is a continuation of the international co-operative movement’s tradition of sharing retail experience among members and would help members improve the quality and efficiency of their businesses. This was followed by lectures by Mr. Le Truong Son (Director of Invest Consulting Dept.), Ms. Ngo Thi Bich Lien (Director of Concept Management Dept.), Mr. Vo Hoang Anh (Director of Private Label Dept.) and Mr. Bui Quang Vinh (Director of Logistics Dept.), on Saigon Co.op’s origins, retail operations, development strategy of private label and Supply Chain Management.
Participants of the Workshop at the Saigon Coop Headquarters
The second day of the training commenced with the delivery of case studies on "Effective Operation of the Small - Medium sized store in Saigon Co.op - Chain of [Co.op Food], [Co.op Smile] and [Cheers]" presented by Ms. Nguyen Bich Ly (Director, Co.op Food); Ms. Nguyen Linh Trang (Director , Co.op Smile); and Ms. Nguyen Dau Anh Uyen(Deputy Director, Cheers). Ms. Chua Tze Lin (Manager of Fairprice Shop, Singapore) provided an external case study on "Effective Operation of the Small sized store in Fairprice - Fairprice Shop." Following the lectures, the participants were taken on a field trip to Saigon Co.op's five stores (Co.op Xtra Su Van Hanh, Co.opmart Ly Thuong Kiet, Co.op Food Bach Ma, Cheers Hoa Hao, Co.op Smile De Tham) and one distribution Centre.
On the third day, group discussion sessions were held on the following topics, What are the key learning points for business of Saigon Co.op?; What are the features and strategies of the Co.op Food Chain and Fairprice Shop?; and What kind of store will be suitable to meet the requirements in your community? Four groups shared their ideas and solutions. Each participating organization presented their learnings from the workshop as well as their action plan. These presentations were followed by a debriefing conducted by Mr. Nguyen Long Trung (Director, Saigon Co.oop Training Centre). The participants were positive about the program and were confident that sharing their experience with other co-operators in their countries would be extremely beneficial.
